Year: 2014

The hike down to Walker Pass was uneventful, other than meeting a couple of southbounders who told me they had seen OffKilter hitching into Lake Isabella. He was still there when I got to the pass, and we had a chance to catch up, and for me to bid him good luck on the rest Read More …

Today the cold wind slacked off from brutal to merely harsh, making for a much more enjoyable walk. My campsite behind the JoshuanTrees had an expansive view to the east, making for an excellent sunrise. There really hasn’t been a morning when I wasn’t eager to put on the pack and start walking. And every Read More …

The pleasure of getting into my sleeping bag and bivy sack, and out of this infernal wind is beyond description. I actually have feeling in my fingers. It has been windy since I entered the Tehachapis, but yesterday the wind turned raw, bringing scudding clouds that threaten rain. It was good that I pitched my Read More …

Slept poorly due to the roar and whine of windmills close by. They continued near the trail for the next 6 or 7 miles, so there was really no escaping them. The morning’s walk was another Mordor-walk: nothing but dead, burnt trees. I don’t think I’ve gone as long as two days without passing through Read More …

May 4 Took a zero at Cousin Tom Smith’s place yesterday a few miles west of Tehachapi. I enjoyed his hospitality greatly – we drank beer, barbecued steaks one night and then short ribs the next, and finished the night with a round of single malt scotch. We discussed, and I believe solved, all of Read More …

Slept last night among windmills, which was fine until they started turning at about 3 am, waking me up. I had been dreaming about Dad, not doing anything special, just talking, but he called me “son”. And waking, I realized that that part of me was gone; that I am no one’s son anymore. We Read More …

Apr 30 Spent yesterday taking a zero at Hikertown as my feet were still sore from the 20 mile road walk the day before. They are still sore, but you just kind of get used to that. For the last 200 miles or so I have been walking mostly west, following the great transverse coastal Read More …

Woke this morning to the roar of traffic. Apparently the road is a shortcut between Lancaster and the San Fernando Valley. And it was now my route, as the PCT proper is closed for the next 25 miles due to a fire last year. The alternate is a 19 mile roadwalk. It was boring, tiring Read More …

After a slow start leaving Agua Dulce (due to the Challah french toast at Mon Ami’s), I climbed up through oak woodlands, finally breaking out on a ridge with a fantastic view of the snow-covered Tehachapis. The dense chaparral offered few campsites – I hit one at 4PM after 16 miles of hiking, but decided Read More …

After a night of intermittent rain – the first time I have pitched my tarp – I ate my leftover pizza for breakfast and headed for the Saufley’s, aka Hiker Heaven, some 10 miles away in the village of Agua Dulce. The night’s rains left the air cool and crisp, and the hike was (mostly) Read More …