Month: May 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 …