It was Day 23 on my PCT hike when I made the long trek across Antelope Valley from Hiker Town to Cottonwood Creek, which is typically one of the hotter, flatter, and drier sections of the trail, but I lucked out by hiking during the Superbloom of 2023!
From PCT mile 517.6 to 534.9 Total: 17.3 miles 5/1
I woke up in my car at Hikertown and put away the car gear. My backpack was 100% ready to go. I ate a Pop-Tart for breakfast rather than hot oatmeal so that I didn’t have to use my stove. Today’s plan was to get out there and hike! So I double-checked everything, locked up the car, and started hiking. For once I wasn’t the earliest, as several hikers decided to leave before dawn. Good for them! I had zero desire to hike in the dark. I was here to see everything.
At first the PCT followed a paved road to the north, until it intersected the east branch of the California Aqueduct, which eventually carries water to Silverwood Lake (the PCT also goes by this lake back near mile 325). This section of the aqueduct is open to the sky, flowing in a long concrete ditch across Antelope Valley. And this year there was an awful lot of water in it, unlike 2022. It was interesting to see so much water flowing toward Los Angeles, and this water was from the Western Sierra Nevada.
Soon afterward, the trail made a sharp left and began heading (very gradually) uphill to the north across the valley. Why? Because it was now following the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which brought water to LA from Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra Nevada. Los Angeles sure is thirsty! This part of it is encased within a ten-foot-diameter steel pipe, made roughly one hundred years ago during the California Water Wars. It has old-fashioned steel rivets holding it together, and much of it was buried underground for protection from accidental damage. PCT hikers couldn’t damage it, regardless of how heavy their backpacks were! I have to say, that the most annoying part of this big pipe was that hikers couldn’t get a drink out of it as they crossed a hot dry desert valley. Sad but true.
Eventually, I got tired of hiking on top of the aqueduct pipe, due to having to avoid the rivets. So I walked on the sandy service road instead. Much flatter. As it gradually climbed, I looked back south to see marine layer clouds piling up on the Sawmill Mountain ridge, the same ridge that I was on a few days ago. I guessed that it was rather cool up there at the moment, and possibly even misty or drizzling. Oh well.
Eventually, the dead-straight pipeline turned sharp right, and began to traverse along the valley floor, maintaining a relatively constant elevation along the side of the valley. It also became a covered concrete trough. I’m guessing that this was much cheaper to build, as it didn’t have to hold pressure, much like the California Aqueduct had done. But unlike its brother, this one was covered from view. The PCT followed it just the same, on a dirt service road along the side. The breeze that day was from the west, so it was at my back the whole way. Very nice. And the air was cool, in the low seventies. The heatwave had truly broken.
Along the way, the superblooming wildflowers put on their show. This was why I took those zero days! And they were worth it. Interestingly, different species bloomed in different areas, so I was treated to a constantly changing view and series of colors. Very nice. Sadly, the main fields of California Golden Poppies (the state flower) were further off to the south. It also looked like the best farming on this land out here was Solar Farming. A vast acreage was devoted to generating electricity, and I wondered if the poppy population was suffering.
After several more miles, I arrived in the windfarm area. There were suddenly windmills spinning in every direction. Once again, I was glad that I waited a few days, as the breeze today was very mild compared to other days. Sure, the windmills were spinning, but they probably weren’t making quite the same amount of power as on a windy day. All in all, between the solar panels and windmills, Antelope Valley was a very powerful spot!
Miles went by as I hiked in the sun. The breeze at my back really made a difference, although it wasn’t super hot. It was a perfect day to cross the big valley. The aqueduct and trail curved to the north, and soon I arrived at my camping spot on Cottonwood Creek, which was flowing strong. I headed down below the plain to find a sheltered spot out of the wind. There were several hikers there already, so my choices were limited. Oh well. I pitched my tent not far from another couple that were close to my age. They were heading south from Walker Pass like many others.
After that, it was time to collect my double-daily water supply, which would have to last me through the next two days, all the way to my water and food cache at Tehachapi Pass. I wasn’t concerned about that. The weight didn’t bother me, and I also knew that there were a few other flowing water sources along the way if I got desperate. No worries, as they say in Australia. I walked over to the south side of the creek and found the fabled water faucet. Finally, we hikers could get a drink out of the giant pipe! And it was High Sierra Water, the best kind. There were lots of warnings about purifying it, and they were right, but at least it was clear and perfect for my Aquamira chlorine drops.
Meanwhile, one of the overflow/control stations for the aqueduct was having a pretty serious overflow problem. Water was washing down a concrete sluice directly into Cottonwood Creek. I had a feeling that there was so much water melting in the High Sierra right then that the pipe simply couldn’t maintain the flow under higher pressure.
I filled up my gallon jug and headed back to camp. I still had plenty of water left over from the day’s hike, so this would be perfect for getting me through tomorrow night. I was expecting cooler weather and higher elevation as I climbed up and over the Tehachapi Mountains, and would be camping above 6000 feet elevation.
After that, the skies grew cloudy as the day waned, and those persistent clouds to the south and west finally won out over the desert heat, and utterly blanketed the sky. Meanwhile, the windmills continued to turn. The sound was loud, but very repetitive, so it was a bit soothing in a way. I got out of the tent to take a GoPro video, to document it properly.
GoPro panorama video of windmills turning under cloudy skies
After that, it was time to head to the tent. I purified the gallon of Sierra’s Finest, and got out my stove for dinner. I ate my ramen and munched on some chips, then chased it with a few pieces of Candy Corn, a sweet childhood memory that really hit the spot. After that, I decided that there was no point in staying up for the sunset, as it was far too cloudy to be worth the effort. I read my book in the tent for a while and eventually the sound of the endlessly spinning windmills wafted me to sleep.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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