On the 25th day of my PCT hike I went down from high in the Tehachapi mountains to Tehachapi Pass, through a windfarm filled with countless spinning windmills.
From PCT mile 549.7 to 565.1 Total: 15.4 miles 5/3
When I woke up, I checked my little thermometer and it said that it was thirty degrees! Brrr! That was when I decided (for once) that getting up early was seriously overrated. So I lay back down in my cozy sleeping bag and tucked it in around my neck. I knew that I was camped on a high saddle, and if I waited a bit the sun would rise and strike my tent. And I was right. Once that happened, some of the chill was gone (whether real or imaginary) so I sat up and got dressed in my hiking clothing, plus my goose down jacket and pants. These were needed to venture outside, and also to sit up while cooking and eating my hot oatmeal breakfast. I also got lucky that none of my water was frozen.
I was camped at the highest part of PCT Section F, so I knew that most of the day’s hike would be downhill. This suited me just fine. I packed up everything and started hiking, the trail gradually descending along a ridge to the northeast. And there were plenty of wildflowers and views along the way.
Not surprisingly, being near a ridge in this part of California meant being very close to windmills. Indeed, I entered the windfarm almost immediately, with many to my right up above me, and others off to the left, across the way beyond the Oak Creek Valley. Thus far, it was a mellow day, and not all of the windmills were turning. I was thankful for that, because there are times when the wind can gust to one hundred miles per hour out here!
Several hours later, I arrived at Tehachapi Willow Springs Road. I read in my Far Out app that many thru hikers found it easier to hitchhike to the town of Tehachapi on this small road than on the much busier freeway ramps at Highway 58 at the actual Tehachapi Pass. California law allows hitching, but not down on a freeway, only up on the access ramps, and the exit where the trail crosses the highway wasn’t frequented by cars, so you ended up standing in a dead zone while tons of inaccessible traffic passes by below you. Frustrating.
But that wasn’t my problem, as I had already left a resupply cache a mile or so from the freeway, and would be spending the night there.
I walked a bit further beyond the road and found a pleasant spot with a view to eat my lunch and swap out my sweaty socks. I read my kindle as I rested my feet. The breeze was starting to pick up. I checked the map and realized that I would be hiking along the southeast side of the ridge for a while, which meant that the southerly wind would probably be stronger, but at least partly from behind. It wasn’t all that strong, or so I told myself, as I looked around me and saw only windmills as far as the eye could see. Oh boy.
I hiked on through the windfarm. Along this stretch there were examples of earlier windmills, much smaller and faster-spinning than the behemoths they were installing nowadays. This area has been quite the testbed for wind power during recent decades. The really old ones weren’t even spinning, and many looked damaged. Most had already been replaced. As I hiked, I passed one that had apparently snapped off halfway up the tower. This was sobering, and I was glad that the trail never ventured too close, and that the wind was mellow.
Eventually, the trail crossed back over the ridge to the north, and I was rewarded with fine views all around. There were still plenty of wildflowers, too. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. Tonight and tomorrow were forecast to be a bit wet, but only a little as the main storm was swinging through California far to the north. I would be on the tail edge of it. But this was part of hiking on the PCT in the Spring of 2023.
The trail continued to the other side of the ridge, and Cameron Canyon appeared, below me to the left. To the north was Tehachapi Pass and Highway 58. The train tracks also went along the same route, heading to Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley in the distant west. I only had a mile or so to hike from here, all of it downhill. Hopefully, no one had disturbed my hidden food and water cache. But I would find out soon enough.
As I expected, my stuff was just fine. I had stored five nights of food in a blue Bear Canister to protect it from varmints, and also left a few gallons of water, much more than I needed, just in case.
I carried the food back to my camping spot, which hadn’t been easy to find. Most hikers head to town from here, so there were no “official” campsites listed in the Far Out app. I found one a short distance from the trail, on soft sand, and it was perfect for a single-person tent.
It was still midafternoon, but I didn’t care. I had a bunch of food repacking to do. The extra snacks I was still carrying went back into the bear can, and the pack was fully resupplied with enough fuel to propel me another 85 miles to Walker Pass.
Luckily, there was a Verizon cell tower down the road by the tracks, so I called Vicki, got weather reports on my phone, and texted out a few photos to friends and family. I thought about putting the supplies back in the bush, but when I got out and walked a few steps, I noticed that not only were my muscles stiff (as usual) but my feet were not happy about it either. There was pain in my heels, so I hobbled about near the tent and gave up the idea of walking any further that day. I sat back down inside and rubbed my feet while reading my book. Well, I thought, I’ll try to be easy on them but in the end it doesn’t matter as I had no choice but to hike onward. So I read my kindle, cooked up some dinner, and ate a bunch of extra snack. Then I headed off to bed, happily realizing that I’d just finished hiking the full 112 miles of PCT California Section E. Excellent!
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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