I spent most of my 28th day on the PCT hiking within a cloud, along the high north-south ridge of the Piute Mountains, midway between Tehachapi and Walker Passes, and finished my day with Trail Magic at Landers Camp.
From PCT mile 594.1 to 610.1 Total: 15.0 miles 5/6
I woke up within a cloud, but the low oaks near my tent must have had a protective effect, as my tent was mostly dry. I set about eating breakfast and packing up everything rapidly. It was cold, but not freezing like yesterday, and the breeze was mellow down here in this little valley. Just the same, it was a day for gloves and my full Goretex hard shell, at least until the sun came out. If it ever would. These clouds seemed thick!
When I headed out, I met up with Cous Cous and One Way, two members of the Tramily I met two days ago. Tramilies typically hike their own hike, often solo, but join together at the end of the day, at a predetermined campsite. Being older, I hiked a bit slower than these two, but I caught up with them, again and again, when they stopped for breaks. I rarely stopped, just cranking out the miles steadily, but still much faster than the proverbial tortoise.
As we were climbing along the ridge, One Way asked me how old I was. “Sixty five,” I told him. He sounded impressed, but it wasn’t that big a deal, to me anyway. Of course, it helps that I’ve been biking and backpacking for years and years, and there is always a genetic component to fitness. I knew that I had been dealt a pretty good hand, health-wise, and I was thankful. One Way wasn’t exactly a college kid either, so I spoke about my style: I tried to keep my heart rate just below the “pounding” level, which was easy to do when climbing. When it started pounding, I paused for fifteen to twenty seconds until it calmed down some, than continued moving. I tended to hike at the same cadence but took smaller steps when climbing, to keep the heart rate down. I didn’t want to be that guy you often read about in the newspaper: Man, 55, avid jogger, found dead on the trail of a heart attack. No thanks! People afterward tend to say “He died doing what he loved” but that is pure BS – that man wanted to live!
The wind blew, and the clouds blew by along with it. Everything around us was foggy-looking and visibility rarely improved. It didn’t rain, either, which we were thankful for, but it stayed cold, and the air was dank. I kept my hands mostly in my pockets, and I’ll admit that I didn’t take many photos that day. Why bother when everything looks the same?
I never saw any cows along the trail, but there was evidence of their existence. You had to be careful where you stepped! Eventually, I reached the “600 miles from Mexico” point, and some whimsical hikers had constructed a monument of sorts. It was made out of Cow Patties! I was chuckling to myself when Cous Cous and One Way arrived. I took a selfie and hiked on, while they decided to wait for Deja Vu and Wicked, to get a group shot of their Tramily.
Three foggy miles later I arrived at my chosen water source for the day: Robin Bird Spring. I hiked a short ways down the side trail to the spring, and set down my backpack. This also seemed like a good spot to eat lunch. The spring was surrounded in barbed wire, to keep the cows from pooping in it, and had a wooden stile to climb over for human access. There was a pipe with clean water pouring out. I was a bit hesitant about drinking this water untreated, due to the nearby cows, but then I said “Nah” and drank it anyway. And I never got sick.
A mile or so later, as the trail descended along the east side of the Piute Mountain range, the clouds finally began to burn off. I kept getting views across a deep canyon on my right, and then the clouds would return. Then more views. And as I neared the top of the Cottonwood Creek Canyon, the clouds burned off, or lifted a bit higher, and there were patches of blue sky once again. Nice! It was still cold and windy, of course, but at least I had a view.
The final five miles of hiking that day were marked with water crossings and creek-followings. Generally speaking, it was downhill for the home stretch, with the exception of a pesky ridge or two. It was the PCT after all, and climbing up and down was precisely what it does best.
A semblance of civilization returned when I reached Piute Mountain Road, a dirt road, yes, but still a road. With fresh tire tracks! Yes, civilization, indeed. I crossed the road and signed “BIGFOOT” in yet another Trail Register. Not far ahead now was the turn-off road down to Landers Camp. I had already hiked a big day, at sixteen miles, and I wasn’t sure if I cared about staying in a boring old campground. But when I got to the gate and saw a sign mentioning Trail Magic happening today, then all bets were off. I headed straight down the road right away. It turned out that Trail Angel Old Yeller only did this on weekends, and today was Saturday! Perfect. When I got there he was parked along the road, sitting in a chair with several other hikers, handing out beer and chips and sodas and cookies. Heck, yes! And Old Yeller was quite a storyteller. It was fun hanging out listening to his tales.
Just the same, the breeze was still there, and the air was still cold. Once I stopped hiking to hang out, my core temperature began dropping. I said Thank You to Old Yeller and headed down to the campground. It had zero cars in it, and appeared to be hikers-only that day. I found a semi-sheltered spot and set up my tent, then wandered around the campsite as everyone else arrived. They said that he would be back down here tomorrow morning and would be cooking breakfast burritos for everyone! Now that’s Magic!
After that, I headed back to the tent and got ready for the evening. I did the usual thing. It was a routine now, eating ramen for dinner plus some salty chips and some Gatorade for rehydration. I read my book as the sun went down, and vowed to be up and ready by 6:30am when the festivities were due to begin. Double Trail Magic! An excellent way to end (and begin) a very long day.
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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