Down in the Desert

Here's the snail-mailed blog that Nick mentioned in his last one. Enjoy!-KW

So last you heard I was enjoying the comforts of Hiker Heaven at the Saufely's in Agua Dulce. It was hard to pull myself away from such comfort knowing there were numerous desert miles ahead. I'm no fan of the desert, but it has become, to me, as a right of passage before entering the High Sierra. So far, it's proven to be a challenge.

We shoulder our packs, heavy with a full supply of food and water. It's 25 miles to Green Valley and the Andersons, another known trail angel stop. The Andersons proved to be a clutch player over the next couple of days, for they maintain 3 water caches along the dry miles to the north and south of them. One of which, the Oasis Cache, was quite a treat. Along with water they had lawn chairs, gatorades, and cold beer waiting for weary hikers. The Andersons were great. We slept in their hammocks and enjoyed taco salad for dinner and pancakes before we left in the morning. It was quite different from the Saufley's, where there was a system and everything had its place. The Anderson's was "wherever you want, anything goes." Their place, or Casa de Luna, got its name, we found, because Terrie mooned us while her husband took our picture before we left. All in all, a memorable stay.

Next stop was Hikertown on the 138, 40 miles away. We camped 16 miles in because it was more than a mile off trail to water at a remote campground. The problem came the next day when Ron and I missed a turn back to the trail. After a 4 mile round trip detour we were back on track, but our costly mistake turned a 24 mile day into 28, and 2 extra hours in the hot sun. We made it anyways and got a shower and a place to stay at Hikertown.

Richard Skaggs is a Hollywood guy working for Warner Bros. that built some western themed sets on his property so hikers could take a rest. We rested the next day with the same folk that were at the Anderson's. Me and Ron, Dan and Anna, Chase, Kirt, Monarch Lady, Mr. Chips, Get Out, and Stinky Butt.  We decided to avoid the heat and leave at 6pm that evening. The trail follows the L.A. aqueduct so it would be easy to stay on course. We made it 16 miles to Cottonwood Creek bridge at 1:30am and went to sleep. Waking up at 5:30am, we started looking for the water that we were informed was there. The creek was dry, but the guide book said we could access the aqueduct water anyway. We couldn't...everything was locked up. Luckily, Ron still had a bit of water and there was a small cache. One liter would have to last another 7 miles.

It was somewhat overcast so we decided to push on to Mojave. Not realizing it at that point, we would be moving 40 miles in one 24 hour period. After topping off our bottles at Tylerhorse Creek, we started a terribly grueling section of steep climbs on loose sand. The heat and terrain were unbearable, but we made it to the highway and after a 2 hour wait were able to get a hitch into Mojave for rest and resupply. We saw Stinky Butt just before the highway along with Dan and Anna (DNA). Then, in town, Monarch Lady, Kirt, and Chase all caught up. We all agreed the trek in was a miserable section.

The next stop is Kennedy Meadows Gateway to the Sierra. It'll be a 7 day, 140 miles section. It'll still be dry the first 2 days but will get a little easier after that. The next time you hear from me, I'll be hiking in what some say is the most beautiful area in the country. I can't wait. Goodbye desert, hello alpine wonderland.