PCT Day 24 – 25: The Los Angeles Aqueduct Challenge

June 12 and 13

City of hikers to Tehachapi. 98.5 kilometers and 2,837 m.

The descent

There was another feral domestic cat at camp that night. I couldn’t get close to him, he just ran away. But he always looked back at me. The tent would keep the scorpions away, but what about the mountain lions? I was too tired to think about it, I had walked over 30 miles and it was 11pm! My dream is like a light switch, I turn it horizontally and turn it off. The first thing I see when I wake up is my overnight oats soaked in chocolate protein powder. It’s honestly one of my favorite things to eat on the road. I added some granola for a crunchy touch. After crushing my oats, I start packing my bags. At 7:20 am I’m walking and it’s pretty late, but I have a strategy. The goal is to reach Willow Springs Road and reach Tehachapi by noon the next day, and that’s over 95 km in distance with 2,800 m of elevation gain. «feasible» is just what I think.

Going down from the summit to the Antelope Valley, I pass the “500 miles” and think “and I would walk 500 more!”, what a worm. There are also a lot of strange looking clay figures. Someone seems to have discovered them here and left them at important trail junctions. It reminds me of the Blair Witch Project or the Pork Soda album cover by Primus, and it gives me chills. The flat expanse of the valley reminds me of the Great Basin in Wyoming last year when I was hiking the CDT. I did a 100km in 24 hour challenge between Encampment and Rawlins, but this one was a little different. Not far away was the beginning of the next mountain range, the Tehachapi Mountains. A little further, technically and geographically speaking, was the beginning of the Sierra Nevada. All I had to do was cross this desert and go through the huge wind farm to get there.

Hiker city

It was 2pm when I arrived at the main attraction of this part of the trail, Hiker Town. Upon entering the place, one is immediately struck by a feeling, a vibe, like walking into an old Hollywood Western set. There are small buildings built around the circumference of the lot, but none of them seem to serve any particular practical purpose. The “Sheriff’s Office” had prop guns hanging on the wall and cardboard cutouts of people in the windows. There was a gazebo in the middle of the lot with a couple of people hanging around, so I walked over to introduce myself. Partly it was Nick Fowler’s team, there to support his FKT attempt. The owner, Richard, was also there. After a quick introduction, he offered to take me to the store for lunch. I agreed, and letting it slip that I was an electrician by trade, I almost ended up being taken to a property where Richard had some work to do. I was careful who I told after that.

Something cute, something weird.

The market courtyard was full of hikers I didn’t yet know. I grabbed a burrito and started socializing. Believe me, I had planned to sleep 4-5 hours there before continuing on to Tehachapi. But then I met Cheech and Smurf, and together we took over the jam space inside one of the buildings and played music all afternoon. It’s worth it! At one point, while sitting outside eating watermelon and ice cream, a woman approached the gang holding a box and walking with a pronounced limp. I think we were all thinking, “Oh wow, that poor woman has a horrible hiker’s limp, she must be hurt,” but no. One of us was a doctor and asked her if she was hurt and she said no, she had multiple sclerosis and was here doing the PCT. I think we were all stunned and inspired. She smiled at us and opened her box to reveal fifty pairs of LED-lit blinds. “You will need them for the aqueduct,” he said, while handing them out as if they were candy.

Back on the road

The east branch of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

It was 6:45 pm when we headed out onto the trail. Eight other hikers and I had left the market together, carrying our new blinds. Gitty, we all felt a glow as we watched the sun set over the valley. The infrastructure of the aqueduct itself is quite impressive. The open east arm of the aqueduct was like a closed river, prevented from seeping into the desert by steep concrete walls that made it inaccessible to us. For us there was a small tap on the edge of someone’s property that we could use. The next water source was 22.5 km away, and this was the reason why some chose to walk at night. Avoiding the heat of the day meant less chance of dehydration and heat exhaustion or worse. We collected water and then headed north walking over the huge metal pipe that was the north arm of the aqueduct.

The blinds, the pipe and the gang!

magic trail

It was 9pm when we reached a major intersection, and there was Greenman’s friend Nick with his camper making magic on the trails! It had soft drinks, beers, chips and cigarettes. In this setting, it felt truly magical, with our shiny glasses and their brightly colored lights decorating their truck, in the middle of the desert, under the stars.

The legendary Nick Trail (check out mile marker 666), walking under the stars and Joshua trees.

The moon had risen and was almost full, perfect for illuminating our path. I didn’t even use my headlamp. The service road that was made above the aqueduct was smooth. So smooth that I barely bothered to pay attention to each step and instead kept my head up to admire the stars as I walked. We breathed silently through the night watching the distant lights of civilization recede. The Joshua trees seemed to come to life, and as we walked past them, they took the shape of people in our peripheral vision. There was a recognition, like a familiar spirit, its big wavy arms reminded me of apes.

Vibrating with Joshua trees.

midnight winds

There was something unsettling about walking on the aqueduct. There was an occasional access hatch that we would pass through, and there you could hear the water rushing and feel the humid air escaping. Out there, in a terribly drought-stricken place, with millions of gallons of water flowing beneath my feet. How far will we go to continue inhabiting this place? How far will they go to find water to pump here? How long can this continue? On the one hand I could appreciate the great engineering achievement, on the other, the precariousness of the situation alarmed me. More than half of Canada’s population lives in Southern California and that aqueduct supplies water to many of them.

Entry to the wind farm at 2:30 a.m.

Over time, the wind farm that seemed to exist only on the horizon was getting closer. The flashing red lights at the top of each tower told us that we had almost reached the next phase. That’s when the wind came. I felt like the wind was blowing me away. This wind was coming down from the mountains to greet us, so I took out my jaw harp and played a song to return the greeting. You could jump and be pushed back a couple of centimeters. Back home there is a word for this type of wind: Chinook. I laughed with joy when I realized that this was the Sierra Chinook!

at dawn

The next source of water was a slow tap next to a bridge where everyone settled into the cowboy camp. Not me, it was 3 in the morning and I was very determined to see the sunrise and I said goodbye to everyone. After collecting water and eating something quickly, I got up to continue and gravity was fighting me hard. I walked for another hour, before I really started to lose control. I was starting to hallucinate from exhaustion and I could hear the Joshua trees laughing menacingly at me. At that moment my eye caught movement and I turned the headlight on full power at him. It was another hiker! I apologized and then made the proper introductions, his name was First Light. She was so grateful that he was there for that brief time before the sun began to rise. My pace was much faster, but I was able to see the first light of day while walking with First Light, which seemed appropriate.

Venus shines brightly over the sunrise and city lights.

When the sun rose, I began to slowly climb to the base of the mountains. My watch read almost 68 km in a total elapsed time of 22.5 hours and my mind and body were shutting down. There was a lot of climbing to get to Willow Spring Road, so I made the decision to get some sleep before continuing. I placed my mattress under a bush, curled up into a ball, and fell asleep. Five hours later I woke up and was determined to move. It was 11 a.m. and I had made arrangements to stay on a trail in Tehachapi that night. There was still 30km to go before the road, so I dug deep and started working.

The distance, the fatigue, the next climb!

The final push

The Tehachapi Mountains.

The hills were soft and green, but it was like a battle for me to climb them while the wind constantly interrupted me. There was a wonderful water and snack tank with comfortable seating and umbrellas at one stop. For a moment I felt glued to my chair, content to be lazing in the midday sun. But I couldn’t allow myself to rest for long. Finally, the trail began to descend towards the road. Thick smoke from a nearby fire filled the valley. It was foreboding and creepy. I was about 2km down the road when I met a young couple who were also hitchhiking to get to town. It was 7:20 pm, 36 hours since I started my challenge, and although I tried to explain my situation, I think my tiredness simply did not allow for effective communication. We waited about 20 minutes before they picked us up. Once in town, I contacted my trail host who came to pick me up. They arrived in a Tesla, my first Tesla hitch. That should be on the bingo card!

At the end of the challenge, with gratitude and satisfaction!