Rattlesnakes, trail names and birthday cake

Three days full of heat, fatigue and unexpected joy. We fight for burning sand, heavy packages and even snakes, but the views of the snow cover, a relaxed camp day and a birthday full of paths of trails compensate for everything. We cross the milestone of 1000 km, obtain our names of trails and celebrate with pizza, donuts and lyophilized ice cream. The desert is slowly saying goodbye, and the mountains are calling.

Day 46 – In the heat, outside the forest

We had a beautiful cowboy night camping under the stars. Unfortunately, the late arrival at the camp combined with an alarm of the 5 am did not give our bodies a break. But another hot day is expected, so there is no time to lose: autopilot, ignition and outside and leave.

The morning air is still fresh while we walk through a beautiful pine forest. Well … most of us walk. Suddenly I stumbled upon a rock and fell like a pine cone. Fortunately, the forest floor was soft, but I had to remove my backpack just to get up again.

After breakfast, we keep moving. The path flies, a little too fast. We extract the turn from water by half a mile, so we abandon our packages and walk with only our bladder. Timo and Lea are finishing breakfast when we get there. We fill and filter the water in our packages. It is a strange sensation to return to a place that already feels familiar. Déjà vu … five minutes ago.

We plan to walk 12 miles until the next water cache, but thanks to a «shortcut», it becomes almost 14. When the forest ends, the sun hit us again with all its strength. However, the land is quite friendly, so we maintain a strong rhythm. And then, it happens.

Rattlesnake! I screw myself. I usually look for snakes in sunny places, but this guy hid in the shade under a rock, and was huge. Patrik gives him a broad liter and we continue with greater caution.

The water cache is full of hikers, but there is no shadow. Each one takes 5 liters and we walk to find a quiet lunch place. We end up under a lonely Joshua tree.

Today, we are not only suffering in the heat, our team is too. One of my socks has a hole in the background, and I find another one in my Polaina. I will sew the Polaina, but the socks are ready. But then a great moment: we pass the mark of 1000 km! Such an incredible feeling.

The last stretch of the day is dry. Our mouths are dry, but we cannot afford to drink more than we have rationed. We would easily drink if we could. One last break and for five, we arrive at our camp, at least a little before yesterday. We configure the error network and have dinner with two Swiss hikers. We are absolutely exhausted.

Day 47 – Rest mode: activated

The night was warm and our plan for the day is even better: a shorter walk to finally rest a little. We only have 16 miles ahead of us, then directly to the camp!

As usual, we packed and left before six. The desert seems to want an adequate farewell: the soft sand makes each step a job, such as dragging a backpack loaded through a sand box.

It is 6.5 miles to the water cache and our planned breakfast stop. I don’t think I walked so far with an empty stomach. The cache is composed of dozens of large barrels that someone has to fill regularly, a really surprising job. We took 5 liters again and heading to an steep climb. Heat and heavy water make it hard.

But then: Sierra’s views. Snow covered peaks: our hearts jump. In just a few days, we will be there. Around noon, we find shadow for lunch. Timo and Lea are behind us, but send us a message from Garmin: they are a little behind and we will meet again in the camp, which is now only 4 miles away.

At 3:15 pm, we are there. Pure said. We threw ourselves to the ground, stretch and finally give our bodies a break. Soon, Swiss hikers arrive, and then the dough and Veary join the relaxation party. We talk, we relax, and for the first time in a long time, it really seems that we rest.

We set up the insect network, cook dinner and call it one night. With luck, this time we will recover a bit: the mountains is waiting.

Day 48 – Birthday magic and trail names

Finally we sleep, and it’s not any day, it’s my 26th birthday! Patrik wakes me up at five, and while I go to my morning hole, I have no idea what awaits me.

When I return, surprise! Read and Timo got birthday candles. They have been taking them from Tehachapi. I can’t believe it, such a reflective gift! We celebrate with a path in the path of the path and then reach the road. We have 12 miles for Walker Pass, where we will try to hook ourselves to Ridgecrest.

After less than 4 miles, we arrived at the water and took a break for breakfast. And it becomes even better: the names of the paths! Read and Timo become creative: now we are chickens (due to our striking shorts), and Patrik is waiting, because it always seems ready and waiting. Timo becomes AS, to take to the game cards that he has never used. Lea officially accepts his name Darksky, which Veary had suggested before.

We eat and break a special birthday gift: an lyophilized ice cream sandwich that I have been keeping. The path is easy today, mainly flat, then gently downhill. Around ten o’clock we eat with mass and Veary, and at noon we are on the road.

And then, the magic of trails! The father of a Funkcion group hiker brought pizza, donuts, coffee and milk. Everyone shares, and even sing to me «happy birthday.» I am honestly crying.

We could stay forever, but it’s time to replenish. An angel of trails appears and drives us to Ridgecrest. First stop: Walmart. Buying three days of food in a mass store gets out of control quickly, and Patrik even gets me a birthday cake!

Let’s replace our refueling directly from the cart to Ziplocks, classy as always. We organize a return trip for the way through a Facebook group, then we kill some time in Starbucks. Read and Timo treat us to have coffee and a matcha, and eat the cake with spoons as true hikers.

With a remaining hour before our trip, we sneak into a hamburger and this time we treat the Swiss. We give the rest of the cake two types of Hong Kong that we know and accumulate in a car back to continue with two other hikers. We campaign just close to the road.

At night, we reflect: we are full, overwhelmed by social energy and, sincerely, exhausted. But it was a perfect birthday along the way, one that I will never forget.