The desert: go ahead! (Please don’t kill me)

October 7-14, 2025
Kennedy Meadows South to Tehachapi

Grumpy at Grumpy’s house

Maybe I have too high expectations for my “city days” as a resident of the South. It is true that going north there are many more services available and you don’t think twice that if you wanted you could get a warm bed after leaving the road.

I called ahead the week before to see if Grumpy Bear would still be open. They promised free camping, free laundry and showers.
After a pretty rough finish in the Sierras, I was excited to finally reach the famous southern Kennedy Meadows. Yogi was friendly and I purchased a few items, got resupplies and sent home my bear canister. She did not charge me much for these services.

Then I texted Grumpy’s and they came to pick me up, but when I arrived it wasn’t what I expected. Yes, they had a bed for me, but it was an unheated cabin, much more suitable for summer. They had a laundry room, but no dryer, so my clothes had to dry outside and were not dry at bedtime. They have a restaurant, but it closed at five because the generators turn off at that time (this also meant that my shower and laundry had to be done at five as well). The final straw was when they told me they wouldn’t be able to get me back to the trailhead until 11 or 12 the next day and that they weren’t open for breakfast. Somehow, I had missed these time changes in Farout’s comments. I hadn’t prepared myself for the lack of breakfast, although with my resupply I had enough food to not starve. But I had to hitchhike in the morning or walk 4 more miles down the road. I felt like I was driven there without good communication about what to expect and then left stranded.

In the end I spent a cold night in that bed, so upset that I could barely sleep, with my clothes damp. I ended up getting up at 4:30am and walking back to the trail and spent much of that time crying.

Mother Nature must be a little mad at me.

Sunset at Walker Pass

I thought the desert would be a little kinder to me, it’s a lower altitude so it has to be hotter, right?

Admittedly, it has been warmer compared to the Sierras, at least so far. Sometimes almost too hot. There isn’t much water and my backpack is full of excess water as I tend to carry too much. The section from Kennedy Meadows to Ridgecrest had a lot of hills too! I thought I was done with those! And the suffocating heat. At one point, while walking up a hill with sweat soaking my clothes, I thought, «I’m going to die out here. I’m going to get heat stroke and I’m going to die.» This was a little dramatic because it was probably only 80° but still…

Then there were the mosquitoes. They were horrible in places, getting into my eyes, nose and mouth. Once, one got into my eye and another simultaneously got into my nose. I ended up putting the scarf over my face to protect my mouth and nose, which made me look really silly, but it still worked pretty well. After arriving at Ridgecrest, I swore to myself that I would never hit the trail again without one of those mesh hoods. (As an aside, the person who picked me up when I was hitchhiking to Ridgecrest told me that the flies were especially bad this year because of a storm they had a week or two before).

It’s not attractive but it helped with the mosquitoes.

Then the wind started to pick up as I headed south of Walker Pass. These were the strongest winds I have ever experienced while backpacking! I had to extend my left tracking stick further and use it to hold on so I wouldn’t go off the path. I ended up walking well into the night because there wasn’t a good place to camp that was sheltered from the wind. I finally found shelter behind a Joshua tree and it was enough to be able to pitch a tent (with difficulty). I am very proud of my Durston X dome! With the help of the guy ropes I put up before setting up the tent, it caught the wind and all my ropes held and nothing broke or ripped. (For those interested, my men’s lines are «Ringworms» from Dutchwear Gear https://dutchwaregear.com/product/ringworm/)

I didn’t get much sleep because the entire tent shook all night, even the floor seemed to shake beneath me. As the wind shook the tent, I thought “at least there are no mosquitoes.”

Then, two nights later, the rain came. An early winter storm predicted between 1 and 1.5″ of rain. According to my husband, a caution alert was posted on the PCT website saying to get off trail (especially for those still in the Sierras). I thought I had found a sheltered campsite. Maybe I did it because my tent didn’t break down, but it was still windy enough for me to sleep in my hiking clothes and my rain gear on in case it collapsed. I fell asleep around 2 am and when I woke up at 5 and I looked out the door of the store and my shoes were floating! In fact, there was about 2 inches of standing water around my tent.

I rescued my shoes from floating away and lay down on my air mattress. From what I could see, the inside of my tent was damp but not wet. I was warm in my clothes and my quilt. I stayed there for another hour waiting for dawn. Once I did, I only had 6.4 miles left to Highway 58 and Tehachapi. The rain hit my face painfully and slowly seeped into the layers of my pants like a soaked diaper. I was rescued by the angel Ted (bless him) who got me a hot shower and a bed for the night. As I walked in the rain, I thought, «At least I don’t have to wear sunscreen.»

I am a glutton for punishment

After all this, you might be wondering why the hell he’s still doing this. I ask the same question myself. Lately, my response has been along the lines of “I’ve come this far and I can’t quit now.” or «This is for my personal growth» or «My old job doesn’t sound so bad now.»

Sunset before the storm comes

A big thank you to angel Sandy at Ridgecrest, who provided me with a comfortable space to stay, a warm bed, a home-cooked meal, and the respite I absolutely needed. Also Ted and Cheryl in Tehachapi. There’s nothing like a good rest to help you emotionally recover for the road. These trail angels restore my faith in the supreme goodness of people.

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