Horizon caught up with Merkel and me in Tehachapi, but our reunion was short lived because they decided to spend the next day in town while I had to move on in order to meet Jacob in a few days.
I got a ride back to the trail from another hiker who was just driving people around for a few days. He picked me up at 4:45 am and I was hiking by 5. There was a lo g uphill section that I wanted to get done before it got too hot. Also, there was no reliable water for 36 miles so I was carrying 6 liters of water. My pack was the heaviest it had ever been.
I met up with another hiker, named Willow, and we walked together for most of the day. The landscape wasn’t the prettiest, but there were a few surprises, including a small forest.
And mushrooms growing out of trees.
Sunrises and sunsets are always pretty, like this one.
That day I hiked 36 miles, my longest day on the trail yet! By the time I got to the spring and camp, I was exhausted but proud of my accomplishment. Dinner has rarely tasted so good.
The next day I hiked 30 miles.
Much of the area looks like this:
I don’t have much to say about these days because they were mostly long and boring and I was getting tires of the desert.
On the third day I hiked 20 miles and got to Walker Pass in mid-afternoon. Willow was there, getting picked up by his grandma and uncle and they shared some fresh fruit and cold water with me. It was great.