Greetings,

Internet access has been shotty to say the least, so this post is a little bit overdue I think.  Since Schmitty posted with updates until Casa de Luna in Green Valley, and he's too lazy to post today I'll be picking up where he left off.

A few days after the Anderson's we arrived in Hikertown.  None of us really knew what to expect, but we had heard various tidbits about it here and there.  It ended up being a pretty sweet spot to relax for a day and a half or so.  The place was essentially a replica western town complete with post office, general store, and sheriff's office.  There was also a common lounge area with a kitchen in another building and multiple trailers to for hikers to crash in.  We had planned to spend one night at Hikertown, but when Damsel and her dog Lucy needed a ride to the Bakersfield airport Tyler, Mike, Wannes and I jumped at the opportunity for an impromptu road trip in the borrowed Hikertown Explorer.  We made the trip, and ate at Chilli's in Bakersfield getting Wannes his first taste of their baby back ribs.  Needless to say he was impressed.  Traffic on the way back and some crazy weather blowing in kept us in Hikertown for a second night.

Hikertown

Fully rested, we were up and away by 6:00 am heading across the Mojave.  As luck would have it the weather that had been blowing in the night before had held and we walked a good half day through an overcast and extremely windy desert following the path of the LA Aqueduct for a good portion.  The sun came out after that but the wind persisted and we successfully crossed the Mojave in relative comfort as opposed to the expected triple digit temperatures.  This section was also absolutely crowded with wind turbines that to our dismay were not turning in spite of the fierce winds.

The Mojave

Five days or so from Hikertown we reached the highway and a hitch into the nearby town of Mojave.  Movave isn't much to write home about, but we relaxed a couple nights, bought food, and packed it away for carrying and to be mail ahead to Kennedy Meadows.

After leaving Mojave we walked our longest stretch between stops yet.  A solid seven days, and the final seven of the desert section of the PCT, thankfully.  A few days into this stretch we came across a few guys exploring the mountain and from what I gathered trying to talk with other people on some old sort of radios.  Regardless, they were very interested in what we were all about and six of us all scored a cold beer, Fritos, and some cookies.  A good day.

A couple days after that we had the good fortune of stumbling on some more trail magic.  At Walker Pass mile 651, a PCT veteran and trail angel named Jackalope and her son Bear-bait were at the campground serving up three meals a day, water, sodas, cold beers, and some handy PCT advice.  Again our intentions were to eat and run, but every time we were about to get motivated and leave there seemed to be another meal just cooked, or a cooler of cold beer just arrived.  We spent a full 24 hrs there, and headed out towards Kennedy Meadows very full, and very satisfied.

We are current in Kennedy Meadows mile 702.  It's a tiny town with a general store and one more trail angel.  Tom has a sweet set up here and its one of his computers that I'm posting from.  A total of 11 trailers are on the place, with tons of lounging areas, flat spots for tent pitching, and even a movie theatre with couches and seats terraced all around.  We'll likely spend another night here and head off into the High Sierras tomorrow morning.  I can confidently say that each and every member of our party has had their fill of the desert.  I personally cannot even convey with words hows happy I am to be heading into the mountains, and out of the heat.

There are some staggering climbs, beautiful vistas, and we're hopeful for some sweet wildlife viewing in our future.  Schmitty's going to post some pictures later today of some of the stuff we've seen thus far and stay tuned for the mountain scenery shots. I've still been unsuccessful in uploading any of my 300 some pictures. Should be interesting to finally see them whenever I get the chance.

I'll leave it at that for now,


 Take care all