Walker Pass - bye bye PCT - for now...

Day 42: Saturday 10/17/2015, last few miles to Walker pass, PCT mile 651

The sun lit up the clouds as a nice visual present on my last morning on the PCT. 

It's funny that even though everything here is so dry that there is no puddle to be found anywhere my tent was wet from condensation more than on any day on this trip. The air was still full clouds. 

I slowly hiked the last few miles to the pass. It wouldn't be before 1 pm that Susi would reach the pass so there was no reason to rush. 

I waited at the trailhead a while for the car until Susi appeared from a direction I didn't expect. I didn't realize that the Walker pass campground on the other side of the road is a mile east of the pass and that's where she had expected me. Anyway we were happy to see each other. 

One last picture on the trail. 

We celebrated at the Kernville brewing company. 

Trailhead 

Fox Mill Creek to Almost at Walker Pass

Day 41, Friday 10/16/2015, Fox Mill creek PCT mile 683 to some ridge near Walker pass mile 659, distance 24 miles

More thunder, lightning, and rain in the morning. Still no puddles on the ground, any water is absorbed immediately. Ike was done before me but he waited so that we could hike together for a while. 

I enjoyed hiking and talking with Ike. It was nice that he was slowing down for me. We had rain several times over the course of the day and the sky often looked dramatic. 

At some point we were right in the clouds. 

After about 12 miles we said goodbye because Ike wanted to be at Walker pass early in the morning whereas I only needed to be there by noon at the earliest. 

The vegetation gave some more hints that we are reaching the desert, besides the cacti I saw the first Joshua trees. 

As it got closer to the evening the trail was winding along a rather steep slope for quite a while. I was getting worried that I wouldn't be able to reach a suitable campsite before dusk. Luckily just as I was really concerned there was a little ridge with a flat spot. I can overlook the whole area to the east for many miles and may have a nice sunrise tomorrow morning if the weather permits. 

So my last night alone on the PCT is a little similar to my first south of Echo Summit where I also camped on a ridge with a awesome view. 

As I was eating my dinner looking into the lights of the town of Ridgecrest below I thought that I may even have cell reception- and voila, I was able to call Susi to finalize where and when we meet tomorrow. 

Trailhead 

Kennedy Meadows to Fox Mill

Day 40: Thursday 10/15/2015, Kennedy Meadows Campground PCT mile 704 to KM store to Fox Mill mile 683, distance 22 miles

I woke up at around 3 am to thunder and lightning. At first a few miles away it grew louder and came closer until it was pretty much above me with the thunder less than a second after the flash and so loud that I could feel it in the ground. Rain was pouring also. 

By 7 am I got up, the thunderstorm was gone and the rain had stopped. Even though it had been raining heavily there was not a single puddle to be found. The dry sandy ground had absorbed all water.  The next place where I found water was a spring almost 20 miles away. But I'm jumping ahead. 

My first destination was the Kennedy meadows store. My resupply was waiting there and I would be able to send home my bear can and cold weather clothes. It was two miles south and then about half a mile into the little town. Dark clouds were still looming overhead. 

I arrived at the store early and was worried that it might be still closed but the owner was there, super helpful and I got my resupply right away. We talked a little and he told me that this year there were about 100 PCT hikers from Germany probably in part due to the PCT documentary which was shown in one of the major channels. 

After the shower I felt refreshed. I didn't do laundry as I had planned because there was no dryer and with a high chance of more rain for the next few days I didn't want to get stuck with all wet clothes. Because I was so early the was no kitchen yet and also too early for a beer. 

As I was close to getting ready to leave Ike, another PCT hiker, arrived. Ike is from Canada near Toronto on a SOBO through hike. We chatted a little but by 11 am I had to leave otherwise I wouldn't be able to reach the next water source 20 miles away. 

The first half mile was back along the road. 

Then the trail became very overgrown for a while. 

I noticed a PCT mile maker for the first time. I must have missed a few already. I doesn't really apply to me, because I started at mile 1111 instead of 0, so I am at a little over 400, not 700. 

The landscape was like a desert. 

There was a very long steady uphill, which felt a little like the PG&E trail in Rancho San Antonio near our home. It went up about 2000ft. 

The view from up there was great though and the rocks had interesting shapes. 

I did manage to reach my water source for today with just enough time to setup camp before it got dark. 

The water flow at the spring was a trickle, it took about 10 min to fill the 2L bucket. 

Shortly afterwards Ike arrived and setup camp nearby. He is doing his PCT hike as a fundraiser for a project in Haiti (http://www.trekforhope.ca/). 

Trailhead 

Death Canyon Creek to Kennedy Meadows Campground

Day 39, Wednesday 10/14/2015, Death Canyon Creek PCT mile 731 to Kennedy Meadows Campground mile 704, distance 27 miles

I heard a coyote houl this morning, it was the first time that I heard one on this trip. It seemed to be a lonely one and no one answered. In the foothills near where I live  we can hear them very often, but it usually is a chorus. 

I left shortly after 7 am this morning, hoping that I would get close to Kennedy Meadows. Weather forecast had a chance of rain and it was looking like it. 

The landscape continued to be very scenic. 

I found a unique PCT trail marker

And I saw a tree with the thickest bark I have ever seen:

The area around the trail became dryer yet and soon I hiked through an area which had burned not too long ago with lots of downed trees. 

Tiny flowers 

And the first cactus

There were two bridges to cross the Kern river (which was a very small creek at this time of year).

I did manage to reach the Kennedy Meadows campground, this was my longest daily distance so far on this trip. 

Yesterday I decided to end the hike at Walker pass and Susi will meet me there on Saturday. Yeah!

Tomorrow at the Kennedy Meadows store I will only need supplies for two more days and no more bear can. I will send all the extra stuff home by mail and look forward to two days with a really light pack. 

Trailhead

Chicken Spring Lake to Death Canyon Creek

Day 38, Tuesday 10/13/2015 Chicken Spring lake PCT mile 751 to Death Canyon creek mile 731, distance 20 miles

I had my breakfast in the tent with view of the lake. The lake looked pretty in the morning sun. I left at 8 am, shortly after the sun had come up over the horizon. 

I came by some unique sign post

The landscape had changed significantly from the harsh rocks near Whitney. Here everything was more round again, softer, also the color had changed from grey to a warm sand color.  Some of the rock formations and trees reminded me of the area north of Ebbetts pass. 

I went through the last sections with patches of snow. 

Even though most of the area had been covered with snow just a few days ago there was no water. Over the twenty miles I walked today I found one creek with a few small pools of stagnant water and a tiny spring near the place where I camped. Susi had sent me the water report yesterday so I carried enough water. 

Not only the rocks and trees had changed, also the smells came back, smells of sagebrush, smells of summer heat.

Tiny spring near the campsite 

Campsite for today 

I didn't meet any other hiker today. It's getting lonely. Even though the scenery is beautiful I am missing something. Let's see how it goes the next few days. I had earlier considered ending the hike at Walker pass, about 100 miles from here, because it is the first location with road access to the west side after the high Sierras. Currently this looks like a good plan. 

Trailhead 

Guitar Lake to Chicken Spring Lake

Day 37: Monday 10/12/2015, Guitar Lake back to PCT mile 766 to Chicken Spring lake mile 751, distance 20 miles

I left at 7 am just as the sun was starting to light up the first peaks in the distance. I passed by Crabtree meadows about an hour later. 

I came by a camp area near the ranger station where we had camped last time after climbing Whitney. The area has a unique outhouse sans the house. Great for watching stars :-)

The next fifteen miles or so should have been familiar to me because I hiked here three years ago. I remembered Rock creek meadow and the bizarre shaped root of the fallen tree, but some areas were as if I had been there the first time. 

Shortly after noon I reached the junction where we went to New Army pass last time. From that point on the trail was new  to me again. 

For the first time in several weeks I saw a PCT sign again. This one was welded to the post. Good idea as I had seen so many sign posts without the sign because someone thought it would make a nice souvenir without considering that the sign may have a purpose. 

The scenery was changing, the soil more sandy, everything was looking dryer. 

Soon the actual trail became quite sandy. 

I setup camp near Chicken Spring Lake, probably the last lake I will pass in a while. It is very shallow and wasn't that inviting for swim. Very pretty to look at though. 

I didn't meet any other hikers during the day. I did notice later that at least two people camped on the other side of the lake. Maybe I will meet them tomorrow. 

Trailhead