Day 40-45: Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows

Mile 566.5-700.4

NOTE: I could not upload any photos due to poor WiFi connection. I will add them when I make my next stop.

All that was left was one big push and I would be out of the desert. It wouldn’t be easy, and putting 6 days of food and over 4 liters of water on my back for the initial climb out of Tehachapi was a friendly reminder of that. While I was weighed down, I was able to climb up without any major issues, and made 21 miles my first day out. The scenery was also better than expected, which was a plus.

The second day was a bit tougher, with even better scenery. The trail climbed up a ridge and into a forested valley, a nice change of pace from walking on the side of a mountain.

I knew things would get tough, and they did on the third day. The trail dropped down from the forest into one of the driest desert areas of the entire trail. Not only was water scarce, but everything was Sandy. Everything. About 4 miles before camp, I made the toughest climb of the day. It wasn’t long but it felt like I was walking up an excessively steep beach for the whole thing. 2 steps forward, one backwards. By the time I got to camp, I was exhausted. Day 3 stepped things up in a big way, and I still had the majority of my miles to make on the back half of the push.

Day 4 started with a climb out of Bird Spring Pass and into less harsh terrain. It was actually super cruisy until the big descent into Walker Pass, and just like that I had done 20 miles. To make things even better, a hiker’s brother was making burgers at walker pass campground. I got one and it seemed to propel me straight up for my last 5 miles of the day. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve felt better on a climb for the entire trail. As far as 25 mile days go, they don’t come much easier than that.

I wanted to make 25 again the next day, and this time the miles wouldn’t come as easy. It started out with a beautiful climb near Owen’s Peak, followed by a descent and 2 more climbs for the day. The second climb was pretty hot and sucked a lot of energy out of me. With 7 miles to go, I was definitely running on near empty. A break and food helped a bit, but the last push downhill was tough. I did make it though, and there was just one more day to go to Kennedy Meadows, the end of the desert section.

The last day was 20 miles and not too difficult. There was a long climb to start the day, but it was very gradual and not too much effort. At the top was a lovely view of the Sierra. Things felt like they were changing, and I cruised the rest of the day into Kennedy Meadows.

The next section of trail through the Sierra Nevada range is supposed to be one of the hardest but most spectacular sections of trail. I’ve been looking forward to this since the beginning and now I’m finally here. It was a brutal 700 miles, but I’m glad to be done and keep pushing on.