Start: 0630 - Hikertown
End: 1830 - Tylerhorse Canyon
Miles (today): 24
Miles (cumulative): 558.5 (457.5 PCT, 89.5 alternate, 11.5 off)
Even though we slept in a legit bed last night, neither of us slept well. Perhaps it was the wind blowing open the door all night or maybe we needed more time to unwind after the high miles we put in yesterday. Regardless, we started hiking later than we wanted to (ok, later than I wanted to).
Many hikers were worried about this stretch because it's 17 miles of walking along an aqueduct in the heat and no shade to get to the next water source. Some hikers (like Special K and Star) chose to hike it at night. Others, like Dirt Squirrel and Nettles, chose to start hiking at 0300. I wanted to start hiking by 0500 at the latest but that just didn't happen.
Happily, the weather wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been and there was a good wind to keep us cool. It was still hot, mind you, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the road walks we've done. I had to admit to Nick that he was right - there was no need to modify our hiking schedule and get ourselves out of sync for this stretch.
the last water we will see for 17 miles
the aqueduct we followed most of the day - it went on forever! Our previous road walks were good training for today
an exposed section of the aqueduct
Robert from Germany was ahead of me most of the morning. Around 1000 he stopped for a snack - he found a great spot shaded by a Joshua tree - and when I walked by he asked if I'd like to join him. Of course! I enjoyed getting to know him a bit better. It turns out his trail name is Ice Cream. Remember when the three hikers ate an entire half gallon of ice cream in under 10 minutes (Day 33)? Well, apparently Robert ate an entire half gallon by himself in 20 minutes. (We walked by him when he was just starting to eat it that day.) I laughed at his name only because I found it funny that we are both named after food.
I decided I really love Joshua trees
my view for most of the day - that's Ice Cream ahead of me
Apples and Ice Cream
After the break, a man and his son riding dirt bikes stopped to chat and to tell me there was water up ahead. They were so nice - I don't think I'll ever get tired of explaining what we are attempting to do.
The water cache was a welcome site. I thought about L-Rod from Hiker Heaven and how she equated trail magic to aid stations and decided I really like the analogy. All the people who stop to chat are the crowd support cheering us on; all of the water and sometimes food we encounter are surprise aid stations to help get us through this long, slow race (it's a race to beat the snow in Washington and to ensure Nick can get back to drill in time.)
these surprise aid stations in the desert are SO AMAZING to stumble upon
I had just finished drinking the bottle of water I took from the cache when I saw Ice Cream stopped up ahead. There was ANOTHER cache of water and soda with a sign indicating food and shade was 200 feet away. Ice Cream said he wasn't sure he wanted to go because he wanted to eat the food he was carrying and make his pack lighter (something I completely understood). For my part, even though I wasn't excited to walk 200 feet off-trail, I decided to check it out - at the very least, I wanted to personally thank whoever was responsible for all the support. It was the best decision of the day!
I encountered a group of 6 trail angels and 1 hiker (Turquoise). The first thing they offered me was an apple and they said they had ice cream, too. I thought about Ice Cream and wanted to tell him to come; happily, he had ultimately decided to check it out, too. When he walked up and I told him they have ice cream he looked so happy! In addition to apples and ice cream they had mixed fruit, hard boiled eggs, chicken salad sandwiches, plenty of water, and even beer. It was fabulous! They said they take their RVs there every Memorial Weekend and enjoy helping out hikers (they like to ride dirt bikes in the area).
Nick showed up after about 20 minutes and he was very happy to drink a beer. We took a pretty long beak just hanging out in the shade and talking with the angels Bruce, Doug, Mark, Gracen, Katie, and Gail. (I think we were the last hikers to get to enjoy their aid station as they were getting ready to go back home)
Bruce, Gail, Gracen, Doug, Katie, Mark - Memorial Weekend Angels
The next part of the day was what I think of as the wind tunnel. It was really cool to walk through the wind turbine field; however, those wind turbines are there for a reason! The wind was pretty intense and it took way more effort to hike the relatively flat trail than it would have otherwise.
When we finally got to the water source (there was a spigot in the aqueduct for us to use - we treated the water, of course) I was spent. There was a bridge nearby under which many hikers who hiked at night/early morning were sleeping/napping/relaxing. Nick and I stopped there to rest for a bit but it was so windy that we weren't there long (it felt like being in a sandstorm).
many hikers slept under this bridge during the hot part of the day
It was another 7 very windy miles to the bottom of the canyon where we are camping. I thought being in a canyon would protect us from the wind, but alas, no such luck. It's pretty brutal! I hope the tent holds up!!
i must have taken this pic by accident as I was taking my phone out but I think it's neat