Midnight Lunch and Other Matters of the Mojave

This trail is blessed by a marvelous array of Trail Angels. People who go out of their way to aid encourage and support the hikers. There was Marlene who served Orange floats to us through an arid section several hundred miles back. Christine who helped me get into new shoes at the kick off gathering. And many others who opened their homes and shared food and showers and laundry. A recent stretch put us in the home of the Saufleys; a couple whose home and property had been converted into an incredibly efficient complex to provide our filthy, weary hordes with all we needed and more.

Twenty -four miles later were the Andersons. A group of us hiked into the road and within 15 minutes as if by and acute, extrasensory understanding of our patterns, Terrie Anderson appeared in a minivan. She wrapped each of us in a heartfelt hug and ushered us into the vehicle and then her home. Upon arrival we were taken on a guided tour of the property and informed that there was a 2 day minimum stay. We pitched our tents in the “Magical Manzanita Grove “and were fed at each meal.

The next day it rained so we holed up in their living room with at least 12 other hikers and 4 dogs and watched movies. The next day the rest of my group had rolled out, but I stayed to journal and relax. That evening Terrie drove me back out to the trailhead and by 4:30 I was back to it. I hiked 14 miles and bore witness to the rising of a full, blood orange moon. She was mighty and cast shadows as heavy as one might expect under a mid-day sun.

Knowing that I was half a day behind my cohorts, I pushed a 28 mile day onto the edge of the Mojave. At yet another hiker complex, Hikertown, I found Frog and Rif-Raf. Two of Frog’s friends were visiting and we had supper at a little restaurant some miles away. We three spent the next day hiding from the heat and gearing up on naps for what was ahead.

At 6:30 that afternoon we headed out along and aqueduct which supplied L.A. with a portion of its water needs. Form there a dirt road led us into the heart of the flat arid land. A spectacular sunset burnt the clouds into all shades of wonder before clearing the skies for the cool of the night. An hour of headlamp hiking gave way to yet another striking moonrise. As she climbed into the heavens, casting enough light that we didn’t need our own, we began to gain a bit of elevation. At midnight we stopped and ate our lunches, watching the broad and mighty heavens overbear the spot of light pollution from a town some 20 miles off.

Around 2 AM we found a spot near water and slept until 5. Again we awoke and trudged on, up toward the mountains. The only impulsion to keep moving was the knowledge that sleep could be had ahead. We navigated the foothills and finally dropped into Tyler Horse Canyon, with a running stream and a few trees for shade. There we ate and slept through the hot part of the day. By four we were moving again and quickly encountered the most daunting climb yet, 3000 feet of absolutely exposed mountainside. I charged up that beast and 3 rises and 2 hours later I sat amidst the charred trunks of once burnt trees with green vegetation and millions of tiny purple flowers around my feet, a staggering display of the resilience of natural life. The boys caught up and we headed in and out of trees and exposed burn area.

Again, as always, the sun sank behind the mountains. First casting hues of blue and purple and then drawing a crisp silhouette of black mountain ridge against graying sky. We hiked on until the trees gave way to open windy hills. In the darkness, the hum of wind turbines reached our ears. We came to walk at the feet of these monolithic testaments to human ingenuity. Their massive blades chopped the starry sky and hummed a solemn hymn. That night we slept under a giant, hollow metal tube so as to hide from the wind. Looking back we realized we had hiked some 40 miles in 28 hours.

Early the next morning, we were up and moving through thousands more of the turbines. In the middle of a field I found a bag of oranges someone had left for us and I happily gobbled down the vitamin C and easy energy. By that afternoon we had made it into the town of Tehachapi for a quick in and out resupply… and a visit to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. A local trail angel found us at the grocery store and offered us a ride back out, we gladly accepted and so began the next leg of this grand adventure.