5/21/20 mile 653, elevation 5,700 ft.
My bowels say get up before sunrise, again. Luckily for me, there’s an outhouse here that isn’t terribly crowning like other non-maintained facilities during the virus. Sure, I have my own TP and wipes, duh.
Once back at my tent and starting to make coffee and oatmeal (remember, water is right HERE?!), I hear footsteps on dirt. What!? Another hiker? I can’t get out of my tent fast enough. And while it’s not someone I recognize, it’s a homo sapien, so off I go running. Her name is Censored, she completed the trail ten years ago and is out seeing sections again, trading off with her husband in the van. I probably come off much like Tom Hank’s character in Cast Away (thank you Jackie for the visual), but she’s calm and collected. We exchange pleasantries for a bit as she collects water and gets ready to head out. No, she hasn’t seen any other hikers in a couple of days, either. Where the f*** is Safety and Gunner? Since I have time on my side, I take my time taking down camp and heading the 6-ish miles to Walker Pass. The bus to Isabella doesn’t arrive until tomorrow morning (for my resupply), so what’s the hurry?
A town stop is ahead, hurry you say? Shit yes. Let’s make miles. It’s flat, my pack is light of food, and the water carry is short and mostly downhill, and it’s morning. Oh boy do I have this. The short walk down the OHV trail is only slightly painful compared to the mile of it yesterday, but the PCT soon leaves it and is pack to a hiking-only trail. Downshift, gas-on, let’s go.
Even without music (mornings are my best times without outside influence), I’m flying. I see multiple fresh footprints in front of me, and I start to chase them down. A flicker of movement in front of me gets me thinking I caught Censored. But no, I recognize that gait, backpack and baseball cap. It’s Safety! How in the hell did I pass him without knowing, and how in the hell did he pass me back likewise? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!? Well let’s have some fun. It’s a slight uphill with twists and turns and plenty of opportunities for me to gain without being seen (thank Dog again this ain’t the desert!). When I get closer, I stow my poles so the clicking noise doesn’t give me away; I start to take steps carefully, not scuffing or kicking rocks, and yet I still gain. I get close enough to see he isn’t wearing earbuds, so I must be cautious. Once within 30-feet, I strike. I accelerate into a sprint, pounding my feet into the dust and making grunting noises as I gain on him. Right before I can grab his backpack and really get him, he jumps sideways and turns. The look on his face is priceless….the howls of laughter out of me are too. After some curse words and other cursory how-do-dee-do’s, we catch up on the last 5 days. He had never passed me after the rain/snow night until I stayed at the cabin area which he bypassed. He camped at the same spot where I rested yesterday afternoon. This trail is so funny how you can be within someone for 5 miles for days on end and never see them….
We both needed to get to town for resupply, and we both planned on camping at Walker Pass, so off we went. Once at the campground, which is still 1.8 miles from the true road crossing, I get a look at what an exposed and hot place it is in this weather. It’s just after 1pm, and if I wait for the bus which stops at the pass, I have many hours of sitting in this sun….with plenty of food and a spring nearby. But it’s obvious I have more time than beer and burgers on my hands, so off I go to the pass to try my luck with throwing my thumb to the wind. Safety joins me since his package is supposed to be ready to pick up in Lake Isabella.
After 45 minutes, it ain’t looking good. The traffic has dropped off, and most of the remainder is trucks and RV’s. As I’m on the phone with a trail angel in Ridgecrest (way out of her way, BTW), Safety snags a car and convinces them to include me on the westward journey. Turns out they’re on their way Kernville, my preferred resupply anyways. Woo hoo! 30-ish minutes later, we’re kicking Safety out of the car he snagged for us to fend for himself for the rest of his journey to the west as I continue with these angels all the way to my promised land….Kern River Brewing Company.
The ‘downtown’ area is booming with people all out-and-about. This is sheltering in place? After many thanks and wishes of luck, me and the angels separate as I navigate to the brewery. I can get lunch, shop for my resupply across the street, and if I’m lucky, snag a ride back to the trail. Or, stay the night and catch the o’dark-thirty bus out of Kernville in the morning. What could go right?
I don my face covering (buff), wash and sanitize my hands, then enter the restaurant. I was here last after the Kings of the West motorcycle rally under very different circumstances. Now, I just wanted food and maybe a beer to go. After standing there for a while with my backpack still on, a staff member lets me know that I can just have a seat and they’d come serve me. Excuse me? Yes, we’re back open!
Turns out that Kern County just reopened today and restaurants can serve customers inhouse! This is such a pleasant surprise. I order a burger and beer and end up talking with a couple of the other customers. Long story short, instead of having to find a hotel or camp spot in town tonight and an early bus ride in the morning, I get a ride back to the trail, and they even wait for me to go to the store to buy food for the next 50-ish miles. Steve is waiting for me in the parking lot outside of the store, and 35 minutes later I’m at the Walker Pass Campground. Thank you, Steve!
Once there, Safety fills me in on his resupply adventure to Lake Isabella and I also meet a new-to-me hiker named Rockin’ and her husband. They’re from Tehachapi and they’re revisting the trail they did back in 2009. After a long evening chit-chatting, I ‘m still amped up so I end up doing some night hiking to get rid of a couple of miles.
What a whirlwind resupply!
Savior out.