Day 33 - Leaving Tehachipi — Walking People Out of Poverty

May 18 2018

Depart Tehachipi (Mile 558.50)

Arrive Mile 587.20

I was up early this morning as Evad was picking me up at 7 am to take me to the trailhead to resume my journey. I was staying at the Best Western Plus, and breakfast was included in the rate I had paid for my room. The food wasn’t bad, and because it was buffet style you could eat as much as you wanted. I tried to be selective and only eat food that would be high in calories and protein, and I was thankful to be one of the first people in the restaurant, as I hate having to “fight” with a lineup of people.

After breakfast I went back to my room to have one last look around to ensure I hadn’t left anything, picked up my bag and went down to the lobby to check out. Evad was right on schedule and we headed out of town for the short run up to the drop off point that Evad had delivered me to yesterday when I slack-packed the 8 miles I had scheduled. Before long I was saying farewell to Evad, and thanked him profusely for everything. He really did a great job of looking after me. There had been a lot of rumors and stories about the departure from Tehachipi, and that it was a brutal climb up from the highway into the hills. The previous day, during my 8 mile slack pack, I looked across at a mountain with a huge series of switchbacks, which I thought for sure was the vaunted climb, but as it turned it wasn’t. The beginning of my walk was exactly the opposite however, as the trail was flat and ran parallel with the highway. It must have been over a mile and a half before there was any semblance of a turn, but eventually we started to angle away from the road and that’s when the climbing began. It wasn’t long before I had stripped down to just my tee shirt and shorts, as the longer the climb went on the warmer it became. I took several photo breaks and was pleased with both the elevation I was gaining and views that were being afforded. I was really enjoying my morning, and two days away from the trail had obviously been a huge benefit, as I was feeling stronger and fitter than when I arrived in Tehachipi after my 36 miler. Finally I reached the summit and the windmills were all turning in the distance as if waving me goodbye. I found a cracking spot for lunch under a huge tree, with lots of grass to lounge in, and for a change I was in the shade! It was lovely.

The afternoon’s walk was a bit of an anti climax after my morning endeavors, and it was rather boring in comparison. The trail was along an old dirt road, and after thinking I was done with the windmills there they were, stalking me at every twist and turn. What was worse I was forced to camp by them this evening.