Stretching my Trail Legs

Fear mongering at its finest

One of the biggest obstacles to maneuver isn’t something you’d first think of. Fear mongering is a huge problem in the world and an even bigger problem in the hiking community.

Thru-hiking the AT I do not recall a huge amount of mongering of fear, but the PCT… it is an infectious disease much like Covid. As soon as you hear it, exposed to it or around it, your mood changes.

The Aquaduct is no stranger to such a concept, thru hikers spread rumors of heat and dehydration.

Sitting at Hikertown, talking amongst a few hikers, we all came to the realization that it was cold enough to not walk the Aquaduct at night. We left at three pm, White claws, and four locos in hand.

No Elevation Gain Insight.

For the next thirty miles it was just flat sandy roads. We reached the first water cache around 10pm after listening to a joint playist for hours. The night was cold as well as the morning. The wind picked up and hiking some how became difficult.

At the end of the Aquaduct you begin hiking up. The kind of up that wouldn’t be described as steep. This fact in mind, one would think these miles might be crushable with ease.

The Wind had other plans

Sixty mile an hour gust, while the temperature began to drop. I had already sent my warm leggings home. After two uber chilly nights I finally rolled into Mojave, the cheaper of the two trail towns connected at the same road.

The upside to this section of trail was running into an old friend! A friend from the AT, by the name of STARBURST. An amazing human who not only picked me up from the PCT Trailhead but also picked Kitty Titty up separately. A few days later she also played a huge part in motivation, she picked up my new shoes and socks and brought them to the trail!!

New shoes are the perfect motivation! I ended up doing a 32 mile day, and the next another 30! Feeling fantastic the next morning I rolled onto the infamous Trailhead of KENNEDY MEADOWS SOUTH. Or to the party people Grumpys!

A Few Hundred Miles Ago

I made a comment, a promise of sorts. If I could make it to Kennedy Meadows, I could finish this long ass trail. I thought I’d cry, but I never did. It felt like home, welcomed by a gaggle of strangers that I had never met. The difference is these particucular strangers were hikers, and they had been through mental battles of there own.

We all belonged on this trail. I belonged on this trail. The next challenge…

The Sierra

The big bad Sierra. The section of trail everyone works you about, the part most mongered, the part I’d be starting alone.

I partied and then some and set forth into the next map of guthooks.