Ridgecrest – Tehachapi – Day 128 – Mon Oct 30th

Day 128 Mon Oct 30th
Landers spring campground – Tent site 3 near wind turbines
2045 -2067.7
Approx. 3009 Ft ascent 4518 ft descent
22.8 Miles

We knew it was going to be cold last night when we arrived but we didn’t anticipate just how cold it would get!  We woke up to a lining of thick frost on the inside of our tent

Under the light of our head torches it sparkled and was magical to look up at, despite being very cold.

The frost pattern above Sarah’s head almost look like a skull where you could see the eye sockets and the shape the head formed by the water vapor.
We looked at one another not wanting to get out of our warm sleeping bag. Needless to say getting up today was a real challenge!

Luckily last night both slept in all our hiking clothes, which sounds pretty gross, but at least we didn’t have to put on freezing cold gear in the morning.

Whereas normally we switch out of our stinky hiking clothes and put on a fresh set of night time thermals for the evening

We learnt a few valuable lessons this morning:

Even though he kept a water bottles inside the tent vestibule door they were frozen solid and Sarah had to use a tent peg to break through the ice so that we could fill our cook pot.

The water filter had been kept inside the tent inside an insulated bag, but this too was showing signs that it was frozen.

Our gas can had been stored in Sarah’s rucksack and seemed unwilling to start.  I think it got too cold which affected the pressure inside the can.  Our lighter also didn’t work.

Finally the bear line I had hung last night had become knotted and tangled. With my useless numb hands, it took a lot of work to sort it out before we could lower the suspended trash bag from the trees above.

In the future I think we’re going to have to be more mindful about keeping all of the above warm.

We also discussed cooking our dinner whilst the sun is still out to avoid any potential risk of the stove not working.

I’m not going to lie both of us suffered this morning with our hands and feet.  Although the rest of our body whereas warmers toast.

On leaving the camp we noted a sign on the pit toilet door saying not to handle some of the rodent wildlife around here due to plague being an issue.

We then filled up our water bottles from the spring which was fed from a large metal collector tank.

The water flowed freely into a large trough which was intended for livestock.  There was a sign saying the water had not been tested and we should boil for 5 minutes.

Obviously our water filters take out most of the nasties, but these weren’t working properly as well as the stove.  And any chance of boiling water was simply not possible!

It’s amazing the contrast in temperature out here.  The start of the day being so cold and how it warms up so quickly.  So at least our pain was relatively short-lived.

Around 10 am we decided to strip back all our layers as we had been wearing pretty much all our clothes.

We stopped and tested the stove and we’re able to boil up some water for hot drinks and a breakfast skillet that’d be knocking around in our packs for too long.

Even here in a sunny spot it was so cold that the water we had collected earlier started to freeze in the bottle.  Making us both concerned for the safety of the water filter.

Outside of the shady spots the sun at this time is hot enough to burn your face and it makes regulating your temperature really tricky.  As soon as you drop into the shade it’s once again freezing cold with ice forming in the creeks and puddles

We’ve been hoping for a quick efficient start to the race today, but unfortunately it looks like we have a few obstacles stacking up against us.  Unless you get a good start then your progress and miles can really be compromised.

We filled up with water at Robin Bird Spring which consisted of a metal pipe and an old bathtub that had seen better days.

The next water source is 20 miles away a Golden Spring Pipe.

Although this sun is shining the bugs are pretty bad today they seem to love these kind of conditions in amongst the oak trees. Maybe they offer a little bit more shelter from the wind?

Head nets are required as currently they’re swarming around us in numbers.

Whilst waiting for Sarah to find her bug net buried deep inside her pack, I stumble across a huge pile of scat on the trail.  It looks like he contains a lot of deer hair and my money is on either a mountain lion or a wolf.

We spend the next couple of hours walking along a private road which has strictly private property signs all over it, yet it’s still part of the PCT?

This is then followed by a ridge walk a long Weldon Peak

The ridge is covered in grassy pasture suitable for grazing cattle and there’s evidence the cattle have been here.

The last part of our day took us closer to the wind turbines and looking back across the mountains we could see where we’d started out today.

I found it quite relaxing watching these majestic turbines spinning in unison.  It was almost like some kind of synchronised swimming event.

As the sun started to set we realised that we would have to hike into the night to make our miles and as we did red lights flashed on the turbines letting everyone know they were there.

I joked to Sarah that if we were to wake up next one of these in the middle of the night it might appear like some kind of alien invasion

Far Out had highlighted a couple of campsites close to the turbines but on inspection they were either on uneven ground or exposed to the wind.  Obviously these huge turbines have been positioned according to the windiest parts of the mountain.

We hiked on a further 3 miles to a more sheltered looking campsite which hosted approximately 10 to 20 campsites in amongst the trees.

The trail contoured rounded the mountains and on one of the last corners just before the campsite

we can make out a pair of eyes looking back at us.  My first suspicions was that it was a bear.

As we approached the trail twisted round and helped hide us from the animal. Also the sound of the wind turbines spinning may have also helped disguise our approach.

I jumped over a dry creek bed to where I thought the animal had been standing.  Then suddenly I saw the eyes again and it quickly ran left away from the trail and into some thick bushes.

I followed its pair of eyes when my head torch and saw it jump over a log and with one last look at me it was gone.  Finally, I had seen a mountain lion after all these miles.

It was Beige in colour and had a long tail and couldn’t have been anything else. It wasn’t as big as I had expected, but I wasn’t complaining and perhaps it was a yearling or a young adult.
Unfortunately Sarah was standing behind me so she didn’t get a full view of the beast, although she saw his eyes shining back under the light of a head torch.

We both banged our sticks together to make sure we made enough noise to scare it away.

Sarah picked up a stone and limply threw it into the bushes to show she meant business.  Although I think her throwing skills possibly need a little bit of work!

Buzzing we hiked on towards the campsite, which wasn’t too far away from the sighting in amongst the trees with the windmills spinning and whirring in the background.

We found a nice sheltered spot, although there was still a reasonable amount of air flow which we thought would help prevent the buildup or any condensation.

As we prepared our rice and beans and pulled pork dinner we made sure we regularly checked our surroundings in case the lion had decided to return thankfully there were no further sightings.