Tehachapi – Acton – Day 133 – Sat Nov 4th

Day 133 Sat Nov 4th
LA Aqueduct – Water tank
2132.1 – 2152.8
Approx. 4131 ft ascent 1611 ft descent
20.7 Miles

We ended up calling it a night around 11:00 last night but somehow managed to get up around 06:00.
It appeared we had camped next to a solar farm and as we packed our tent up the sun crept over the horizon warming our faces and the landscape in front of us.

As I look towards the mountains in front of me I can make out a mound of earth running in a straight line.  This has to be the famous Aqueduct + we have 6 miles of this before we reach our next destination – A place called Hiker town.

Hiker town looks like another shabby + quirky looking establishment made up of themed buildings that hikers can stay in.   

Word on the street is that you can also arrange a ride to the Nennach food market + gas station where you can grab a breakfast or burger.
Although Far out suggests that some of the food that is sold in the store maybe slightly past its sell by date.

We start hiking along the large 10 ft diameter metal pipe that forms the first part of the aqueduct.  Each section is riveted together with large metal rivets giving it a very industrial look contrasting against the lush green and yellow sage bushes. 

The rivets are annoying positioned so that you have to walk along the arced section of the pipe at 11:45 or 12:15 (if you catch my drift) 

It starts out a novel experience + certainly makes a welcome change from road walking.  Although it soon becomes tiring and we opt to walk along the dirt road that runs alongside, as it is much easier on our knees and feet. 

We pass a lot of properties either side of the aqueduct with picket fences and dogs patrolling their grounds.  They seem friendly enough, but make sure everyone in the neighbourhood knows we are hiking through. 

It’s a little like Breaking Bad around here with a lot of trailers and caravans pitched out in the shrubby looking desert.
There is some interesting history surrounding the aqueduct.  Apparently, water companies bought up all the land leading from the Sierras to LA so they could route water from the mountains to the big city. 

This robbed smaller towns like Ridgecrest, Bishop, Lone pine etc of water which is such a precious commodity out here + caused much uproar. 

Smiles told us yesterday that he had met different people in some of these towns with contrasting trains of thought.  

Some strongly opposed this movement and feel that water has been stolen from the mountains.
Others believe that it is a good thing. 

Where because the pipeline is such a vital water source for LA, authorities have put a lot of work in to manage flood controls which protects towns like Ridgecrest, Bishop, Lone pine etc. 

I can see both sides of the argument and with all the issues with global warming I can see this kind of scenario becoming more common in the future. 

Smiles even told us they’ve even made a film about this could Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson. It’s an old film but it sounds like it’s definitely worth the watch.

We arrived at Hiker town around mid-morning.  It lived up to the description and there were lots of small themed buildings dotted around.  There was a saloon, a bank and other old-style America themed buildings.  It was very shabby but cool at the same time. 

Just as we arrived we were joined by another hiker trail name “Slide” He’d got up at 3am and hiked 20 miles to get here. 

We arranged for a ride to the Nennach Market.  Where we were able to resupply as well as grabbing burgers, ice creams, sodas and all the goodies that you don’t get on trial.

The 4 of us devoured anything that didn’t move.  The Chinese lady that ran the establishment was super friendly and welcoming and it was definitely a worthwhile 4-hour detour and stop. 

Finally, we left with full bellies and got back on trail around 1:30 pm and it was hot!

We have an 11-mile uphill and starting this at the hottest part of the day is not ideal.  

Sarah is more than a little anxious about going out in this heat.

The first part of the climb involved dealing with a series of exposed undulating rolling hills.
We were both relieved to leave the valley floor as the higher we go the cooler it became with a nice fresh breeze.

“Slide” had planned to stay behind at Hiker town and it looked like maybe this was a good idea to ait out the mid-day heat.  We thought Smiles had followed suit, but it wasn’t long before we saw that friendly familiar smiling face coming around the mountains.

We had been warned about a plant called “Poodle dog bush” Apparently it smells like cannabis and can cause a nasty blistering reaction with your skin if you come into close contact with it. 

There is also another plant that looks and smells a little similar called Yerba Santa, which is harmless.  At this stage we are not sure what we are looking at so are treating everything with caution. 

After spending nearly 4 hours had the food market we have to push on into the night to make the miles up.  We hiked to around 22:00 through the darkness try our very best to avoid the dreaded poodle dog bushes as we went. 

The trail felt different and was wooded sand very steep + in the darkness owls cried out to one another. 

The last 4 miles were some of the steepest trail we had seen in a long time.  The centre of the trail was also eroded where water had once passed through, which made even more difficult.  

Finally we reached a camp spot located next to a water tank + we pitched up behind some trees for the evening.
Reports on Far Out had said that there was a lizard floating in the water tank along with a lot of bugs sitting on the surface, which wasn’t the most appealing.
I think we’ll wait for the cold light of day before we investigate this water source just to see how bad it really is.

We all agree that we have done well to make up the 20 miles today + we spend a nice evening all rustling up some dinner nestled in the shelter of the tress.  Once again in the far distance the city lights help keep us all entertained.  The lights from the wind turbines or solar farms all flash blue, green and orange like some kind of computer game.