Tehachapi – Acton – Day 135 – Mon Nov 6th

Day 135 Mon Nov 6th
Pylon just b4 Green Valley fire station – Agua Dulce – Porch outside Mexican restaurant
2176.5 – 2200.8
Approx. 3409 ft ascent 4222 ft descent
25 Miles

Fortunately we didn’t get run down by a redneck last night in our sleep. It was a little noisy with the road noise from below, but we all slept comfortably underneath the pylon. 

We have just under 25 miles to do today but our plan is to try and get a quick bite to eat in Great Valley.  If we can get a quick hitch in and out we’ll do it.  If not, we need to push on as we have miles to bust.  The sun pokes its nose over the horizon around 07:30 and its already hot.

Similar to the night at the Oasis we wake up and its warm.  Smiles said that he had heard there has been a heat wave, but we are all questioning whether we can send some warmer gear ahead. 

Although as we go further south we climb into some higher mountains, so it’s a gamble whether we do this now or whether we just grin and bear it and carry the extra weight.  At least if we stay as we are we will have all bases covered if the temperatures do drop.

We walk down to the highway and managed to get a ride down to Green Valley market where we grab sweet Cappuccinos, Burritos and Jimmy Dean breakfast rolls. 

The hitch back to the trail is pretty easy and we stop at a fire station to fill up our water bottles before heading back to the trail.
On our way back we see Slide crossing the highway.  He had opted to stay back at Hiker town but this guy is fast and with 1 less day on trial he had already caught us up.  Slide is on the cusp of completing his Triple crown, which is the completion of all 3 long distance US hikes, so he means business. 

Our plan is to try and get to Agua Dulce tonight which is another 24 miles away. 

It’s hot and exposed as we weave our way around the mountains along a sandy trial.  My ankle is really starting to bark at me. 

We stop for lunch just before a series of power lines, sheltered by waist height manzanita bushes.  The noise of the wind against the pylons sounds almost like a steam train. However, this completely misses us and we are completely insulated as we sit and eat in the sun.  

As we get back on trail after lunch we pass a couple of “interesting” young day hikers who clearly seemed like they were on something.  With glitter on there faces they were both acting very strange and were desperate to find the next water source.
We told them that there were a couple of water sources and watched them dance off down the trail.  Very strange indeed…  God only knows what they’ve been taking

I am getting a little concerned that both my old knee injury and my right foot issues aren’t going away.  My knee is fine when I am hiking, but when I’m standing still or just moving on the spot, it really seems to be starting to twinge.  The pain in my foot also seems constant at the moment. 

The switching camber of the trail where it slopes in from left to right seems to affect my knee and ankle in different ways. 1 condition seems better for my knee and worse for my ankle and vice versa. 

Sarah’s metatarsal pain and Taylor bunion issues are also real concern now and she is worried she will have permanent issues when she gets back home. 

In a nutshell both of us are now suffering.  It also seems we never really get a proper rest when we hit the trail towns every 5 days or so.  We need to sit down and hatch a more realistic plan moving forward. With the aim to give us more chill time in the remaining towns, which will hopefully be enough to see us to the end of the trail. 

We have one final climb up to Piped Bear Spring before we start dropping down towards Agua Dulce.
When we get to the top the sun is setting and the sky orange + it’s incredibly windy.  This is short lived and we are soon walking down through a network of switchbacks through grassy meadows.

Far Out shows there are a number of restaurants in Agua Dulce that close at 9:00 so we made sure we put some hustle in our bustle to get there in time.

The last part of the hike to Agua Dulce involved a road walk underneath powerlines that buzzed aggressively like a swarm of wasps in a glass jar. 

We were then walking along busy roads that seemed a million miles away from the trail
Hand on heart I wasn’t inspired…
We arrived outside the Mexican restaurant to find Slide lying in his sleeping bag under the porch.  He had got there a couple of hours before and was calling the porch home for the night, whilst letting his food go down.   

Smiles Sarah and I went inside the Mexican restaurant just in the nick of time grabbing an assortment of Mexican food and a couple of beers. 

The beers were served in ice cold frozen glasses and were very strong + hit the spot and helped wash down our dinner. 

Today we were been blessed with a number of town stops and to be honest I wasn’t that hungry when we arrived in Agua Dulce. 

I opted for a “Big Donkey” Burrito with salad and guacamole which was far too much food for me to deal with.  Sarah ordered Quesadilla with Fajita chicken, which were a better option. 

Smiles and I went to a liquor store to pick up a couple of cans.  The guy serving let us in even despite the store being closed.  He told Smiles that he only let us in because of my English accent. 

After eating our dinner, we joined Slide on the porch and set out our air pads and sleeping bags for the night like homeless bums.  I made the cardinal error in puncturing my air pad after being a little heavy handed with the valve.  This was a huge schoolboy mistake and resulted in me sleeping on a thin foam pad on the concrete floor all night, instead of my comfortable air mattress.