Friday, May 5 — day 40

PCT mile 558.51 to 572.92

We raided the free hotel breakfast and I especially focused on enjoying bottomless Orange Juice — something attractive about sweet fluids these days :).

Medic wanted to run some errands so I decided to hit the trail.  I tried hitchhiking at the main intersection in downtown Tehachapi but was not having much luck, so I started writing a text to a person who offers rides to the trail heads for a fee.  As I was typing, and therefore not thumbing, a car pulls over and the driver says “where can I take you?”.  I love this town!  His name is Martin and he’s a trail angel who drove me back to where I left — the cost?  A photo of the two of us

The hike from here was through even more Wind Turbine farms

And cow pastures.
With reminders of which way to go…

I dropped back down ooze of the mountains to Hwy 58 – this is the spot that Cheryl Strayed started her PCT hike, and sure enough, in the hiker register box is her signature 

Although… I think she hiked her PCT sections in 1995, not 1998….  

Trail Angels left oranges for us hikers and even though it was a bit sunburnt, I enjoyed it!   The next part of the hike followed the highway and I saw an interesting dried mud flat

And a bunch of great flowers

Here’s a look back at the wind farms

I also saw one of my favorites again

And a great view of where I came from.

I hiked up into this new ridge late into the afternoon and just before I arrived at my campsite I came across rattlesnake number 7 — or at least part of it…

I tried to get a response by poking it with my hiking poles, but it seems he/she was so preoccupied with being in the hole it did not care. Later I went back and found no trace of the snake.

I camped on top of the windy ridge in an area sheltered by some trees — they did a good job because it was windy tonight!

Thanks for reading!