By: Luke Baum
Week Four is almost a zero week. By the end of this week, we eventually find ourselves in Tehachapi (Mile 566.5).
Here is the journey of our “flip” from going NOBO (northbound) after 250 miles to flipping SOBO (southbound) for the remaining 316 miles of the Southern California section of the PCT.
Additionally, I didn't take any pictures on days twenty two and twenty three, but I'll still share my experience of how everything shook down! Please enjoy!
Contents:
Day Twenty Two
Day Twenty Three
Day Twenty Four
Day Twenty Five
Day Twenty Six
Day Twenty Seven
Day Twenty Eight
Day Twenty Two
We began our third zero day on trail in the comforts of our own cozy beds in a private cabin.
Once I felt awake enough, I went to the store to get some ketchup for our yummy breakfast while Jet started cooking the tater tots.
By the time I returned from the market, Hayley had formulated a new plan to bypass the snow forecasted to come to Big Bear City. On top of that, there were fire closures in the next one hundred miles, and after that, Mount Baden Powell (mile 377.9) was reported to be impassable at the time due to snow as well.
After our climb to Big Bear City over Mount San Gorgonio and through the snow on the side of that mountain, we are not too keen on snow hiking. Needing to potentially skip the fire closure (which was reported to open back up in about two weeks) and then the possibility of needing to bypass Mount Baden Powell and the San Gabriel Mountain Range on top of that made the flip north to travel southbound back to Big Bear City seem pretty appealing.
We decided our point would be the northern most point on the Southern California section: Tehachapi. It would be the easiest town to get to because of its size, and there was tell of many trail angels in the area open to helping us hikers out.
Now all we needed to do is arrange transport from Big Bear City to over 300 miles away by trail…
Hayley and I knew that we needed to reach out to our family in LA for help. Luckily, Hayley’s Tio Johnny was available to come pick us up from our Airbnb the next day! From there, it’ll be a lot easier to find a way to Tehachapi, and it’ll be something we work on for the next two days.
In the meantime, we settled into the awesome relaxation the cabin had to offer. We soaked in the jacuzzi in the back and enjoyed some Tv watching with lunch. It feels like a real vacation on these zero days!
Later, we cooked dinner and then another dinner and the. dessert followed by more dinner… needless to say… I ate A LOT. All I could do was recuperate to some good old-fashioned movie watching in the living room. I had an amazing rest and I’m ready for more, if at least I can recover from the long and hard days climbing up and down the PCT’s mountains and hills and valleys.
Excited to see Johnny tomorrow morning! Night night.
Day Twenty Three
The bed I woke up in treated me awesomely, and I feel so refreshed.
Though not too hungry from my all day feast, I enjoyed a good breakfast from the last of out groceries we purchased on the first day in Big Bear City.
I cleaned up myself and the Airbnb before Johnny picked us up around 9am! And when he arrived, he told us he had a little surprise for us waiting on Friday, two days away. He’s so kind and awesome for everything he has done for us out here! I’m so grateful for Johnny and very excited for our surprise!
On the way to LA, I slept during most of the car ride. Over an hour into the trip, I woke up and we stopped at In-n-out for a delicious lunch. I’m officially a fan!
On the way to Johnny’s, he stopped at Costco and he bought soil for his sweet garden behind his house.
It wasn’t much longer until we arrive back at his home. In some ways, it feels like we just left for Campo just a couple of days ago, and on the other hand, it feels like a lifetime, and I’m so exhausted.
Before getting too comfortable, Hayley and I still have to find our way from LA to Tehachapi. It seems the best way is the Amtrak bus, which takes us right where we need to restart the trail. We booked our Amtrak tickets to get to Tehachapi, and then I began my time of total relaxation.
In the office, Johnny and Julie have prepared a bed for me; it’s the same room I stayed in before. It’s so comfortable and houses so many souvenirs and pictures from their travels. It feels cozy and inspiring at the same time.
After a couple hours in bed, Hayley and I decided to help around the house with some weed pulling; it’s the least we can do to begin repaying Johnny for all his kindness.
Just as Hayley and I finished up with our outside task, Julie returns home from work! We all chat for a bit and share some stories of our adventures so far, and then we all pile into the car to grab some grub.
They took us to the parking lot of a high school just down the road from their house where five food truck vendors selling Mexican food are parked. I love my taco dinner from the street vendors… it was soo good. In addition, I ate churros and drank horchata, which also blew me away.
Satisfied with dinner, we came home and had a movie night with snacks. tonight we watched The Pope’s Exorcist, and I didn’t think it was all that good… but I enjoyed the time spent with Hayley and Johnny. I can’t say it enough how much I appreciate him and Julie for opening their home to us without hesitation.
I fall asleep soundlessly in my private room and cozy bed. Though I’m not on trail, hopefully this time will help me recover my strength for the next stretch of over 300 miles on the PCT coming soon. Night night
Day Twenty Four
Day twenty four is May the Forth Be With You, so as Skywalker, I see it as a holiday. On this day, we didn’t do much for the trail besides resupply for our upcoming reemergence on trail. We planned to have seven days of supplies from Tehachapi and bought all of it at the market before noon.
We got back to Johnny’s and relaxed all day until Julie got home. I watched Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Once Julie was home, we went out to a ramen shop!
The ramen was amazing! (Definitely beats the ramen we eat on trail!)
We got back home and had yet another movie night. On the screen was Renfield! This was a surprisingly VERY good gore-comedy. We all enjoyed the movie a lot.
Now time for another night in my bedroom. I’m just as cozy if not cozier than the other nights. I fall asleep happy.
Day Twenty Five
I woke up so comfortable that I became afraid that today was my last at Johnny’s. I quickly remembered that today was the day of our surprise, not the day we get back on trail. My worry grew into excitement, and I left my room to enjoy breakfast.
Afterwards, Hayley and I finish fed up our Gardening and weeding for Johnny and proceeded to chill.
Lunch was served with the news of where we were going today: the LA County Fair!!!
All I knew was that it was going to be big, and this was the first day of the fair this year. With it being Cinco de Mayo, I wasn’t sure how it would affect the turnout, but needless to say, I expected a crowd. I got showered and changed into my off-trail clothes that I flew to LA in, and we left the house.
We got there early enough (at 4:30) before the line started growing incredibly long. First entry is at 5:00.
The wait wasn’t bad, and we chatted until we entered the park. It was larger and more condensed than any other fair I had even seen. It’s like a whole city. Right away, we ordered EXPENSIVE drinks and started exploring the fair. It was a little overwhelming being around so many different people after spending weeks in the middle of nowhere, but I try to enjoy myself.
About an hour later, Julie met up with us! Now that the whole crew was here, we explored all the sections of the park.
First, we started with Food. I shared Australian battered potatoes with Johnny. They were super interesting, but very good. It had me craving something sweet and sour, though.
After that, Julie paid for us to feed the Birds! I was nervous about how dirty and gross they were, even though I had just come off trail. I was clean and that is a luxury for me. Regardless, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity or the gift I was given, so I entered the cage. They flew everywhere, it was fun, and I enjoyed it in the end. Following that, we went to the Farm section. I loved seeing all the animals. There were goats and families of pigs and chicks.
From the farm, we stumbled upon the Pig races! And they were just about to begin. We sat in the stands and cheered for the adorable pigs running around in there.
Next, we needed to find Fun ride to connect the dots of our fair trip. We both wanted one with view of LA county fair. Close the pigs races, we found one that took you up and spun you all around and even upside-down above all of the vendors and other rides. We caught that view of the fair just as the sun had set and it was so sweet. Hanging low in the sky was a full orange moon! It made the night feel magical.
We toured more sections of the fair, saw beautiful flower displays, and ordered more food.
I ate Zucchini fries and drank a soda using a coupon I collected from a booklet. Soon after, Hayley and I began to get very sleepy and we left fair at 10:30. We got out of fairgrounds parking lot at 11:45. It took us a while, but I was just happy to be able to sit down.
We got back home just before midnight, and I curled into bed ready to hit the trail the next day. Night night
Day Twenty Six
I woke up for my last day in bed… it was so nice to have it while I did, but it’s time to move on. I eat breakfast, shower, and get to packing.
Just as I was about to finish up and be ready to leave for our Amtrak bus, they call me using an automated voice to tell me that my TRIP was CANCELLED!
Not really knowing what else to do, Johnny suggests looking on the metrolink, which would take us as far as Lancaster, still a 45 minute ride to Tehachapi. We alerted our Trail Angel “Split” (a resident of Tehachapi who was going to pick us up from the bus station in Tehachapi) of our cancellation. He then offered to pick us up from Lancaster!! We went ahead and bought our tickets, got to LA union station, and took the train to Lancaster. It all seemed to work out, and it was 1/4 of the cost of our bus tickets!
On the train, we met a woman who asked about our travels. We had a conversation, and she inspired us and we inspired her. I was a really sweet moment.
After our roughly two hour train ride to Lancaster, we arrived with our Trail angel ready and waiting to pick us up from there. He’s a really nice guy who retired from Air Traffic Control and had hiked the PCT last year in 2022.
He hosted a lot of hikers in his house, let’s them use his laundry, take a shower, and even cooks dinner for everyone! There we met Susan and Silver, a Dutch woman who plants trees everywhere (pctree.org) and American man (they are very fast hikers); Cat, a woman who is also flip-flopping around the trail; and Magic Hobbit, a young German guy who carries A LOT of supplies.
I enjoy my spot on the floor sleeping on my ground pad and have a good night sleep, ready to hit the trail tomorrow.
Day Twenty Seven
I woke up on the floor at 5am. Split had breakfast going for us! We are up and got ready to go and we were back on trail by 8:00. A mile and a half into the hike however, Jet said that her ankle and foot started having pain. She decided to stay another night in Tehachapi, saying she would kick herself if this injury was the reason she had to get off trail in the future and resting fully one more night might be all she needed. We called and asked Split if we could stay another night. He said yes but that we would have to find a ride to his place because he was going on a three hour round trip journey to trail Angel for some other PCT hikers.
Hayley got on Facebook and contacted a trail Angel called Boogie. He picked us up back where we started the hike that day and even got some cool pictures of us along the way.
Boogie picked us up, took us to Subway, offered us some of his icy-hot for Jet’s foot and brought us back to Split’s! These trail angels continue to restore my faith in my fellow man.
We got back to Split’s and had the place to ourselves for a bit before he returned from his trip. After a couple hours of napping, he headed back out to pick up our housemates for the night.
We met Luca (Netherlands), Primo (Mexico), Gorgeous (Tasmania or as he put it “Good ‘Ol Tassie”), Upside-down (France), Alpha (Belgium), Parm (California), and Gorn (Ohio).
They were a group of party people, but Jet and I called dibs on the couches ever since we got back there that morning, so I knew I had a nicer place to sleep. Jet and I helped cook dinner for everyone, and we relaxed all that night, healing fully for the next day.
Day Twenty Eight
We woke up feeling really good and determined to hike out from the trailhead (Mile 565) for at least 15 miles. We knew it would be a challenge, especially after we completed our first 3 miles climbing out of Tehachapi Pass. For 8 miles, we hiked along huge Wind Turbines 8 miles. It was a beautiful, and yes, VERY windy stretch.
After our first 8 miles, we met the road junction that many people hitch from it they’re going NOBO. This was my first realization that things were going to be different for us going south, and we’ll have a noticeable and calculable difference in our hike that if we continued north. The reasoning still stands for our choice, but I know it’ll take me a while to get use to the feeling of a different hike.
At this junction, there were several trail angel signs and contacts for us PCT and it was evident that Tehachapi has lots of angels.
A little further along the trail, we encountered a shaded bench with a water cache! We enjoyed lunch there, saw several hikers traveling NOBO into Tehachapi, and then decided to hike another 5 before our dinner break. We stopped just off trail and settled into our new routine of life on trail.
After diner concluded, we packed back up, something I’ll have to get more and more use to and set back out. Along the way, we spoke to more backpackers and asked for tips on the trail ahead. This was the beginning of the exchange of information with people. This info is more reliable than the tips we’d get from other NOBO people while we were NOBO. Before, we were in the same boat, but now that we are SOBO, the tips people give us are based on real experience. This makes things more enjoyable while going SOBO and makes me forget the negatives a little bit.
It was another 3.5 miles we hiked before stopping just before the top of hill. There were a lot of flat spots and they were protected by the wind.
After today, we have 299.8 left until Rainbow Ln in Big Bear City!!!! It’s something we can visualize and it helps me feel motivated. Dividing the Southern California into two separate hikes going different ways makes the experience unique, and I really hope to see and cross paths with all of the friends we met in our first three weeks on backpacking.
I lay my head down in my tent for the first time in a week and head to sleep. Night night
Conclusion
Week four was a hard week mentally. Getting off trail for a week gave me an odd feeling, but on the day we finally got back out there, things settled back into place more. I can sense my muscle memory and feel my strength as I continue.
Counting miles and marking milestones on our way back to Big Bear has posed a bit of a challenge, but I’ll update everyone the best I can!
At the time I’m posting this, we are 78 miles from Big Bear City, and I’ve loved every step of the way! Wish me luck on the homestretch!
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