June 3, Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Tehachapi
Miles: 17

Adrian:
The wind was still howling this morning and the sand still blowing into everything. At 6 a.m. we packed up and hiked.

The terrain was all burned and all sand. It looked like the Kalahari Desert. We sunk into the sand with each step and the trail was eroded away in many spots. It was hot but still below average for the area...thankfully. The wind died down too, another blessing.

We reached the crest of the Tehachapi Mountains, still burned in most places and began the long descent to Tehachapi Pass and our hitch into town for resupply and rest. Hiking down past the windmill farms we experienced 60 mph winds. The hitch into town took about 20 minutes and 40 passing cars before an ex-hippie, current shopping center developer stopped and picked us up.

Turns out I have shin splints in my left leg. I grimace with each left step. Treatment is ice and rest...kinda hard to do in the desert while hiking 20-mile days. Until I can rest it properly, treatment will be arnica gel and vitamin i (ibuprofen). Wish me luck...

Kirsten:
I don't hate/dislike many things in this world.
1. Grey squirrels
2. Mean people
3. War
4. Mayo
And now ... hiking in 50 mph winds. This is perhaps one of the worst ways to spend an afternoon. The only way to make it worse is to throw in a burned out forest into the mix.

The trail towards the end of the day climbed and then traversed along a ridge located within feet the property line of wind farm. I'm guessing the trail didn't go down to the nice tree-lined canyon below because it falls within the boundaries of land owned by a cement company. This sucks.
Maybe there is no way around the issue. I still would like to meet the genius who thought it was a good idea to put the trail along the ridge of a wind farm. You know those little push toys that pop little balls around? The wind did that to me today. I really hope the proposed Tejon Ranch route will eliminate the silliness we've hiked through the past two days - burned out, eroded and windy forests. Oh yeah, let's not forget the aqueduct. Fun times.