Tehachapi, CA. Mile 566

 This leg of the journey starts with a 17 mile hike along the LA Aqueduct. Some of it was open like this picture, but most is underground only recognizable by what looks like a concrete road.

 Ragnar, surprisingly, took well to the night hike through the Aqueduct. He was so happy chasing lizards and not "dying of heat exhaustion."

 We had the honor to encounter Black Swan who gave us a dazzling night juggling show. The little wonders that you encounter along the way!

If you look closely, you can see 2 hikers blocking the glow of Palmdale, CA. These two are wonderful people, So Cretes (For sure spelled wrong. I'm told it is supposed to be So Crazy in French) and Totes. The moon was so bright that we did not use our headlamps at all. We did 17 miles that night and camped at a water source.

Sunrise in a wind farm has such a mystical quality to it.

The Manzana Wind Project were excellent host to this section of the PCT. I found the information they provided on this sing very interesting.

Encountering Joshua trees in bloom and fruiting was a treat. I honestly can say I did not know how they reproduced.

After hiking 6 miles, Ragnar and I take cover from the heat of the day. Luckily he is making friends who are willing to share a blanket and soft pack. His friends are Linus and Wonder Woman.

This little guy is one of our "close calls". I feel eternally blessed to have had no incidents with snakes so far. I hope our luck holds up.

Sunset over the Mojave Desert. Yes, that is the full moon. We again hiked 17 miles from 1700 to 2330.  Rising at 0500 we hiked the last six miles to HWY 58 that will take us into Tehachapi, CA. We will rest here for a day and then night hike the last 50 miles of desert.

 I read a quote recently by Jan Majernik: The desert is the theatre of the human struggle of searching for God. I really pondered this statement for a long time and came to the conclusion that she has a point, but I'd say that "God", for me, represents the solution to ones woes. I will take time to meditate on these words through my last 50 miles. It is a bitter sweet ending to the desert.