Kern County

The one with the jingle bells, potential trail magic and a few tears.

📍 Location: MM 583 to 617

🥾 I actually walked: 17.1 miles
💰 Money: No money spent
⛑️ Health: Not good. See long winded version.

🍲 Food: Breakfast bar, snacks, chicken salad and crackers (chicken salad looked like sick when I opened it!). Dehydrated lasagna.

💤 Sleep: I slept ok last night. It was quiet and the moon was bright. There was just me and Bloom in this spot so we could chat as we packed up without the fear of waking up other hikers.

THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

☕️ 6.05 am - We woke at 5am, packed up, ate breakfast and a hot coffee and then we were off! I’m hobbling this morning which is frustrating as I assumed a good nights sleep would help my tired feet. I keep stopping to stretch my Achilles, which eases the pain for a short burst.

💦 6:30 am - After a short walk we reach the water source. They have some fabulous names for their creeks, this one is called Robin Bird Spring. I chat briefly to TourGuide and Lightbird before collecting two litres of water from the spring which tops up my bottles nicely. Bloom and I are off again and we are walking at a good steady pace.

🌳 8:30 am - the scenery today is taking my mind off any pain in my body as it’s absolutely gorgeous. I shout out to Bloom “I love this trail today. The pine cones, the shaded areas, the smell of the forest. Even negotiating the blow down trees and hopping over streams is fun.

🌺 Bloom is on the ball with the sea of flowers in the forest. We have carpets of small purple and yellow flowers. I’ve no idea what they were (Bloom did tell me but I’ve completely forgotten). We can hear a hawk squawking above us but we can’t see it and little squirrels keep crossing our path. Its so peaceful here.

🪄 9:00 am - A guy overtakes us and tells us that there may be trial magic at the next water source. We are both excited and the idea of a cold can of Dr Pepper is now etched on our minds. Over the next three miles we talk enthusiastically about trail magic and how awesome it would be.

🎅 9:10 am - We hear a familiar sound coming up behind us. It sounds like Santa and his reindeers with jingle bells! I turn around to see Nick a.k.a. “Lost Property” smiling as he is walking. “You sound like Christmas” I said as he passes us. “It’s really annoying” he says. “A stone somehow got inside my trekking pole and now it jingles with every step” he explained. I thought it sounded great, but I can imagine it would get on my nerves as well after a period of time.

✍️ 9:49 am - We stop for a quick second, while we sign the trial register. Bloom selects a sticker from my collection that says “Treat people with kindness”. She smiles as she places it in a prominent section in the book. We can see that Kodak, Flamingo, Charmer, Amber & Harry just in front of us. Trail magic is calling with only a mile or so to go, so we don’t hang around for too long.

🥪 10.15am - We finally make it to the junction for the water source and turn away from the PCT. Following the dirt road towards Landers Meadow Campground we listen out for excited chatter and the infamous trail magic!

The guy who told us about the trail magic was there and simply shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry” he said apologetically. “No trail magic today”. It’s not his fault, he was just passing on info that someone had told him and he was also down heartened about it.

Feeling a bit glum I sit under a tree in the shade. Sweat is pouring from me and I need to get these shoes off my feet. As I peel my socks off and remove the dressing for my blister I am quite horrified to see what lay underneath. The blister has now spread across the back of my heel. I set to work by cleaning the area, sterilising my needle, popping the blister and draining it. I’ve no alcoholic wipes left and I know it’s important to keep clean, so I add hand sanitizer to the wound. I yelp in pain and Bloom gives me a look to say “are you ok?”. Once it’s clean and dressed with a new dressing, I then tend to another blister which has now appeared on the sole of my foot, underneath my toes. I’ve been walking on my toes to avoid putting my heel on the ground as that was hurting my Achilles. What a mess this is!!

🥾 2:00 pm - We are now only 13 miles into today’s hike and still have seven to go. The gorgeous forest is a distant memory and the desert mountains tower before us once again. With limited shaded areas and I can feel myself getting upset with each step. I’ve gone quiet and I’m not my usual happy go lucky self.

🛑 4pm - Just like Forest Gump I stop in the middle of the trail and say to Bloom “I’m calling it quits. I can no longer continue walking on this foot”. We sit down on a rock and I’m holding back the tears. For the last mile all I’ve been thinking about is what on earth am I doing? Each step is causing striking pains in my heels and my blisters are so sore. I have mashed feet at the base of my toes. A few days ago a friend sent me a text:

“Hello lovely, hope you are listening to your body, you have nothing to prove to yourself or anyone else. Don't bugger yourself up for months and months 🥰 xXx”

✅ She was spot on. Thoughts go to my immediate future. My day job is a physical one and I need my feet! I’ve walked over 600 miles through some amazing scenery and challenging terrain. What have I got to prove? The goal was set by me, so I’m only letting myself down. If I continue and bugger up my ability to walk for a few months then I’ll be letting lots of other people down. Kind people who have been running my business for me whilst I’ve been away. They deserve better.

😢 As I sit on a rock, with Bloom by my side, I feel very emotional. I text Matt & Rachel to let them know how I’m feeling. They are both super supportive. A message from Ali (a friend back home) comes in at the same time and then I’m a blubbering mess.

I pull myself together. The next water source is 1.1 miles, and it’s all downhill. I click on the tab for the detailed information.

“Kelso Valley Road is a paved road that leads twenty miles north to the town of Weldon, near Lake Isabella. It is not a viable road for hitchhiking, since it gets little traffic, but can serve as a trailhead”

Trailhead…. That means that people get dropped off and collected here.

🦶 5.25 pm - I’m now limping and it takes nearly an hour to walk the 1.1 miles. Poor Bloom is with me every step of the way. (Thanks Bloom). According to FarOut we have walked just under 16 miles today, but in my heart I know I’m done. This is where my adventure ends. Or at least my PCT hike.

It sounds dramatic, but I’m so disappointed. I’ve got 85 miles to do, I’m so close to my goal.

🚗 6.15pm - I take a selfie and post in the Trail Angels group to see if anyone is available to give me a ride to Lake Isabella (where I have a bounce box waiting for me). Within 30 mins I receive a message from a lady called Dana. I can take you to Ridgecrest if you are ok waiting for me? Ridgecrest is a bigger town and has much better hotel options so I say thank you and graciously accept. “It will take me about an hour to get to you. I’ll leave now. Can you send me your exact location please?” She asks.

😇 I look at Bloom. This kind lady is prepared to drive over an hour, into the desert mountains to collect a stranger! Bloom just looked at me and said “trail angels are just that… angels”.

🛻 After lots of messages back and forth, I sit and wait for a Silver Chevrolet Surburban vehicle (I had to Google what one looked like!). Whilst waiting, Bloom pitched her tent and then we ate dinner together. Bloom will get up early tomorrow morning and hike out. She will keep in touch so I know she is safe.

⏰ 7.30 pm - She should be here any minute now as it’s been over an hour. I wait patiently. It’s getting chilly so I put on my fleece.

👼 8.10pm - We get a text from Dana. “I’m so sorry, the road is blocked so I can’t get through. Can you make yourself safe for tonight and then I’ll come back in the morning from the other direction”. I reply quickly and tell her that I very much appreciate her help. I can’t believe she’s driven all this way (she was about 10 miles from me) and that she’s prepared to go home and then try again in the morning. What a lovely lady.

⛺️ I pitch my tent (Bloom was a darling and collected rocks for me to hold down my tent). It’s going to be windy tonight. Was this the last time I’d be sleeping in my tent?……

Thanks for listening to my rambles. It’s been one brilliant adventure so far and it’s just about to take an unexpected turn of events!

Signing out.

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