October 14

Distance: 4 miles

Lunch: J&A – Disappointment followed by KFC bucket

Dinner: J&A – cinnamon toast crunch (A)

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We knew the storm was coming. We were watching the weather like hawks. We were getting thrice daily weather forecasts through our satellite communicators. And yet, it was a lot worse than we thought possible. It’s a bit funny that the first few days in the desert section gave us the most intense rain we’ve seen all trail.

The rain came overnight. The weather front also caused the wind direction to flip, meaning the bush we were hiding behind didn’t end up providing any protection after an hour or two.

We stayed in the tent as long as possible, packing up and hiding anything that couldn’t get wet (i.e., sleeping bag, electronics, change of clothes). When we started out, the rain wasn’t that bad – for about five minutes. Then the wind blew the rain in sheets from every direction. Not more than a mile out of camp, our clothing was already getting wet under our rain gear, somehow. We should’ve waited out the storm in the tent, but our weather forecast led us to believe it would be a light and intermittent rain storm around our area, with a sunny afternoon to follow. (Later note, the whole storm system moved further south than expected, meaning we were in the midst of it all. Unfortunate, but the mountains cause air to be moved and pushed around in unexpected ways. We implicitly trusted the Garmin forecasts when we should’ve hesitantly trusted the Garmin forecasts). When we set out, we assumed our rain gear would be enough for these last few drizzly hours.

In the midst of the storm, we unceremoniously crossed 2000 miles! It was a mixed bag of emotions. We hesitated to grab photos in the rain, but the phone survived.

After a few miles, we reached a road and campground. We took cover in the covered pit toilet for a few minutes to talk about our situation and restrategize. Since we were already soaked through several layers and the temperature was expected to drop into the 20s overnight, we decided to try hailing a ride into town. Several cars passed us, cold and shivering on the side of the road. Just as we turned around to go back to the toilet, a young man driving a truck pulled over and offered us a ride. He invited us to sit in the cab (as we were dripping wet, we had offered to sit in the bed) and took us all the way to Ridgecrest rather than stopping in the closer but teeny tiny Inyokern. He dropped us off at a motel popular with hikers, waiting to make sure they had vacancy before driving off. He was one of the nicest people we have encountered out here, and we are eternally grateful.

The hotel then let us check in early! We hurriedly warmed in the dry comfort of the hotel room and planned the rest of our day. We saw the Holy Grail lunch spot: an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant a measly 10-minute walk from our hotel!

Concern started to wash over us as we got close to the restaurant. The windows were dark. In the front door, a note informed us that their last day of operation was September 27th. The tsunami of disappointment broke our hearts. A restaurant we had been dreaming about and hunting since Snoqualmie was gone.

We went to the grocery store next door, reeling from the letdown. Jason didn’t know if he could go on. His insatiable appetite was suddenly gone. But, we still got snacks and some items to restock our food supply during this unplanned off-trail pit stop. It was not a healthy set of items.

Defeated, we went back to the hotel. There was a KFC next door, another food fantasy we’ve thought about on-trail. We ordered buckets, and Jason begrudgingly pretended it was enough to cover up the soul crushing defeat of the closure of the China Lake Chinese Buffet.

Will Jason recover from this heartbreak?

Note from Alex: Please don’t worry. Jason (your usual author) will be fine. He is being a tad dramatic. There’s another all-you-can-eat chinese buffet in the next town, and I will be sure we grab a meal there.