October 20 & 21

Distance: 50.2 miles | Ascent: 6020′ | Descent: 6490′

Mile marker: 2139.5

Lunch 1: J – strawberry cheesecake (A+), A – cherry cheesecake (A+)

Dinner 1: J&A – a collection of bars and trailmix (C)

Lunch 2: J – chicken casserole (A-), A – tomato pasta (B-)

Dinner 2: J&A – mac n cheese (A, A)

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We woke blissfully unaware of what today would turn into. We enjoyed our hotel room to the fullest. We stuffed ourselves at the breakfast buffet – by far the best hotel breakfast we’ve had along the trail. Alex ran off to run one last errand in town while Jason checked out of the hotel. As Jason got close to the office, he ran into a friend who was also checking out. After a bit of small talk, they asked if we were doing the 24-hour challenge.

The 24-hour challenge is an attempt to walk or hike a certain distance in 24 hours. This usually entails walking throughout the night. A more popular instance of this challenge is for northbound hikers to walk 24 hours to Timberline Lodge in Oregon and get the breakfast buffet at the end, a fitting reward. Our 24-hour challenge, we learned, is to go from Tehachapi Pass to a Hikertown in Neenach, CA, which is a distance just shy of 50 miles.

We considered the “invitation” to join them on the challenge. The longer we mulled it over, the more we considered it. In fact, this might be the perfect time to do a 24 hour challenge! The stretch to Hikertown is quite dry. It already requires a 40+ mile water carry, so it actually seems like a good idea to do most of that at night. By the end of our lunch, we had decided to give it a shot! We could always just camp wherever if we got too tired.

We waited for the bus when the friend who put the idea in our brain showed up, excited to hear we were going to try. The bus ride itself was quite a journey. There was a gentleman, let’s say, who had some strong opinions about California and race relations and women, and who thought everyone would be keen to hear. Just as a scuffle was nearing between him and some other passengers, the bus thankfully delivered us to the trailhead.

Time to start! We started the clock and hit the pavement (the first 2-ish miles were a road walk). Then we climbed up and over the hills along the south of Tehachapi Pass. Fun fact: Tehachapi means “difficult climb.”

We were greeted with the sight of hundreds, maybe even a thousand wind turbines dotting the hills.

We kept pace, nearly, with the hikers who told us about this 24-hour challenge, but lost them as we read some informational signs about the history of wind energy in this region.

Shortly after crossing Willow Springs Road, however, we came across a group of backpackers, all of whom were partaking in this 24-hour challenge. The six others we unexpectedly found had arrived at the trailhead just 20 or 30 minutes ahead of us.

As a pack, we all set out together. There hasn’t been so many SOBOs together, probably not in the history of the whole PCT. Ten hikers within 50 feet of one another!

As the sun faded, some of the other hikers handed out glowsticks. We, for some reason, decided to only use the red light setting on our headlamps. The wind turbines around us also flash red lights. Perhaps we were camouflaging? Spirits were high as our train marched through the desert hills. We tried playing telephone down the line and failed miserably. We took our breaks together. Some even peed together to maintain a proper buddy system. This must be what northbound hikers feel like all the time.

In the darkness, we saw two headlights coming towards us. What a sight these northbound hikers were going to see! However, it ended up being some southbounders who got turned around. They were doing their own version of the 24-hour challenge: drink 24 beers while hiking 24 miles in 24 hours. They were doing the beers correctly, but that might’ve contributed to their walking the wrong way. A few minutes later, a third headlamp was seen ahead of us. It was the third person doing to the 24-hour challenge, albeit with root beer, but was simply following the path of the others. Why they put the sober person in the back is a mystery. Nevertheless, our caravan flipped them around (sandwiching the newcomers in the middle to ensure they did not get lost) and now had a 13-person train.

Soon, we came across another oasis in the form of a water cache. It was far more than just water, however. There were snacks and chairs and quirky decor and solar-powered string lights and even board games! In our tiredness, it almost did not seem real. We took a long break and started to caffeinate for the long night ahead. The three beer-based 24-hour challengers decided to camp there for the night. The rest of us carried on with Jason leading the pack – he volunteered and was deemed sufficiently responsible by the train.

We had done most of the ascent by that point. It was mostly descending into the desert with minor undulations that required us to have some short but steep climbs. These undulations were met with jeers from the tired hiker train.

We crossed over an unseasonably dry creek. Normally, this was a reliable water source that would split this 40-mile water carry in half. Despite a wetter than average year, the creek bed was dry. Perhaps it has something to do with the prior 10 drought years.

With Jason in the lead, we marched through the desert in the dark night (it was new moon). The trail was fairly easy. There were a few bits of scree and washout on steep slopes, but everyone made it across them successfully with careful stepping. The biggest challenge was finding the right path most of the time. The PCT intersected all sorts of roads and bike tracks and cow tracks. It required diligence and a lot of concentration. As the rest of the group slipped into delirium, we kept our cool and were selected to be responsible for keeping the group together and on course. Jason led up front while Alex took up the rear and corralled stragglers, making sure those who stopped for a bathroom break or to change layers were able to find and return to the train.

After a long night, we reached the dreaded aquaduct section. This section is notorious for being really hot and boring. Fortunately, we were there before sunrise, so the heat wasn’t a problem. Unfortunately, we were already exhausted, having walked through the night.

We stopped to watch sunrise. Jason, completely exhausted from leading the pack, laid down and fell asleep in the sand. The others made breakfast and had coffee. Jason woke up with his alarm in half an hour and joined in the preparation for the rest of the day.

It was almost 14 miles to the end. It was 11 miles to water. It was within reach. However, some recent feedback we read online about our planned ending point, Hikertown, led some to change plans. Hikertown had apparently just closed for the year, seemingly within the past day or two. The two of us decided to push on anyway to finish out the challenge while some others were going to take a shortcut into a nearby market in Neenach.

In the daylight, the group of 10 splintered. There was no longer a need to stick together. The two who had proposed this 24-hour challenge to us got ahead. We were fairly close behind before we decided to take a power nap under a stand of Joshua trees. The shadowed sand underneath them was nice and cool. The other six fell back and we lost them when they diverted on their alternate path to town.

We had come so far. We weren’t going to give up on this stupid challenge just like that. We’re stubborn!

The aquaduct section is quite hot and exposed. At least it’s flat.

We briefly entertained some donkeys.

When we reached the water, we were surprised to be the only ones. The other two must’ve gone ahead just to get into town quicker. We later learned that they got into Lancaster for a night in a hotel (there was a lot of hype about a supposed Holiday Inn Express which may or may not exist. Maybe they found it?).

At the water, which was a spigot in someone’s yard, we napped, ate, and napped again. We woke to get going in time to succeed in the challenge.

Finally, we reached the exposed portion of the aquaduct. Until then, the preceding 14 miles were walking above a buried aquaduct, probably. Or just a very convoluted access road.

We powered through to Hikertown in Neenach. This was our planned end to the 24-hour challenge. Unfortunately, Hikertown was empty. The comments were right. Even more unfortunately, it wasn’t somewhere we could stealthily pitch our tent. We thought we would get a ride to the market in town where the others had detoured. After nearly two and a half hours of trying, we gave up. It was only a four mile walk, but after walking 50, we weren’t too thrilled with that option, especially  because we didn’t need to go into town. We did need water, though.

Jason snooped around Hikertown and ran into an owner or at least a person with knowledge. Even though they were closed, they let us fill our water bottles. After a grueling 24-hour hike, we decided to get back on trail and stop at the next campsite we saw. It didn’t take long, but we were dog tired. We saw a coyote along the way.

We ate dinner and crawled into the tent. We have a climb tomorrow and don’t want to hit it in the heat. However, our legs are surely going to be stiff and sore tomorrow. Did we make a mistake? No. We did it. We had no intention of doing it. In fact, the hikers that were planning to do it and prepared a bit more than us, they didn’t do it. They gave up. We didn’t because we’re stubborn.

The campsite where we settled down had quails running about. They’re goofy little guys