Day 37: Entering Mojave Desert

Horse Campground - cowboy camp near aqueduct
Mile 508 - 523
Total 15 miles

The strategy for today is early start: Rocksteady and Lucy leave the camp at 4, and I get up shortly after. At 5 it is already light. With first rays of the sun the heat is increasing fast. We are descending down into a real desert: the Mojave desert. Fortunately the foothills and the low clouds provide some welcome shade.

Crossing a couple of side valleys and low foothills, we descend into the flat desert basin. I take a lot of breaks and drink lots of water. In 8 miles, dense forest has changed into sparse grassland.

At the edge of the desert is a welcome refreshment stop: Hiker Town. There is city hall, feed house, jail, post office, sheriff, shower, kitchen, shade, and the most important thing: water.

In hiker town there are many hikers taking a siesta in the heat. It is around 100 F (37 ℃). There are also cute hens, roosters and chickens, and very delicious free food including rice and trail mix in the hiker box. The hiker town sheriff offers us a ride to a nearby store with fresh fruit and fries. I try to sleep, it's pretty hot also in the shade, but every hour of sleep is good because the only way to cross the hot desert is to hike at night.

The chicken, hens and roosters have a good life in Hiker Town: lots of space, shade, food, and bushes to climb.

Around 7 pm the biggest heat is over: time to head into the Mojave desert. The trail soon reaches a gigantic structure that seems out of place: the Los Angeles aqueduct. This aqueduct brings water from the east side of the Sierras towards the thirsty LA. Diverting water into the aqueduct also caused the complete devastation of Owens Lake, a former large lake between the Sierra and Death Valley.

Parts of the fast flowing aqueduct are on surface, parts are in a large diameter pipe. A security vehicle guards the facilities. For the next 10 miles, the PCT goes on top of the partially buried pipe.

Lots of rabbits can be seen from the pipe. I continue hiking long after it gets dark, and when I start losing track of the pipe, I go to sleep under the stars on a warm windy night in the sandy desert.