Zero Day at Walker Pass

                                         Story and Pictures by Pacmom (Debbie)

L to R: Pacman, Lodgepole (tall), the famous French Toast, Geared Up, Maverick (Lodgepoles's son with LOTS of energy), Boomstick (bullets are on the end of his hiking sticks), Cecil, Not Just Jeff, Leftovers the Dog (not pictured), and someone snuck in that I missed their name. 

5-16
Thursday: The drive through Kern Canyon was startlingly beautiful… That night I arrived at the Walker Pass Campground at 7:30pm, or so, after a 7 hour drive.  It took all four of us to set up my tent in the high winds. I had the cooler chest, bucket of wood, and 3 large bags to keep the tent from flying away. Doug had been there 5 hours and couldn’t remember what time that we would meet. (I think that he was hungry!) I met Meander (just as his name implies), who was 65 on May 5 Cinco de Mayo. He was also a sheep herder near Bellingham, WA, close to the Canadian border. He had 20 acres with a bunch of sheep. Wight (as in the Isle of Wight South of UK, also mentioning the prisons, mystical aspects, relatives and more…), later to find out he is a lawyer from the east coast, was quiet but ate what was cooked. He started his journey at 300 lb and is about 250 now. We think Doug is still 190 lbs. They happily ate chips and salsa; their eyes popped out for bananas, apples, and pizza! We went to our tents quickly at 8pm, hiker midnight. So, I went to sleep on my slope after the long drive. In my tent I realized that I did not eat, so I had 2 slices of cheese. Yum! The tent was whipping around due to the high winds. I’d say about 20-40 mph wind gusts. Meander says that 60mph will knock you off your feet. He thought the winds at Tehachapi were 60 mph.

5/17
Friday: We woke up and I made a big breakfast for us all, except Meander ate less than Wight and Pacman. Doug took Wight to Onyx to pick up his package at the PO which opened at 11am. I stayed with Meander and quizzed him about his life... Then, Meander, Pacman, and I went to Ridgecrest to resupply. We charged at Starbucks (we had 7 electronic devices between the 3 of us), they shopped for groceries, then Meander kindly bought us lunch at Café Potpourri. The cute young waitress showed us her picture of Walker Pass (where we just stayed) with a rattle snake swallowing a large rabbit in its mouth. (She wanted to pet the snake!) She was a cutie. Next, we went to Kennedy Meadows to drop off Meander for some reason… The store property was very rustic and hip. I met the 8 other PCTers and dog. (See picture.) All very nice. Then we drove back to Walker Pass so Pacman could continue his trek. He is determined on this hike. He packed his new light 2 lb pack. He is so happy! At 5pm, another group of PCTers continued their hike to Kennedy Meadows, about a 2 day hike. I met Spitfire. I just love the names... Then Pacman got hungry and cooked Wight and me dinner that took a couple of hours to cook. I quizzed Wight, who was fascinating, as they all seem to be. At 8pm, we went to our tents, me on another slope with the same high winds. Whip, whip, whop.

Zero day for me was driving about 100+ miles.

Good night from Warner Pass.

5/18
Saturday: For Pacman, up and out at 6am. For me, an 8 hour drive home because I took the short cut…