PCT Day 194

Tehachapi Mountain Cabin to Hiker Town

31.4 miles

Sobo mile 2135.0

Total mileage 4787.6

I woke up at 3am, gathered my gear and headed downstairs to find that Robert had already started the coffee. After knocking back a cup, he gave me a ride back to the trail where I thanked him for his hospitality before hiking off into the darkness.

By the time the sun had risen I’d descended down from the mountains onto the flat desert floor.

As I passed through the windmill forest, I was accompanied by cattle, sheep, a coyote and even an owl.

Around 11am I reached the first water source of the day, a cache maintained by the proprietor of Hiker Town. I filled up before continuing on towards the LA Aquaduct.

The remainder of my day was spent walking along perfectly straight and flat dirt roads through rather boring desert, so I pulled out my phone to watch Netflix as I walked.

I reached Hiker Town at 2pm. For some quick background on the place, the owners name is Richard, who was a Disney executive that bought the property some 15 years ago without knowledge of the PCT. Once he realized that the trail ran right along the property, he decided to help out the community by allowing hikers to spend the night, shower, do laundry and send resupply boxes. And thus, Hiker Town was born!

I couldn’t find the caretaker, Bob, so opted to just grab a hitch down the road to Neenach Market and Cafe to get my grub on. When I arrived to the market I ordered chicken tenders, fries, a breakfast burrito and a strawberry milkshake before finding a seat. Shortly after my meal was brought out and I dug in.

Satisfied, I ended up packing away the burrito for later and headed out to the freeway to hitch back to Hiker Town. It was a bit past 4pm when I arrived, and having already hiked a fair amount for the day I decided to treat myself to a bed for the night.

After tracking down the Bob, $10 bought me a room for the night. He gave me my pick from an assortment of tiny buildings with interesting facades, I went with the triplex.

Inside the furnishings were sparse, but the small bed and nightstand were all I needed. I spent the next hour watching Netflix as I chowed down on my breakfast burrito, before falling asleep around 6pm.

Cheers!