Day 38: Tehatchapi Pass Wind Farms
Date: Fri 5/25
PCT Start Mile: 541.5
PCT End Mile: 560.6
PCT Mileage for Day: 19.1
Total PCT Mileage: 560.6
The Highlights: a very windy hike, valley of wind turbines, and cowboy camping
Today dawned cold in the little canyon we were tucked into and we packed out a little before 7am.
The day began with the rest of the climb that we had camped about halfway up last night, before descending to the valley floor to begin another climb – our longest of the day at about 4 1/2 miles.
Shawn and I hiking across the valley floor.
Signing into a trail register on the way up the climb.
Toward the top of the climb there was an awesome little rest zone set up, called the “Mile 549 Bar and Grille”. While there were no consumables other than water while we were there, it was still an awesome little rest stop with chairs and shade umbrellas.
After another hour or so of hiking we took a lunch break. The views both before and after this lunch break were spectacular and the mountainside colorful with wildflowers.
An hour or so of hiking beyond our lunch break brought us back into wind farm territory and the winds today were stout. The trail skirted the wind farms all afternoon and I held my trekking poles tightly to avoid them flying into my legs and tripping me.
LOL hiking by the wind turbines.
If we had been astounded by the number of wind turbines we’d seen along the trail south of Tehachapi Willow Springs Road, we were beyond words when we continued north of the road and, cresting a hill, could see them stretching across the landscape as far as the eye could see. Tehachapi Pass is a mecca for wind farms, the area hosting some of the biggest in the world.
The wind was KICKING too… the kind where you lift one leg off the ground to take a step and it blows into your other leg, tripping you. We slowly made our way uphill, against the wind – (both ways, just how my dad walked to school every day when he was a boy!) and through the hills. Eventually, we turned so the wind was to our backs and it practically pushed me right up the hill. I couldn’t complain.
Eventually, Shawn came to a stop ahead on the trail behind a giant bush that completely blocked the wind. It was likely the only reprieve we would find for miles and we decided to camp here.
Because it was well sheltered, but not perfectly flat ground, Shawn, Squishy, and I all decided to cowboy camp, though LOL set up her tent. This is our first time cowboy camping on the trail! We typically prefer to use a tent, to keep away from bugs more than anything, but there aren’t really any bugs here so we aren’t too worried about it. Also, there are some situations where cowboy camping is just easier or more feasible depending on the space you have.
Squishy, me, and Hot Mess, all tucked in for the night. Eating our dinners in our sleeping bags. **This picture featured in Backpacker Magazine March 2019!**
The moon tonight is nearly full and the sky should be bright. My guess is, because the wind is driven by thermals here, it will probably die down once the desert floor cools and there may not be much wind overnight. Right? Even if there is, we are sheltered in our little nook in the bushes and all tucked into our sleeping bags, snug as bugs in a rug.
