Day 35-38 (may 11-14) miles 454.0-517.6

 On day 35 I left Agua Dulce and had two decent sized climbs. It was a fairly uneventful day, hiking by myself for most of it. I set up camp at 471.4 making for a 16.7 mile day. I will arrive in Kennedy Meadows in about 2 weeks, the start of the Sierra mountains. The few people that have entered the mountains have reported massive snowpack and very difficult, tedious conditions. 

I will be getting off trail there, take the train back home for a few days, then taking off to return to Holden Village for a month. This will allow snow to melt enough to allow for travel through Oregon and Washington 

Day 36 was similar scenery to the day before and was the last coolish day before the heat returned. Later in the day we entered a burn area from a few years ago. There was tons of “poodle dog bush” scattered all around for miles, some growing right against the trail. The plant is very irritating to the touch, worse than poison oak. I spent the rest of the day dodging the poodle dog bush before settling up camp at mile 494.2 with Chris, Went, and a man named Grave Digger.

Day 37 was a dry day, with only one decent water source halfway through the day. In the morning we continued to avoid PDB, now growing in vast fields. The plant is easily detectable by its skunky smell, which you often notice before you spot it. The highlight for the day was passing the 500 mile marker! Only 200 more to Kennedy Meadows. 

We stopped for lunch at a concrete cistern, which was filled with cool refreshing water. After a few more miles of climbing the trail went through sparse forest with the ground covered in green grass. It was quite beautiful and then the  trail began to descend once again toward Hwy 138. I set up camp at 510.9, joined by Chris, Went, Olivia, and Martin, the last two I last saw at the holistic spa.

Day 38 was a short day getting to highway 138/ hiker town at mile 517.6, only hiking 6.7 miles. After a slow lazy start to the day I descended the rest of the way into the antelope valley, a far west corner of the Mojave desert. Hiker town was an interesting place, a collection of old Wild West themed buildings that look like a movie set. There’s ultimately not a lot going on there but it was a good place to find shade from the hot sun. 

I was able to get a ride to the Wee Vill market, a hiker friendly place that has incredible food and free camping in the back. I spent the rest of the day eating food, relaxing, and planning out the next few days.