Start: Kennedy Meadows Campground -- This is where I ended my previous hike southbound from Horseshoe Meadows. There is a small parking lot on the north end of the campground where the Taxi dropped us off.
End: Walker Pass Campground -- This is just off a state highway with a lot of traffic. I left my car in the campground with just a note saying I was hiking the PCT and would return in 4 days.
People along the trail: We saw no one else the first 3 days. 3 hikers and a trail maintenance crew on
We crossed paths with 4 horsemen that were clearing the trail.
horseback on the last day. After we had done our final ascend to a 6,000' saddle the last day we came across a couple that were at least 80 years old and lived in the Mohave desert not far from Walker Pass. They were hiking to the top of Owen Peak -- a 16 mile round trip. They both had huge backpacks and were just out for the day -- go figure. I hope I'm doing that when I'm 80. The other hiker we came across was solo and summiting Morris Peak which is just off the PCT. Then there was a group of 4 guys on horseback clearing fallen trees on the trail. Here's an article on one of them:
The dust storm in Ridgecrest on our way to start the hike.
Sam, Rob & Krabby (actually his last name) the taxi driver.
Description: We planned to leave Phoenix at 5 am and if everything went right we'd get on the trail by 2 pm and knock off 10 miles by 6pm. Well....we didn't get out until 5:30 am and hit a huge dust storm in Ridgecrest. We were to the Walker Pass Campground by 1:30, parked the car, did final pack prep, and promptly met our prearranged taxi within 5 minutes. The taxi charged us $120 for an hour ride to Kennedy Meadows (ridgecrest taxi -- Krabby was our driver -- I highly recommend him as I had talked with other drivers at ridgecrest taxi who quoted me higher rates). As we drove up the road to Kennedy Meadows the wind was still blowing hard and it was now snowing -- not hard but it looked like it could dump about 1/2". I knew the weather report said up to 1". We got dropped off at Kennedy Meadows at 3 pm and started our hike south in the howling wind.
By 5:30 we had hiked 6 miles through gusting winds and intermittent snow until we got to a campsite next to the South Fork of the Kern River where we decided spend the night. Although we were short 4 miles of our planned 10 miles we could make it up the next day. I didn't want to hike another 2 hours until its almost dark and then have to set up our tents in the snow and cook in the dark. It was a great camping spot. It was cold that night -- probably in the mid 20s. Although it snowed off and on through the evening there was no snow when we awoke the next morning.
Campsite on night 1 along side the S. fork of the Kern River.
S. Fork of the Kern River at Campsite.
On the second day we had our biggest day -- about 3,000' elevation gain and 17 miles. The first part was very scenic as you could see the domeland wilderness in the distance -- I would have been nice to hike closer to it but not a big deal. They call the domeland wilderness the mini yosemite. The forest had been burned and was pretty barren on our ascent but when we started our descent it was pretty much forested the whole way. Vistas were very impressive the whole way. We spent our 2nd nights at Chimney Creek campground which was very nice -- the women's outhouse was open, we had a picnic table, nice tent spots, and the whole place to ourselves. There was water just down the road in Chimney Creek. That evening it got windy and clouds blew in and covered the peaks. I wondered if the clouds would drop down on us but they stayed high. We had a pleasant night and it only got down to the mid 30s that night.
Sam retrieving Mylar balloons from the wilderness.
Domeland Wilderness (mini-yosemite)
Water Cache at Chimney Creek.
Cooking at Chimney Creek Campground.
The next day we started our 17 mile day with a 2,500' climb to a saddle. We ascended through a pine forest that was very impressive. The previous nights it has rained/snowed in a pretty strong wind at this higher elevation as you could see the snow only on one side of the trees. We stopped on the trail and just listened for a moment. With the sun out the snow & ice was melting -- you could hear the snow & ice falling off of the trees -- it was a constant soft rumble. Once we got to the saddle you had an incredible vista looking back at the snowy pine covered mountains and then you would look the other direction from the saddle and look down upon the Mohave Desert and the almost barren mountain sides. There was a very rugged ridge next to this saddle to which I though was the most unique land feature we saw -- however the ridge/mountain didn't have a name -- go figure. After the saddle we started to drop into the high desert. We camped at Joshua Tree Spring which was a very nice with trees and water flowing into a trough. Although there were signs saying there was Uranium in the water I had checked and it was safe for a 1 day use -- perhaps not on for daily for a long time. It tasted fine & no one glowed that night. It got down to 40 that night.
Along the trail.
Sam resting along the trail.
My new backpack -- Osprey came out with a new version
of my backpack with better shoulder straps. $220 well spent.
Snow covered trail.
My footprint in the snow.
Spanish Needle Creek. This is where a bear hangs out...
no sign of him.
The next day we had another good climb up to the saddle below Owen Peak -- this was also very scenic. The trail is very impressive the whole way but especially this portion as it is cut into a very steep and rocky mountain side.
We got back to the car by 1 pm and drove to Mohave where we spend the night in a Best Western. We drove into Boron -- where they mine Borax, have a museum about the 20 mule train that used to carry Borax from Death Valley to Mohave (where the train was), and it's also the location of the restaurant where all the test pilots would meet at the end of the day shown in the movie "The Right Stuff". However, the restaurant was torn down.
The next day we had planned on doing a short 8 miles segment but it was raining and blowing very hard so we decided to skip that. We drove to Aqua Dulce where I had missed a 1/2 mile segment between Vasquez Rocks and the town of Aqua Dulce -- we knocked that off in 10 minutes and then headed back to Phoenix.
This was definitely in the top 5 PCT hikes from South of Whitney as far as scenery and vistas from the trail. As I look at the pictures we took -- they don't do it justice. If someone is hiking PCT Highlights -- This would be a must for the southern portion of the PCT.
Rob & Sam were great hiking partners -- never a dull moment...as they are always making jokes and were easily entertained.
Rob.
Sam high fiving a tree.
The trail on day 4 in the high desert.
Joshua Tree in the background.
A drill bit stuck in a rock next to the trail.
The tent.
The boys -- Me, Rob & Sam.
Switchbacks heading down to Walker Pass.
Rob & a sign.
A gate along the trail at Walker Pass.
The Borax Museum in Boron, CA.
Double rainbow on our way to hike Sunday Morning --
which was eventually "rained out".
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