May 21

534-558

At day break we wake up exhausted, after our windy night. My food has been scattered by rats, and I take a few minutes to collect it and decide what of it I am still willing to eat.

Our path through the morning takes us through the remainder of the huge wind farm. We have a goal of climbing out of the Mojave before the heat of the day begins in earnest. The lack of sleep makes every step feel like a massive effort, compounded by the resistance of the blowing wind.

Our progress is sluggish, but we begin our climb off the desert floor. In the distance we can see the small mountain range we were descending from yesterday morning, and being able to visualize the progress improves our morale. I munch on rat chewed energy bars and pour liters of water down my throat.

At the crest of this climb, a 20 mile waterless stretch is cut in half by a generous local who set up a few 50 gallon tubs of spring water and a mock saloon right on trail.

The menu looks delicious :

Miraculously we make it 24 miles today, even while feeling miserable and taking frequent breaks. Our day ends as it began- walking through another wind farm. I’m this picture you can zoom in and see just how many turbines are in this area:

A fat rattlesnake stubbornly suns himself on the trail. We detour around him, and mock his laziness. It looks like it just had a big meal and he only begins rattling when we raise our voices to warn another hiker behind us that it is on the trail. I am similarly sluggish after a big town meal, so I do not begrudge my rattling friend.

I have great cellphone service and follow the Celtics vs Pacers playoff game while walking. It is nice to have something else to pay attention to.

We are fortunate to find a protected little cove next to a small creek, where wind should not be much of a problem, and we collapse into our sleeping bags.