Day 48- June 6th

Got wind? We do. Lots of it. Wind for daaaaaaays! Almost enough wind to make me prefer the unbearable heat over it, but since we get both at the same time, I don't have to choose!

We hit the trail by 7:15am, but even then, it was so windy and dry and got that Claire got a real bad bloody nose right off the bat. She's more prone to them than I am, as I almost never get nosebleeds, but so far, she's had three prominent ones, and I've had one as well!

It was 8 miles to Highway 58 where we'd hitch into Mojave, but when we came across an alternate road paralleling the trail for 6 miles to the same spot instead, we took it.

What?! Taking a road over a trail, haven't they had enough road walking?! Trust me. Whatever means less time in the sun and heat and dust and crappy winds to get us where we need to go, we're all over it. 

For us it's more about a continuos footpath from Canada to Mexico than a climbing up 4 miles through the windmills to climb back down 4 miles. The road stayed low, was less windy, and we weren't missing any views we hadn't already seen.

However, we did see something on the road that we wouldn't have on the trail: 3 different loose dogs. 

One ran towards us, crookedly limping/running and slobbering foam and blood from his mouth. He stopped short of reaching us to defecate on himself while still barking. He definitely had rabies, and we were definitely scared for our well being. 

Behind him another dog approached us, an Akita mix, which I know can sometimes be aggressive. Luckily, the owner called the dogs back before they got too close. It was a very sad, scary, and disturbing experience for both of us. I really wish people would take care of their pets in need.. 

The road was very low-traffic, and the 6 miles flew by. Soon we walked by where the PCT joins the road, and about 10 minutes later, we were at Highway 58.

We'd never hitchhiked on a freeway before, Claire had never hitchhiked in her life before the trail! There's a first time for everything right? 

We got a ride from a very nice man named Bobby. He was driving from Tehachapi to Mojave to check on some of the businesses he owns. He told us he's been picking up hikers for the last 6 years whenever he sees them on the surrounding roads.

He dropped us off right in front of the Best Value Inn, where we decided to stay. It was only 9:30am, check-in is normally at 1pm, but the gentleman told us we could come back at 11am and the room would be ready.

Being super hungry, (as always), we ate at the Denny's which was right across the street! Man it's been awhile since I've eaten Denny's. Peanut butter chocolate shake and a huuuuuge breakfast! Yum!

We went back to check in and take a well-deserved shower! I was sooooo dirty, this was after 10 minutes of scrubbing my left leg:

Both legs were in the shower, I just hadn't scrubbed the right one yet.

(Pre-shower) this is how much dirt gets caked on my leg, and then laminated onto my skin by my sunscreen!

We wanted to go do some laundry since the place we were staying didn't have, and I realized I had lost my umbrella! I went downstairs to the office to see if I had left it there but I hadn't. Dang! I must've left it in our hitches ride from the freeway! :(

We couldn't find the laundromat anywhere on google or in the phone book, or on any map.. But the front desk told us there was one and gave us a general area to look.

As we were approaching the area on foot, I decided to run into the Best Western to ask if they knew where the laundromat might be. When I walked in, Bobby, who had given us the ride, was at the front desk! Best Western was one of the businesses he owned and he was checking in on them! I asked him if I had left my umbrella, and I did! It was perfect timing because he was in his way out, and if I got there 2 minutes later, I wouldn't have known he owned it and I wouldn't have found it. Crazy!

He also pointed us toward the laundromat, and it was when we arrived that we realized why it wasn't on any maps. The place was completely run-down. It looked abandoned! And that's pretty bad coming from a dirty hiker!

There was no quarter machine, so Claire went to the nearby Carl's Jr. To get change. They didn't help her, so she had to go further down the road to a Napa Auto Parts.

Finally got the quarters, we went to buy soap from the machine, but of course it ate the four quarters and didn't give us any soap. It was my turn to face the heat, and I went way down to the Chevron in hopes they had some soap. Of course they only had a big expensive one and we were only doing one load. Whatever, we just wanted to get it over with!

By the time we finally started the laundry it was 4:30pm! Ugh, what a mission! It was so hot in the laundromat, that we went to the nearby Mojave Cafe. We had the place all to ourselves and sat in the bar area. They had only been opened for 6 weeks, and the service and food was really awesome! We stayed there for 2 hours, talking to the server and watching TV until our laundry was all done. It was a nice relief.

The wind had really picked up! It took us forever to walk the .7 miles back to the motel! We rested for a little while before deciding to go get the grocery shopping over with.

After the sun set, we walked in the grueling, whipping wind a whole mile to Stater Bros, left at about 10:15pm, and walked all the way back. It was impossible to get a ride as highway 58 goes right through Mojave where we were walking, and no one wanted to stop..

When we finally returned, we were so tired! We came to rest and relax and it felt like we were sill hiking! Luckily without our packs on, but even all the heavy food and fragile plastic shopping bags in the horrible wind made it a not so pleasant experience.

Claire's week of "dry food"

Back at the hotel, we're so tried that we can't even watch any of the movies we borrowed from the front desk. Tomorrow we check out, walk over to the post office to send some items ahead and some items home for the next stretch of dry, windy, and hot.

-Thanks for reading!