Kennedy Meadows North to Acton
The time is flying by so fast we can’t even believe it. We left the Sierras on October 2nd-ish, feeling how the weather window was closing behind us. Fall and winter weather was approaching and we were lucky to finish our Sierra section when we did. Since then, we’ve met several hikers who had to skip some miles in that section or had to rush through.
Making it to Kennedy Meadows was a success on its own. KMS is a famous stop for hikers and we enjoyed the hospitality of the locals and hanging out with other hikers. We visited Triple Crown Outfitters there, a hiker oriented store owned by Yogi, one of the first people to write a book on the PCT. Our journey took us to Ridgecrest, where we stayed with Sandy and her cute dogs. She is an amazing trail angel! Ridgecrest was one ofbour fav stops so far. Then we headed into Tehachapi, walking through the crests with views of Joshua Trees and the Mojave desert. In Tehachapi, we got Thai dinner with new trail friends: Mollie and Rainier. Family style dinners with a bigger group of hungry hikers is the best - got to eat so much. We stayed with StayGold who opened his house for us and shared a lot of his stories. He’a hiked a section of the PCT and is preparing to continue hiking it both alone and with his son. His partner Jen and daughters were amazing too. They sheltered us from the rain… and we stayed with them for two days! Their generosity is unmatched and we have great memories of spending time with them.
We took the extra time in Tehachapi to rest, recuperate and draft some future Christmas holiday plans.
We then headed back to the trail, with the help of Ted and Cheryl, who drove us to the trailhead. We walked the 122 miles to Acton, and even though we put in some long mile days… we decided to get a lot of delicious food on the way. We stopped at Hikertown, after a very long dry stretch through the Mojave Desert. Hikertown is an interesting place on the PCT! Got to hang out with Blankslate, Rona, Deschutes and Dr No.
We also stopped at Green Valley for a quick meal and then continued on to Agua Dulce. We got breakfast in town, and coffee, and fruit. We loved the town and their Vazquez Rocks state Park. Finally we covered the 10 miles extra to Acton. Stayed there for the night at the 49ers Saloon backyard camping and got our packages from the post office. Our last resupply food box, new shoes and new water filter. We are now clean and geared up for the last 440 miles on the PCT. We can’t believe we’re almost at the end of this adventure… it’s been 4 months so far, and we have about 20 days left! Only??? Can’t wait to make the most of the time we have left here.
The Sierra weather being snowy has meant that a bunch of hikers jumped ahead or have come here after flip-flopping. We have a lot more hikers around now! We’re excited to share experiences with fellow hikers during the remaining time. Time to push on, reflect on or journey and enjoy the hiker lifestyle while it lasts.
Signing off from Acton! Headed to Wrightwood next. This post might have been all over the place - just all my rambling thoughts on a quick post before leaving town 😆
