June 2: Not a soul

Today has been the first day during which we saw not a single other hiker. It was great. The wind was our only companion, and boy was it blowing. We climbed up out of Tehachapi pass (into what some geologists identify as the southernmost Sierra, or the Sierran Tail) and passed many more howling wind turbines. We had loaded up on water yesterday afternoon for a 24-mile waterless stretch, but early on we were pleasantly surprised by a well stocked cache just north o the highway. Early on, I took a spill today, just slipped right down onto my ass, lost control of my pack and spun over under its momentum. I was unharmed by the brief little incident, but one of my hiking poles came away with an unbecoming bend. It was nothing big, but it did serve as a reminder that anything can hapen out here. Had I twisted my ankle or gashed my leg open, we would have been in a bind. We count our lucky stars daily, thanking good fortune for keeping us healthy out here.

We napped at noon after putting in 12 good, uphill miles, the wind wailing overhead, setting the pine tree by which we lay asway.

We are both getting very excited to wrap this Southern California section up over the next week. The plan to flip-flop, which originally had felt a little awkward and frustrating -- having to break up the continuity of the trek, adding a sense of the arbitrary -- is now an eagerly anticipated turning point, an opportunity for change. We've got about 150 miles more to cover down here, ascending for the most part up into the lower Sierra, still, however, passing through arid, Southern Californian lanscapes, then we meet with my mother and her cousin for a week off the trail, including a day on the coast and a few more in Los Angeles, and then on the 21st, we fly all the way to Vancouer, BC, catch a bus east out to Manning Provincial Park and set out southbound on the PCT on the 22nd. Washington should be gorgeous right now, and because they've had very litle precipitation all winter, the snow may already be entirely melted in the northern Cascades by the time we start.

Eliza came up with the idea, the other day, to throw another flip into the mix. We may end up southbounding until Ashland, OR, where we have friends, then from there hopping a bus back down to Lone Pine and northbounding through the Sierras, effectively making Ashland our ultimate goal. We'll see what makes sense when we get through WA and OR, but timewise, this seems to be our best bet. We figure that bad weather in northern California in early October won't be as bad as bad weather in the high Sierras in early October.