We marched 24 miles today up and over the arid stand of Tehachapi Mountains which stood in our way today. It was I believe our longest waterless stretch so far and we each carried about 3-1/2 liters to last and were fine.
The trail was torn up and ripped apart for most of the way due to motorbike use. We lost the trail a couple of times as a result.
As we came down over the north side of the mini-range we traversed along a canyon just underneath the huge humming turbines of the Oak Canyon windfarm. The most exciting part of the day occurred suddenly at about 5 pm when we came upon a brimming horse trough with a peculiar arm sticking up and over one side. We both stopped to wonder, then realized, it was a shower! We didn't hesitate to strip down and rinse off. It was quite a sight, us dancing clean under the icy cold spray of the nozzle up on the steep sun-baked hillside, at the base of a few of these gargantuan, white windmills, their blades cutting through the air with a roar . . .
We are camped out now at the shoulder of Willow Springs Road. In the am we'll hitch the 9 miles into Tehachapi and hit the PO, grab a cup of coffee, try to clean up if possible, maybe even find someone to charge my dead-again cell phone for me.
For now, it's still light and I've got a John O'Hara novel to begin reading. I didn't realize it when I picked it up, but BUtterfield 8 takes place in NYC as well -- that's all three of the novels I've read out here so far. Certainly a town with a lot of stories to tell, but, God, I've got to get my hands on some Steinbeck while I'm out here.
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