PCT2022 The Beginning

The Walker Pass Memorial Plaque

14June2022 Betsy dropped me off at the Centennial Hills Transit Station where I boarded an express city bus to downtown. Connecting with the Amtrak bus was not a problem. The bus also picked up passengers at the South Transit Terminal, and stopped in Barstow for a 40 minute break before heading to Bakersfield. The bus also stopped in Mojave and Tehachapi before arriving in Bakersfield on time. I was able to hop a city bus up to Lake Isabella and found my motel without a problem.

The city bus that would take me to the Amtrak bus terminal
The Amtrak bus
The hotel. It’s a dive, but one gets a good night’s sleep, and it gets you to the trail ok. It’s about ½ mile walk from the bus terminal.

Early the next morning I was fully packed, back at the bus stop. By 7 am, I was at Walker Pass Trailhead, eager and willing to hit the trail. Thru-hikers who had camped at Walker Pass were now up and also eager to hit the trail. I started up with vim and vigor.

The start of the PCT just past Walker Pass. It immediately starts climbing after this flat spot.
Moving up the trail, the Walker Pass road remains visible for over a mile. One soon gets out of the Joshua Tree elevations (of about 3000-6000 ft). It had a great amount of beauty, and was very mountainous.

Within about 10 minutes, my back started to kill me. It was something that I just could not ignore, as it got worse and worse as hiking when on. Soon, the pain from the backpack dominated all thinking. I knew that something was wrong, and that I could not go on with the status quo. So, after about 1.7 miles and an hour on the trail, I turned around. I caught an 8:50 bus back to Lake Isabella, and was able to get back home by 1 am the next morning, though it would have been much sooner had I realized the problem with taking public transportation through the Strip late at night. The Strip is a zoo at night.

So, what am I going to do? I have a lot of options available. The first thing is to change how I did things from the start. This morning, I repacked everything in the Gossamer Gear Gorilla. To my surprise, everything fit. I figured out additional means of lightening up the load. I’ll probably only take four liters, and hopefully not start on a very hot day. Doing the trail with somebody could help. Training hikes with a full pack will be necessary, which I’ll start in the next few days. With the aching bones, being careful to maintain a Ibuprofen on board will be totally relevant.

If I find that I can’t manage, then I will do a road trip to pick up my resupply mailings at Kennedy Meadows South, Independence, and Kennedy Meadows North. The VVR package will be left for a needy person or two. It’s in God’s hands. Meanwhile, I’m home with Betsy, the love of my life, and life doesn’t get any better than that!

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