Day 26 - Sunday, May 23

Hiking along the Los Angeles aqueduct (mile 527.2).  Walked 23.5 miles plus 2.5 miles of road walking.

Moon was bright last night, so I didn't get great sleep cowboy camping.  Got up and we were on the trail by 6:30.  Used the uphill climb and corresponding internet access to do some online shopping as I hiked.  Ordered some new shoes as well as some pants as mine have developed some holes in them.

We reached the end of the climb and began a gradual downhill descent.  This lasted for a while until we reached the road.  Flying got to the road a few minutes ahead of me, and as I got there, Microbe's mom was pulling up and she agreed to give us a ride to Three Points, about 2.5 miles from the trail around the second fire closure from last year that we've had to bypass (We met Microbe at the Acton KOA - she's part of the large hiking group behind us).

This was perfectly fine with us and we took a short break before doing the short road walk to the trailhead.  Along the way I had been wondering why my left big toe had been hurting.  Looked at it at the trailhead to discover a massive blister.  Popped it and took an ibuprofen for good measure.  Within 15 minutes, I felt fantastic.  Is this how it feels to do drugs?  Holy cow!  I don't take painkillers unless I absolutely need to, so this was a game changer.

Right when we got back on trail, we crossed the San Andres Fault, meaning that if California slips into the sea, we're now on the land side of it.  Walked through some grassy hills and took advantage of the cell service to call home while I walked along.

Got to a road, crossed it, and walked over to Hikertown.

This is a spot that some trail angels set up right along the trail and provides all the services hikers would need: water, laundry, showers, and lodging.  A lot of people remark that it's a pretty sketchy place, but it wasn't as bad as I had expected.  We walked in and Snowflake and Flying immediately got in the shuttle to the market a few miles down the road.  I meanwhile, cooked one of my many meals.  I have way too much food right now...  Bright Side and Lefty were the only hikers here who I knew, but over the next few hours, others filtered in: Katie, Old Dubs, and Desert Flower (who we hadn't seen since Idyllwild) among them.  We also met Hoss, Jedi, Mud Dog and a bunch of others.  Hung around and chatted with them for a while, then the people who run Hikertown made some dinner for everyone.

The big group of hikers rolled in in the evening and shortly after, Snowflake, Flying, and I decided to roll out.  Left about 8 pm for our goal of getting as far as possible.  The section we're about to hike is the floor of the Mojave desert along the route of the Los Angeles aqueduct.  It's notorious for being brutally hot and windy (and as a result, is often hiked at night), but we left Hikertown with our puffys on and walked without headlamps under the light of the nearly full moon.

Flying and I had a debate as to which member of the Fellowship of the Rings is the weakest (I look forward to the lively debate in the comments...).  Photo: Flying, Snowflake, and I on the aqueduct (photo courtesy of Flying).

Walked along the canal and then on top of a pipe and then a concrete cover that carries water from the Sierra Nevada mountains to feed the thirst of one of the countries largest metropolises.

We walked and I got more and more tired as the night went on.  Photo: Snowflake and I walking on the road next to the aqueduct - this is actually a long exposure night shot, notice the North Star above us (photo courtesy of Flying).

It's way past my regular bedtime and even more past my hiker bedtime which has been about 8:30 or 9 most nights.

We celebrated a new day and continued hiking after midnight.