PCT Day 40 & 41 – Zero day in Tehachapi (566.6) to PCT mile 587.5

May 14 & 15, 2026

Total PCT miles: 20.9

Non PCT miles: 0.0

Total: 20.9 miles / 33.6 km

Total elevation gain: 5640 ft

Total elevation loss: 4764 ft

Steps: 48574

May 14 – Zero day

Unfortunately my zero day in Tehachapi did not involve much rest. I probably walked in excess of 5 miles throughout the day to get my town chores mostly done. But at least I did them after my first good night sleep in what feels like forever. This hotel definitely has the most comfortable bed I’ve slept in since arriving in the US.

After breakfast I made my way to the Wal Mart to do my resupply. I’ve decided that I am going to break up the next section by stopping in Ridgecrest. This means I only need 4 days of food instead of 7 if I were to go all the way to Kennedy Meadows. This next stretch also has some pretty significant water carries so keeping the food weight down is key. I was debating sending a resupply box to Kennedy Meadows but after being in the wilderness for so long a Wal Mart gets overwhelming. So in the end I didn’t. More than once while shopping I got stopped by locals to ask about how my hike is going.

Next up was the post office to get my replacement air matress!. Now, Tehachapi is overall an incredibly hiker friendly city with the exception of one thing: the post office is located about a 1.6 mile walk. But I didn’t have to walk the full distance either way As both ways a local pulled over and gave me a ride!

The new air matress is definitely an upgrade. It’s a bit lighter, it has a higher R value (warmer) and it packs up smaller! I must say I am very impressed with the service I got from Sea to Summit.

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, catching up on my blog and cleaning Gear. Eventually Sage, Pinecone and Alligator arrived and were staying in the room next to ours so we got to catch up on the last few days. Finally it was time for bed as Ness and I had an 0800 pick up scheduled back to the trail head.

May 15 – Back on trail.

The group I have been hiking with all has different plans today. The three that got into town yesterday are taking their zero day today. Ness is starting further back on trail to do the miles she missed by taking the earlier entrance to town and I am starting at HWY 58. I really want to push it a bit and see how many miles i can do over the next few days.

I was picked up at 0800 hrs by Keith, who is an absolute legend. He’s dedicated the entire summer to following the bubble while doing trail magic and giving rides. This is the 3rd time he has helped me out on this journey. I and 5 other hikers were dropped off at Hwy 58 and on trail at 0830.

First up was the biggest climb of the day which is exactly what you want to do with a full resupply while carrying enough water to get you 16 miles. It always seems when you leave town there is always a uphill climb. My body was protesting with random aches and pains and it was slow going for the first two miles. Eventually the pains stopped or maybe my stubbornness over rode it. Unknown. The winds were howling with over 40 mph gusts. This was great when it was at my back helping push me along my way and not so great any other time. I passed more Joshua trees and wind turbines that were definitely generating plenty of electricity today.

For a while the PCT takes a small mountain road for off road vehicles which was in very poor repair. This required careful navigation due to boulders, washouts and had plenty of places where you could injure yourself. Off in the distance I could start to see the Sierra! Almost 600 miles and soon the desert section will be done with new and exciting challenges to be faced.

I arrived at the first water source around 1500. There were already several people set up to camp in a really small area with plenty more I’m sure hoping to camp here. I decided that I would keep going. It’s 20 miles to the next water source… this meant leaving with 6 liters of water so I would have enough to dry camp and make it the rest of the way.

In 4 miles I was rewarded with a private campsite. I can’t remember the last time I camped alone. There are wind turbines nearby and I can hear them clearly from my tent but thanks to the trees and bushes I can barely feel the wind. Looking forward to a good night sleep on my new air mattress.