[pct-l] Mojave desert

[mjankowicz@logicon.com (Matthew W. Jankowicz)]

     That was a great post about the trail angels. I have some friends John 
     & Melody Ward that also try to help passing PCT hikers thru the Mojave 
     desert area. They live near Holiday Lake near Hwy. 138 about a half 
     mile from the trail. They are very nice people and have let me stay 
     overnight at there home after a 3 to 4 day sectional hike in the 
     Mojave section which I deeply appreciated.  That  made it easier to 
     drive the 200 miles back to San Diego the next day. I would like to 
     thank them and the other trail angels very very much and I think I 
     speak for all PCT hikers.
     
     I hiked 50 miles over the July 4th weekend between hwy. 138 and hwy. 
     58 on the PCT.  It was pretty hot and there was water in canyons, but 
     after 3 to 4 hours, my water actually got pretty hot in my backpack(I 
     carried 6 quarts and ran out of water twice before making it to next 
     water source). I met a nice couple near the end of my hike that gave 
     up 1 quart of there water to me which I deeply appreciated. My tennis 
     shoes did not do very well in this heat so I think I will go back to 
     my hiking boots.  I and my hiking partner got a lot of blisters and 
     before this I never got a blister in hiking thousands of miles with 
     boots (1 wicking sock and 2 boot socks). My friend dropped out the 
     first day. I think the heat from the desert floor comes right thru 
     tennis shoes and doesn't protect your feet as well as boots. They say 
     that blisters are formed from too much heat and friction. 
     
     I was shocked how much of the trail has been traveled on by 
     motorcycles. Sometimes it was like hiking on a rollercoaster track and 
     sandy beach. There were plenty of signs "No motorcycles allowed" but 
     they just ignore the signs. There were also a lot of motorcycle trails 
     all over the mountains near the trail - it looked terrible. A lot of 
     these trails were on private land, that had signs all over, warning us 
     PCT hikers to stay on the trail or we would be prosecuted - am I 
     missing something here?  A lot of these motorcycle trails were over 20 
     miles from any road & some were almost vertical up the mountains. I 
     don't dislike motorcycles (I used to ride one), just the riders that 
     do this - they should go to "off the road" parks, there are plenty in 
     southern California. It will take many years for the vegetation to 
     grow back in these areas.
     
     I also hiked thru over 10 miles of windmills in the Tehapachi 
     mountains near hwy 58. I didn't really mind hiking thru this area even 
     though I know some PCT hikers don't like them. There are no trees in 
     this area anyway, so I kind of imagined them as trees. Also it seems 
     that the owners of the windmills have kept the trail in good shape and 
     I'll like to thank them and of course all other trail workers too. I 
     also think all PCT hikers should volunteer at some time, to give back 
     to the trail by working on it, with great hard workers like Pete Fish 
     and others, even if its only once a year. See ya on the trail. - 
     Matthew
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