Today was the hottest day on the trail yet, with temperatures in the low to mid 90s. We slept in a little and didn’t leave camp until after 6, missing out on an hour of cooler weather (we regretted that choice later in the day). Early in the day we passed mile 500!! We descended from Sawmill Camp for 20 miles, down toward the flat valley of the Mojave. We arrived at Hikertown a little after 3, a funky Western town-themed residence and hiker hostel. The local market has shuttles running hourly, so we caught a ride in and got a burger and burrito with plenty of soda. We returned to Hikertown to wait out the heat of the afternoon and fill up on water. The next 17 miles are dry and flat with no shade as the trail crosses the valley in top of the Los Angeles aqueduct. At around 7 pm it finally cooled off, and we headed out with another hiker named Crumbs to get as many miles done as possible in the night and finish in the morning before noon. We walked in the light of the moon along a flat dirt road until 11 pm. It was warm, with temperatures in the 70s. The walk is totally exposed so we are glad to be doing it in the dark. We hiked 11 miles past Hikertown, bringing our mileage for the day to 31.1 miles, our first 30 ever! The remainder of the aqueduct waits for us in the morning, and we are only 6 miles from water.
Wow…..31 miles! Congrats on the 500 mark. We miss you guys
You guys are so awesome ! The towns you have come across sound like so much fun 👣👣