It starts to get light just after 5 am now, and although we were tired we knew today would be another scorcher so we begrudgingly packed up and were hiking before 6 this morning. We continued to follow the aqueduct as it led us into a huge wind farm as we crossed from Los Angeles into Kern County. The only shade was man-made: a bridge, a wind turbine, our umbrellas. After 6 miles we gathered water from a faucet before moving on to get to the next water source (a stream) early and take a break. The morning was so hot, and we fortunately made it to the stream before 11. The last water for 25 miles, we decided to take a long siesta. We headed back out around 5:30 and hiked until dark, when we happened upon some surprise trail magic. Chairs, water, cookies, and juice near some tentsites just by a dirt road. Wish I’d carried less water, but better safe than sorry!
