Well, we managed to understand how to catch the Kern bus from Tehachapi back to the trail. We did skip 8 miles of trail, since we got off at Willow Spring Road (mile 258), and got back on at highway 158 (mile 266). Oh well. Just as we were starting our hike, a trail Angel came along and dropped Happy Feet, Glitter and Path Finder there as well.

Well, for breakfast I went over to the nearby Kelcy’s, which is a local establishment. I got eggs with onions, mushrooms and tomatoes, home fries and biscuits with gravy. It was very good, but I couldn’t even finish it all. Idan wanted a change of scenery, so we checked out of the Santa Fe, and headed over to the cheaper Ranch Motel. It’s a bit off the main road, but the room was much better, so it turned out well.

Last night was very windy in the campsite. Shortly after I fell asleep I woke up when I heard both of my tent stakes being torn off the ground. It was still early as I got up to stake them back in, and Snail Trainer was just setting up his tent, next to Tim. I put in the stakes in the ground, and moved some heavy logs over them, to keep them in place. My front stake still managed to get dislodged twice more during the night, until I finally secured it properly. Apart from the wind, the night was rather warm.

After a short, warm, night at the spot we crashed in last night, we finally got up and got moving just around 7:00. We were still last to move from the campsite. And also had some hikers pass us, who, we assume, started before sunrise from Hiker Town.

A very very long, and different, day.