Mile 527.3 to Mile 546.6

I woke up along the side of the dirt road following the aquaduct to the sounds of Swiftie (Leilani) and Lady Liberty hiking by... they had left around 2:30 am from hikertown to hike the aquaduct and at 8:30 am said they were already dragging ... after packing up I passed them pretty quickly... they said they were camping at the next water source... since that would only be a 7 mile day for me... I knew I had to push on further...

It was a long, flat, walk and unlike the night before the miles were passing quickly... as I was approaching the water source I could see a hiker a small ways before me... she was jamming out and dancing down the trail... then stopped all of a sudden... then continued on dancing away...curious behavior I thought... a minute later I realized why she stopped a long snake covered the trail... not a rattler... and I was pretty sure it was dead as it didn’t budge... but I turned around after walking over it and saw it’s head kind of lazily glance my way... apparently he didn’t care one way or the other...

I got to the water source and met Racecar for the first time... we had lunch under the shade of a bridge... and I learned she was 20... Reed’s age... and only hiking for two months before taking a coop job on an organic farm in Hawaii... I really enjoyed chatting with her and am constantly amazed at the confidence young women have these days....

We hiked around each other and leapfrogged all the way to the next water source... through a wind farm... and then up into the wind... it was blowing strong... knocking me off balance again and again... I was walking sideways at some points... seriously, I looked like Jim Cantore on the gulf coast in late august as a hurricane approaches... the next water source sat in a little canyon.. with trees...protected from the wind... it was 4pm...Racecar was setting up camp there... a little while later Rover came up... he was going to camp There too... (Trail Lesson #25795... when an experienced thru hiker says camping here because of the wind... always listen)... I was feeling good and wanted to do at least 20 For the day... I decided to move forward...and get at least halfway up the climb ahead...

The trail changed and sandy steep ridge lines with lots of washed out spots required sure footing especially with the strong wind gusts... I made it into the next canyon around 5:30... again protected a bit from wind... but I felt good and decided to keep going... the ridgeline got more sketchy and deeper sand.. the wind got stronger and I was losing light... deciding I was not going to risk hiking at night I set my sights on a tentsite 2 miles ahead... exposed the comments said... mice broke into our foodsaks... the comments read... I told myself it won’t be that bad... and when I arrived it wasn’t. The winds had died down... my tent went up with ease... I unpacked, changed to warmer, dry clothes... changing I realized that throb on my arm from the night before was now a sizeable hard lump the size of a lime... wth?!?... I texted Charlie that I was a little worried about it... and got in to eat dinner.... famished... I bring the spoon to my lips for my first bite... whoosh went the wind...pop went a guyline... bam went the head of my tent into my back... crap... seal my food back up and go out to check... the wind was blowing and howling all of a sudden like nothing I had ever seen... I rigged my now ripped In half guyline the best I could in the wind...desert sand flying everywhere giving my face a free exfoliating scrub and drying out my eyes, nose and mouth... I scrambled back in my tent... it’s going to be a long night...

Back to dinner... ahh... first bite almost To lips.... pop went a second guyline.... repeat rigging and sand storm bath... back to dinner... two bites down... the wind gets even stronger...flipping my trekking poles supporting my tent every direction... I consider packing up and moving forward... but was worried about trail conditions at night... worried my trekking poles would snap in half... I collapsed my tent...with me and all my stuff Inside... gave up on dinner and scarfed down a bar..and tried to sleep...tent like a bivy...

The wind continued... sleep was not coming... the spreader bar of my tent would fly up with the wind and back down on my face with a natural rhythm... I laid there as the hours Passed... finally around 1am the wind quieted down to at least a reasonable level. I reinserted my trekking poles for a pitch... and by the light of my headlamp could see the inch of sand now covering the entirety of my belongings... and myself... bug netting keeps out bugs ... but not dirt...but at least I could finally sleep...but first I had to get the mouse out of my tent... who apparently was also seeking shelter from the windstorm...and trying to gnaw his way into my food bag, which is why friends and neighbors... I know to leave my food outside of my tent...that is when I noticed my lime sized lump on my arm was now an orange... can’t be good, I thought... I was 12 miles from Tehachapi by trail and made the decision I needed to get there early to find a doctor.

546.6 to 558.5 (Tehachapi)

At 5am... still wide awake from wind, mouse Scare and arm worry... I decided to just head out... Charlie had booked me two nights in town at a hotel... making me promise to let my body rest no matter what... he offered to come get me ... but I knew he was leaving Saturday to sail with my tennis friend, Fred, from Oakland to Newport and really didn’t want to ruin their adventure... so I declined his offer.

The morning was cool with the wind... and I got to mile 549 pretty quickly ... there was an amazing little cache on trail with everything (snacks, food, water, scrabble anyone?) but cold beverages... I sat and had breakfast... got water and Scout texted ... he was only two miles ahead of me... Motivated to see someone and have someone really look at my arm... I told him what was going on and I would find him in town... hiking felt good... but by midmorning the thing on my arm had grown and was creeping up my shoulder and was itching ... I had three guesses...

1. I was having a late reaction to my vaccine
2. I was having a reaction to my antibiotic (since it started the same day I started them)
3. a spider randomly bit me right near my injection site

Either way I knew my first stop needed to be a doctor....as I approached the road... Scout was at the crossing... waiting for me with a ride... they brought us straight to urgent care... Which was the er...because there was nothing else in town... embarrassed to have a doctor examine me in my caked on dirt, smelly, overgrown hairy, hiker trash state, but relieved to be seen...

The verdict... something called “covid arm” That is known to happen with moderna Shot in 1% - where basically a rash shows Up 7-10 days later... what could be simply treated with benadryl in most people - had somehow compounded into a large abscess - the doctor guessed a combination of the antibiotic, my current infection/immune system overdrive, and the salt,sweat and heat is what caused my body to respond with the growth and tiny blisters (cause of itching)... they drained it down... changed my antibiotic to one that would treat both issues occurring and sent me on my smelly way...

Scout and I set out for pizza and beer (for him) and the pharmacy.... back at the hotel hours later with a drunk scout insisting on walking To Walgreens for box color to dye my hair... and the orange on my arm back down to lime size... we had a fun night hanging out as friends and enjoying normalcy for a bit.