Day 37-39: Nero and two Zeros in Tehachapi
28. Mai – 30. Mai
Campsite near Hwy 58 to Tehachapi (mile 556.4)
Approx. 3 miles on the Nero day
We walked along Cameron Road and called a local trail angel to ask for a ride. It felt weird to call a complete stranger and ask for a ride. I have never done that before.
Kathy who lived on a farm and home-schooled her kids picked us up. She was doing this just for fun and to get some trail experience without the hard work. Anyway, Thanks for the ride, Kathy!
We arrived in town, left our backpacks at the Best Western and went to Kelcy’s – an old fashioned American diner – for second breakfast.
After a fantastic omelette with hash browns we checked in at our room.
I stood in the shower nearly crying. I couldn’t manage to get the shower working. The control is always different: sometimes you have to push, sometimes pull. This time it was a little knob to pull. I finally managed and got rid of all the trail dirt.
Town time began….
Food, meeting other hikers, resupply, getting gear sorted and finally RELAX…..
I had to order a new Therm-A-Rest Neo Air matress on amazon because my old one lost air during the night and I had to reinflate it at least twice a night.
It sucked because the matress had been like this right from the start. Comparing it to other hikers matresses I found out there’s something wrong.
The German online shop trekking-lite-store where I bought it wasn’t of a great help so I had to take the costs to have a good nights sleep for all future trail nights. Hopefully…
Our first zero day was packed. We resupplied and repacked food for nearly half a day.
Later in the evening we decided to take another zero just to relax.
The 30. Mai turned out to be a Public holiday: Memorial day.
America celebrated his fallen soldiers.
We went to see the parade and the service held in a park.
Again I am impressed how proud Americans of their country are. Unfortunately it’s completely different in Germany…
After the service we queued in for a free hotdog. Hiker hunger 🙂
Tomorrow we will get back on trail and do the dry section up to Walker Pass. So for the rest of the day it’s RELAX….
Wir liefen entlang der Cameron Road Richtung Highway und telefonierten einige lokale Trailangel ab um zu Fragen, ob sie uns abholen. Es fühlte sich sehr seltsam an komplett Fremde um einen solchen Gefallen zu bitten.
Ich hatte so etwas noch nie zuvor getan.
Kathy, die auf einer Farm in der Gegend lebt und ihre Kinder zuhause unterrichtet, holte uns schließlich ab. Sie tat das alles aus Spaß und um ein Teil des Trails zu sein – ohne die harte Arbeit.
Vielen Dank fürs Abholen, Kathy!
Wir erreichten Tehachapi, ließen unsere Rucksäcke im Best Western und gingen zu Kelcy’s – einem original amerikanischen Diner – für unser zweites Frühstück. Nach einem fantastischen Omelette mit Hash Browns (Kartoffelstreifen gebacken, etwas ähnlich zu unseren Kartoffelpuffer nur ohne Gewürze und Kräuter) checkten wir im Hotel ein.
Ich stand in der Dusche und weinte fast. Schon wieder eine andere Duscharmatur und keine Anleitung dazu! Ich brauchte ewig um den kleinen Knopf zu finden, den man herausziehen musste um das Ganze zum Lauen zu bringen. Es ist jedes Mal anders. Mal Drücken, mal ziehen…
Endlich konnte ich den Dreck von mehr als einer Woche abwaschen. Das Wasser das im Ausguss verschwand war fast schwarz…
Unsere Erholungszeit in der Stadt began…
Essen, andere Hiker treffen, Ausrüstung auf Vordermann bringen und schließlich relaxen…
Ich hatte mir eine neue Therm-A-Rest Neo Air Luftmatratze bestellen müssen, da meine alte während der Nacht Luft verlor und ich mindestens zweimal pro Nacht nachpusten musste.
Es ärgert mich sehr, da die Matte diesen Fehler bereits zuhause hatte. Erst durch den Vergleich mit anderen Hikern, wusste ich, dass etwas nicht stimmt.
Der deutsche Onlineshop Trekking-lite-store bei dem ich die Matte bestellt hatte, war wenig hilfreich (gratis Rücksendung innerhalb Deutschlands, 5 Tage Prüfung der Matte, dann vielleicht Ersatz oder Gutschrift) und so habe ich einfach eine neue bestellt.
Für zukünftig erholsamere Trailnächte. Hoffentlich…
Unser erster freier Tag war stressig. Einkaufen und z.T. neu verpacken des Essens dauerte fast den halben Tag.
Später am Abend entschieden wir einen weiteren Tag zu bleiben um zu relaxen.
Der 30. Mai entpuppte sich als Feiertag: Memorial Day.
America gedenkt seiner gefallenen Soldaten.
Wir sahen uns die Parade und den Gottesdienst im lokalen Park an.
Ich war mal wieder beeindruckt davon, wie stolz Amerikaner auf ihr Land sind. Leider ist das in Deutschland oft anders…
Nach den Feierlichkeiten reihten wir uns für einen kostenlosen Hotdog ein. Hiker Hunger 🙂
Ab Morgen sind wir wieder auf dem Trail und werden versuchen die trockene Strecke von hier bis Walker Pass zu meistern.
Für de Rest des Tages heißt es RELAXEN…..
Hikers’ requirements of a motel room, in order of importance:
-working shower, with lots of hot water
-comfortable bug-free bed
-in room refrigerator / big screen led tv (tied for third)
So glad you were able to get the shower working; no telling what mayhem you would have unleashed on management while “temporary insanity” took hold of you. 🙂
To find a hole in your NeoAir, inflate it to maximum – then hold under water in the bath tub. You should notice air bubbles escaping at the point (or points) of the leak. Circle these points with a marker so you can apply a patch later, when the mattress is dry. If you do not have a patch, ask around, as many hikers should carry them. If there are no obvious holes, then it may be likely that the valve itself may leak over the course of the night while you lie on it. This is then a warranty issue, and you should call the manufacturer @ 1-800-531-9531. Tell them that your are calling from the PCT while on a thru-hike, and that you ***need*** a replacement sent to you at your next trail town. You will then send your leaky mattress back to them. I am not surprised that your outfitter from home would not help you, as it is not their warranty, but you can still send them a nasty letter 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions (includes video showing patching procedure):
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/FAQ
Warranty and Repair:
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/warranty-and-repair
Just FYI, I am also following “Moonshadow”, a fellow Canadian who has made it over Forrester Pass, and Glen Pass, in the Sierra. You can read her story, with pictures of sunshine, beauty, snowfall, and whiteouts, here:
https://trailwhispering.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/forrester-pass/
Hope you are doing well, resting well, and having a great time!
Tschüss für heute!
Canada Goose
Hi Canada Goose!
Thank you very much for your suggetions regarding my Therm-a-rest. I took the easy way and bought a new one. But I also contacted Cascade Designs and their answer is still outstanding. Who knows, I might end up with two matresses… 🙂
And I hope I’ll never need your repair instructions but thank you anyway!
You might not believe it… I also follow moonshadows blog right from the start. The world is small…
It’s really helpful to get an impression of what’s ahead. And hopefully her photos of the Snow will cool me down the following days.
Your German is very good!
Hope you’re having a great time too!
Rocky
Hi Rocky!
When I was younger, I dreamt of travelling to Europe to visit Austria (Kitzbuhel), Switzerland (Wengen), and Germany (Garmisch Partenkirchen), to watch World Cup downhill ski races, and support the “Crazy Canucks” as they were called…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Canucks
To help facilitate the travelling, I would eat lunch at our local German delicatessen, where the ladies would teach me a little of the German language. Sadly, I never was able to make the trip before the skiers careers had ended…
Nowadays, I get my German from the internet 🙂
Ich habe in Deutsch geschrieben zu begrüßen Sie , und machen Sie sich mehr zu Hause fühlen.
Prost!
Canada Goose
Hi Canada Goose!
How about travelling to Europe in future? There’s more to Germany than Ski races…
I don’t live near Garmisch but I live close to the rhine and a Region famous for wine. You’re more than welcome!
There’s also some nice hiking around 🙂
I already feel a bit like home. I love the American way of life and the kindness of the people. Everyone along the trail treats us hikers as someone special. I like being here.
Seems to be very nice in Canada as well. I am looking forward to it!
Prost 🙂
Rocky
On a long hike, the troubles of the “real” world disappear, and we can be ourselves…we smile, we laugh, we sweat, we cry (not always when we can’t get the shower to work 🙂 ). People see you as you really are, and that you are genuine; not phony… They see you in need, and they want to help. The goodness in you brings out the goodness in them – and so it goes…
Wir sind alle Brüder und Schwestern auf der Spur ( des Lebens)
Best Regards,
Canada Goose
Very nice words. And so true.
Thank you.