PCT MM517 to MM535, Hikertown and Beyond

 
Tuesday: (04/05) Up early ate breakfast of a granola bar and some bacon jerky. Went outside in the dawn’s faint light and took pictures of Hikertown. Reviewed the hiker book and signed in. Fit all 11 liters of water in the pack. Above left is the food I shed from my backpack and resupply box. I only took what I thought I absolutely needed. It turned out to still be more than needed.

 
Hikertown  kitchen.

 
The yard looks like an old west town. Some are bunkhouses that hikers can stay in. Some are chicken coops. The fronts are labeled sheriff's office hotel, etc.

 
There are also some old RV’s to stay in. It is all paid by a donation. Some hikers stay a longer while they mend or wait for supplies to arrive.

 
On trail 0715. Much of the trail today was walking beside the California Aqueduct or on top of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Of 17 miles hiked, 12 were by or on the Aqueducts.

 
It’s amazing how long this pipe has lasted. There are some leaks and they look like mini geysers.

 
On the right above are mountain lion tracks left in the cement top of the box culvert section of the LA Aqueduct.

 
Above left is a little one foot snake asleep on the aqueduct. When I was stopped for a nap midday, Tortoise and Dump Truck passed me. I never saw them again until they came into my camp later that evening. They had stopped off trail shortly after I saw them for a break. When I first stopped for this break I took a nap. I was awaken by a rancher who asked if I was OK and needed any water. Actually I was fine and was tired from carrying all the water I needed. I must look worse than I feel. it was nice of them to ask.

 
Above left is one of the unexpected water caches in a vented box to keep it cooler. They are very small caches and will not be reliable to the herd when it arrives. I carried enough to go between reliable sources, not caches. The roads out here seem endless. When we left the aqueduct, there was about 5 miles of dirt road.

 
I stopped for the night at MM535 Cottonwood Creek where there is sometimes a working faucet and a campsite. The faucet was dry but there was a water cache. I felt good all day but was more than ready to stop for the night at 17 miles for the day. Just before I stopped, I met two SB hikers, Rees Hughes (from Arcata, Pcttrailreader.com) and Jim Peacock (from Massachusetts)