Desert Breeze

We woke up to a nice breeze that got steadily stronger as the sun came up. The desert sky filled up with crisscrossing jet trails. And, as we marched towards the Tehachapi Mountains, the land got more and more wind turbines. By the time we got into the foothills, the wind was pushing us around a bit, and there were *lots* of turbines.

In case anyone wonders why it is so windy, there was a sign to explain it!

The view from the Tehachapi Mountains was pretty cool. You could see the Mojave stretching out to the east as far as you could see, bordered to the south by the San Bernardino and the San Gabriel Mountains. It felt good to know that we’d been up in those mountains, and that we’d walked the whole way.

There were lots of wind and solar farms along the desert floor. From a distance, the solar farms looked like water because they shimmered. Looking at this stretch from the San Gabriel’s, the desert had looked kind of bleak. But looking down on the energy farms from the Tehachapi Mountains, the desert looked busy, and it made me feel good.

We set up camp in amongst some pines, and got a laugh out of a sign somebody had made for PCT hikers.

It wasn’t too much of a joke though – it really is fine dining when you think about it!

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