Quixotic

Day	43
Current Location	Tehachapi, CA
Miles Hiked	566.5
Miles to Go	2,088.7
Percent of Trail Completed	21.3%

The giant blade of a windmill whooshed over my head as I stopped to check the time. 11 pm. Way past my bedtime.

Still another five miles to the campsite. I clicked my headlamp back on, but the moon was so bright I almost didn’t need it.  Bracing into the wind, I kept walking.

Normally at this time of night I would have already been asleep for hours. Like most thru-hikers I’m usually in my tent for the evening by 7 or 8, sometimes even earlier. Tonight was different though; tonight I was crossing the aqueduct.

The Los Angeles aqueduct spans over 200 miles and includes a mix of open canals, tunnels, and pipelines to transport water from the Owens Valley to LA, supplying water to millions of people in the greater Los Angeles area.

In the Mojave Desert the PCT follows the aqueduct for about 20 miles, where hikers walk atop the canal’s concrete top. Ironically, despite waking directly over this gargantuan water supply, there is very limited accessible water for hikers. With a lack of water, blistering desert heat, and no shade, this flat section is more challenging than the trail elevation profile would suggest.

Many hikers opt to night hike the aqueduct to avoid the heat. I am usually a morning person on trail, much preferring to start my hike early in the day, so I wasn’t sure how I would handle hiking late into the night.

After relaxing at Hiker Town – a quirky remote on-trail hiker hostel – for much of the day, I began my hike at 4:30 pm. I enjoyed watching the sunset over the expansive desert landscape. Though I was exhausted, it was a special experience to watch the sky turn dark and the stars come out.

Midway through the hike, I began passing through wind farms, with hundreds of turbines scattered around the trail.

Passing under these massive windmills, I was reminded of Don Quixote, who famously mistook windmills for giants. Believing he was on a quest to defeat evil, he charged and attacked the windmill giants.

Don Quixote’s big adventure was fueled by delusions of grandeur and impossible dreams. He transformed mundane reality into a fantastical realm where he was a noble knight embarking on epic quests. How ridiculous.

Then again, are thru-hikers just as nuts?

Like Don Quixote, thru-hikers possess a strong sense of idealism and a desire for adventure. They embark on a journey seeking to conquer challenges or to experience the thrill of exploration.

Don Quixote’s romanticized perspective led him to embark on adventures motivated by ideals of honor, bravery, and love, even though everyone around him scoffed at his fantasies.

Thru-hikers, too, see deep meaning in their quests, even when others perceive it as idiotic.

There are no real giants to fight or maidens to rescue. It’s a made-up goal to walk 2,655.2 miles. The significance of completing a thru-hike is not inherent in the trail itself, but it becomes meaningful because we give it meaning. 

At 1:30 am I finally arrived to the campsite and collapsed onto my sleeping pad. Another quixotic day on the books!

This article originally appeared on The Trek, which you can read here.