Windy Miller

Well I survived last night's storm, just. It really hammered down for most of the night and the wind kept howling. I took the advantage of an early morning lull in the rain to pack up my wet tent, wrap up warm and hit the road.

I suppose the Tehachapi area is famous for its wind given the literally thousands of wind turbines on the hill. That wind blew me for most of the morning as I hammered towards Palmdale. Only when it turned into a cross wind did I slow. The Sierras are well and truly left behind now, and the landscape is now chaparall, much drier, but still high. It could be much warmer too but it's become unseasonably cold and wet for my visit.

Stopping in Palmdale for internet and directions for tomorrow's route through LA, I got a coffee, sandwich, lots of questions but no supplies. Idiot. I thought here would be one last shop on the route out of town. There wasn't and stupidly I didn't turn round. Instead I made a decision on my full stomach rather than the empty one I have now.

The final leg of the day was a long one up and over a mountain pass, dropping into a remote campground. Remote enough to have no water!

So I am on serious water rations tonight. I had 2 bottles to get me to the next water source in LA itself, and after my dinner, a small pack of noodles and a sip of water, I have 1 and a third. I have a few peanuts left over but am afraid to eat them as they make you thirsty, don't they?

Anyway, I had a pathetic attempt at making another fire tonight. Aided by meths from my cooker I had a good start but a lack of logs let me down. Just as the sun went down over the hill, the wind picked up drastically blowing down the mountain. As I chased my rubbish flying down the campground I didn't notice my map take off and land on the fire, not so pathetic now that it couldn't burn the relevant section of the waterproof, tearproof, but not fireproof map.

Here's to a still day tomorrow, with few hills to dehydrate on, and clear sign posts to LA in the middle of these last desolate mountains. Wishful thinking I guess. Should be fun.