Day 46: Hwy 58- Golden Oaks spring, plus a few more miles (mi 567-587)

Smiles chokes down some of Dr. Slosh's homebrewed super energy electrolyte solution.

A stark and foreboding landscape. Looking down at a chasm following the first portion of the first climb of the day.

Finally starting to see the Sierra Nevada batholith exposed: a layered, wedding-cake like peak near an old wind farm past Golden Oak springs at sunset.

Always at work, Smiles hikes on into the night after we tanked up on water at Golden Oak springs.

Hot as ever today. A cool morning breeze coaxed us out of our sleeping bags at 6:30 (an hour and a half after we intended to rise), but it was too late. Within 5 minutes of walking, we were on the eastern slope of the mountains facing the Mojave desert, and the sun had been beating on the hillside mercilessly for some hours at that point. The heat radiated off the white sands and through the air without the benefit of any cooling breezes. We climbed 2,400 totally exposed vertical feet, then were rewarded with a 6-mile jaunt on a dusty, exposed jeep/ATV trail. Along the way we passed Seeker, whom had run out of water. We spared a liter for him, as we still had at least 7 miles ourselves until the next water at Golden Oak spring. It was among the hottest days on the trail, and by far the slowest hiking. It took us 8 solid hours to reach the spring only 15 miles from the campsite. I had downloaded the audio version of the latest issue of The Economist on my phone and listened to it throughout the hike, but vowed to never do so again. The droning brits in my headphones only made the time seem to go slower. Once at the spring, a dribbling piped oasis offering shade and water, we complained about the heat with Buff, Boulder, Scooter, Sunrise, Dance Party and Viking. Guy on a Buffalo hiked in a whole, mixed berry pie from Tehachapi, which he generously shared with us. I wish I took a few photos of the pie and the whole general setup at the spring, but I have found that if it is too hot and miserable, I simply neglect to take photos. At 7 we decided to hike more, to chip into the 19 miles until the next water. We made it about 4 miles until the sun went down, and made haste to find a campsite that was not in the middle of a recent burn. After a brief stint, we did find a flattish spot in an area protected from the burn, surrounded by oak and low chaparral. A quick mouthful of beef jerky for dinner in the sleeping bag, a quick brushing-away of the solfugids investigating my sleeping pad, and we were done.