Across the Desert

c) Andrew Carter, 2021

In Southern California, the PCT often has to cross valleys to get from one mountain range to another. That’s particularly the case south of Tehachapi where the Trail has to cross the Antelope Valley.

The Antelope Valley is high desert. The altitude where the PCT crosses is 3000 feet plus or minus.

It’s about 17 miles as the crow flies from the Tehachapi Mountains at the north to the Sierra Palona at the south, but 22.5 miles on the Trail because the PCT has to make use of primarily north/south and east/west dirt roads to make a diagonal northwest to southwest crossing.

Most of the time the road the PCT is using runs right along the concrete-covered Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Since it took me more than a day to cross the Antelope Valley, I camped beside the Aquaduct one night.

At the south end of the Valley the Aquaduct transitions from concrete vault to concrete pipe to steel pipe to cross the lowest part of the Valley.

This pipe section of the Aquaduct is a siphon which allows the Aquaduct to cross low-lying ground. As we learned in grade school, water always seeks its own level. The altitude at both ends of the siphon is the same even though the altitude in the middle is lower. The water inside the pipe is able to flow from one end of the siphon to the other without any pumping. Heavy metal and rivets are used for the siphon so that the pressure of the water within the pipe doesn’t burst it.

While I’m writing about the Aquaduct, here’s a photograph of a footprint made in the wet cement years ago. The foot and shoe clearly belonged to a big-wig coming to inspect the work progress. He didn’t have the good sense not to step in concrete. I write big-wig because of the smooth leather sole of the shoe. That’s not the sole of a work boot.

The desert is an interesting place. It seems to be where trailers come to die and homes to fall apart.

Not all the homes are in such bad shape, however.

The geodesic dome home. Never out of style, according to this homeowner.

Even though the Antelope Valley is desert, grazing takes place in the winter.

As mentioned in another post, I’m staying at Hikertown tonight. I leave the Antelope Valley tomorrow morning.

Just before I reached Hikertown, I crossed the California Aquaduct.

One last photograph.