Friday May 16, 13.5mi/21.7km

Interstate 5 (126.1/2520ft) to Old Ridge Route (139.6/3550ft) (CA)

I had a nice relaxing morning in the motel, I slept in and then ate the breakfast I had picked up the night before. After a second shower and also washing some of my gear, I went over to the laundromat and washed all of my clothes. From there it was a short walk to the Wendy’s for lunch, where I charged my phone and downloaded some maps. I had originally planned on getting another Uber to the big grocery store, about 10 miles south on the freeway. But then I saw there was a Dollar Tree in this shopping plaza and that was close enough. After my resupply shopping, I got an Uber back to the trail at 2pm. It was on a paved road all afternoon, but it was very quiet and almost no traffic.

Hey, a free dryer!

After a couple of intersections the road got smaller and also more scenic.

Looking north pretty much all afternoon.

I passed through a tiny village of like six houses and then I was on the historic Ridge Route, which I think used to go from LA to Bakersfield. There were occasional interpretive signs, though some of them were faded or overgrown.

It was a nice relaxing afternoon with easy walking and good scenery, and no navigation or other obstacles to think about.

Such a different hike from yesterday! When it was approaching 7pm I started to look for a spot to camp, which was difficult since the road is on top of a ridge and there’s basically no shoulder. I found a spot on the inside of a curve, and squeezed my tent between a couple bushes and called it a night.