PCT South via Tehachapi Willow Springs Road

The parking lot is on the right unmarked and unpaved so don't miss it. The trail is super hard to find if you are not looking for it and the grass and shrubs are overgrown. It was pretty cool to be under the turbine windmill though! I recommend if you are going around fall, to make sure to wear gloves and a fee layers to keep you from all that wind! Keep safe and warm out there!

This was one of those unique hikes featuring many windmills. I ended up hiking a round trip of 5 miles that took 2 hours to complete. You can hike even further on the PCT.Parking was on the dirt road adjacent to the start of the PCT. It was extremely cold and windy in the high 30°F. The wind made the hike somewhat miserable as my hands were frozen and numb the whole time!Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/T39cExuS25k

I've been wanting to hike the desert section of the Pacific Crest Trail ever since I was a little girl, so I was extremely enthusiastic when my cousin asked me if I wanted to hike "The PCT in Tehachapi."You betcha.We parked at the Pacific Crest Trail Desert Section trail head at the intersection of Tehachapi Willow Springs Road and Cameron Canyon Road, which is technically in Mojave, near PCT mile 558.The parking lot is not so much a formal parking lot as it is a large square of dirt on the side of the road. It was not at all crowded. During the entire course of our hike, we only saw 2-3 other people.From the trail head, you can pretty much go north or south. My cousin and I hiked south, under the wind turbines, along the Pacific Crest Trail towards Tehachapi Mountain Park. I believe we hiked miles 558-552 and back.Obviously, the first thing anyone hiking this trail would notice would be the gigantic wind turbines. From base to blade, they are about 100 meters tall. From up close on the trail, you can see that each turbine has its own road and power station.According to Google, there are at least 4700 wind turbines in the Tehachapi wind resource area, owned and operated by at least five separate wind farms. It is one of the largest wind farms in the world. Apparently, on this particular day, there was a wind advisory in Tehachapi, and apparently, my cousin had told me about it, but I had misunderstood her, thinking that she was telling me that according to hiking reviews, it was a windy trail. I was like, "Who knew it would be windy in Tehachapi?" And since I am the more experienced hiker, she took my indifference to mean that the wind advisory was nothing to worry about.We both felt like we almost got blown off the freaking mountain!!! Imagine how windy it has to be to move a 100 meter tall wind turbine in the first place. And when the turbines start moving fast, they generate their own wind, too, and the trail is right underneath them. I wouldn't recommend it, but we survived, and it was rather thrilling. I was too busy fighting the wind to even notice whether or not the 1460 foot elevation gain was strenuous. It was so windy that, even with my sunglasses tucked under my hoodie, and a sheer scarf tied over my entire face over the hoodie, I still ended up with sand in my eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and throat. Anyway, I could go on... but aside from the elemental adventure, we saw lots of Joshua trees, prickly pear shrubs, lupine, every color of quartz, animal bones, and wayyy too much horse poop.My cousin said she's seen wild horses out here before, but we didn't see any large animals on this day.We hiked just far enough to see Tehachapi Mountain Park before turning around. Next time I'm in town, I'll definitely want to check out a different section of trail. This was fun to see once, but is not anything I'd need to see over and over again.