Day 42 – The Last of the Desert

Miles: 684.8 to 702.2

Trail Miles: 17.4

Miles Walked: 19.2

I hit 696.5 miles at 10 a.m. That put me at just under 12 miles by 10am. There’s a hiker axiom: 10 miles by 10am and 20 by 2pm. I don’t bother with the 20 by 2 at this point (maybe in NoCal and OR). But it was nice to beat the 10 by 10 so roundly.

I was motivated to get to Kennedy Meadows today. Two friends from NC, Parker and Monique, were driving from the California coast to Utah. Monique’s husband was riding in a Vespa Road Rally and the route went through KM. I really wanted to see them if possible.

In order to get there in time I had hiked ahead last night. I ran into Surge, Gargoyle and Happy Feet (the AT boys) after 4 Miles. I had hoped to do few more but it was getting cold and the thought of camping near people I knew was comforting.

I didn’t get to chat with the guys too much. They were hanging their food in a tree as a precaution against bears and other animals. I don’t know that we were in bear country yet but I didn’t want my food to be what attracted ursine visitors. I hung mine as well. It’d been a few years since I’d done it, so it took a few humorous attempts. I eventually got it so a short bear and some non-ambitious squirrels couldn’t get to it.

Initially I set up to cowboy camp but after looking at the clouds and talking about it with the AT boys I decided to put up my tent. We’d been pretty wet that morning when we woke up to overcast skies. -I fear my sleeping bag is getting wet one too many times and the down is starting to clump. I’d rather deal with a wet tent than a wet sleeping bag.

As I set up, I could tell that it was going to be a cold night. The moon was almost full – I could see it shining opaquely through the fabric of my tent.

This morning I woke up before 5. It was cold. I slept pretty well but when I reached out to touch the roof of my tent and there was a light coating of frost on it. During the night my respiration and body heat had condensed and froze on the inside of the tent. The good news was my sleeping bag for the most part was dry

It took some effort to get out of my warm sleeping bag. When I finally did I retrieved the food bag from my bear hang – success! No critters had gotten to it. I got back in the tent, into my sleeping bag and started doing my morning chores. Sort food for the day, change clothes, pack up.

I got on the trail little after 0615.

At the campsite I found two pieces of what I think is Obsidian glass.

The trail continued the climb up to 8000 feet. Fortunately it was not steep, rather a gradual, comfortable climb. I was bundled up and didn’t want to sweat in my down jacket.

My goal was Kennedy Meadows (17.4 miles) by noon. I wasn’t sure that I could do it, but beating the 10 by 10 rule gave me hope.

I texted Parker on the Garman telling her I was shooting for noon but more likely 1230. She replied that they were just leaving the coast and would probably be at Kennedy Meadows a little later. Perfect!

As I created the top of a large hill, I could see a wall of granite off in the distance. The Sierras. When I reach Kennedy Meadows it would mark the end of the desert and a significant milestone, 702 miles. The trail wouldn’t get easier from here, but finding water would! The elevations will be higher, the temps will be colder, the weather will be more variable, but at least I won’t have to carry 6 1/2 liters (14.3 lbs) of water. More likely 2 L, at the most, would be sufficient.

The Sierras also mean I’ll get to see HH! He’s coming out to CA in June and I’m planning to spend some time with him both on and off the trail. He’ll be out here a few weeks. When he flies back east, I won’t see him again until September – most likely when I reach Canada. So my goal is to enjoy as much time as I can with him and then when he leaves, I’ll put the pedal to the metal. My long range goal: Canada by early/mid- September. That’s a couple thousand miles away still, so we’ll see how it shakes out.

When I reached the turn off for Kennedy Meadows there was note in the trail register for trail magic. It was 12:30 (17.4 miles by 12:30!) and I was early to meet my friends so I followed the directions to the trail magic. The parents of hiker Sonic were grilling burgers, hotdogs next to Kern River. They had Gatorade and Beer. I met a few hikers but mostly chatted with Terrie and Steve, Sonic’s parents. Steve isan engineer at Travis AFB and Terrie is a retired nurse and private pilot. She had just sold her Cherokee 235. Needless to say I reallly enjoyed chatting with them.

After an hour I headed up the road to the KM General Store. I ran into Cloud Rider on the way. Hadn’t seen him since Tehachapi. He was going to Cottonwood Pass and then flipping ahead to Donner Pass. He’d come back and do the Sierras later when the snow wasn’t an issue. It made sense given the uncertainty about the weather. He’d already thru hiked the PCT before so he wasn’t wedded to hiking a continuous path north like the rest of us.

When I walked up to the KM General Store a bunch of people seated on the deck started clapping. I looked around confused. They were clapping for me. –People clap when you arrive! Acknowledging you made it 702 miles through the desert! I couldn’t help but smile. It felt great!

Parker and Monique arrived within 5 min of me getting to the store. Iwas afraid they might not recognize me but Monique said my blue compression socks were a dead-giveaway.

It was SO GREAT to see them! Like a bit of home! They’d brought a big box of goodies to share with my trail family and fellow hikers.

Within 20 min Shane, Monique’s husband, arrived on his Vespa. He was doing well, but could only stop for a few minutes. The road rally went from coast to coast and was limited to 279 cc bikes with at least one tire under 10 or 12 inches. He wanted to stay with his group. I completely understood that feeling and wished him well. — What a cool event to participate in!

Parker and Monique were able to stay a bit longer, so we went to a local restaurant and chatted. I kept running into hikers I knew but hadn’t seen in days or weeks. It was good to catch up with everyone.

After I said goodbye to Parker and Monique, I found Smokebeard, Cherry Bomb and the rest of the group. We all shared in the goodies from the care package Parker and Monique had left.

There were well over 100 hikers camping at the General Store that night, plus all the Memorial Day weekend travelers. There was a makeshift outdoor ‘movie theater’ next to the store. Jumanji 2 was playing that night. With cold beer from the store, it was a great way to celebrate a fun day with friends as well as the end of the desert!