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Day 56-57: Kennedy Meadows
May 30-31 I spent my two zero days in Kennedy Meadows preparing for the Sierras, socializing with other hikers, and eating. There were about 180 miles before the next common resupply stop – unless you were willing to descend over 2000’ to the east side of the mountains and head into one of the little towns: Lone Pine, Independence, Bishop. Food volume was constrained by what you could cram inside a hard-sided bear can. That wasn’t the only new piece of gear: I’d mailed myself microspikes and rain pants for the snowy passes ahead,
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Day 53-55: Gateway to the Sierras
May 27-29; Mile 656-702 Day 53 The day began with a nice walk along steep, rocky cliffs with a long drop-off. The talus slopes and granite peaks reminded me so much of Washington. The Sierras rose like an impenetrable wall to the north, just days away now. The trail dropped back down into a basin filled with Joshua trees. Peaks towered all around me: softer, rounded peaks nearby and jagged behemoths in the distance. I crawled along the trail, careful not to aggravate my
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Day 50-52: Dry
May 24-26; Mile 602-656 Day 50 I hiked through pine forest in the morning, but soon the trail descended back among Joshua trees and cacti. I spent most of the day hiking with a hiker named Doc who was going slow since he possibly had shin splints. Despite his medical-themed trail name, he proceeded to ask every hiker we passed what they thought might be wrong. We arrived at a road after only 7 miles that led to a nice campground with flowing water from a tank.
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Day 47-49: The Desert (Reprise)
May 21-23; Mile 566-602 Day 47 I woke up refreshed and clean in a hotel room in Tehachapi. In the afternoon I went to a movie with Portal and Em; we saw “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” I cried for half of part two, and based on the snuffling sounds next to me, I wasn’t the only one. We walked out of the dark theater into the bright afternoon sun in a daze. The three of us walked over to the Best Western for DD’s pool party, and it was
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Day 45-46: The Violent Wind
May 19-20; Mile 534-566 Day 45 I awoke six hours later to bright sunshine and spinning blades all around us. My head felt fuzzy from lack of sleep, and everything was covered in a fine layer of grit. Dolphin finished packing, and we made plans to camp at a spot 15 miles ahead. The wind turbines had a stark, almost alien beauty to them, and as I walked through their midst I noticed they were all facing the same direction: north. The trail headed steadily upward straight into
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Day 44: Night Hike on the Aqueduct
May 18; Mile 510-534 I left camp at 6; though I only had 7 miles to cover before reaching town, I wanted to leave plenty of time for napping before the night hike. The trail crossed a road soon after leaving my camp. Over the next three hours I spent a lot of time thinking of its steady downhill grade as I trudged up and down several pointless, steep climbs on the way to Hiker Town. Several other hikers I talked to all mentioned the same regret at not being able to just take the road into
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Day 41-43: To Hiker Town
May 15-17; Mile 454-510 Day 41 My parents dropped me off at the trail around 6, and it was already quite warm in the sun. After reading about how the next section of trail was peoples’ least favorite, I was expecting the worst. And yet I was greeted by the same steady dirt tread lined with bright wildflowers and yucca. For being so close to the Mojave, the hillsides were remarkably green. I stopped at the spring after six miles and came across Tim, Yannika, and someone
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Day 39-40: Agua Dulce
May 13-14; Mile 440-454 Day 39 I left camp before six; though it was only four miles to the trailhead, I was determined to stay out of the heat. I made excellent time, arriving almost two hours before my parents were due to pick me up, and so I joined Locomotive for the walk to the Acton KOA. They had a tiny store with snacks and drinks, and I wandered in a hungry daze, debating whether or not a pint of ice cream was a reasonable breakfast. I ended up buying a root beer,
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Day 37-38: 419
May 11-12; Mile 406-440 Day 37 I woke to a tent covered in ice and water bottles frozen solid; it had been the coldest night on trail so far. I was glad that I’d dropped down to about 5000′ of elevation – anything higher and my sleeping bag would have been at its temperature limit. It was an easy decision for me to wait until the sun had burned away the frost before finally leaving camp close to 8am. I hiked through pleasant pine forest high on a ridge and
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Day 35-36: Angeles Crest
May 9-10; Mile 369-406 Day 35 My parents dropped me off at the trailhead early in the morning; I could see clouds gathered in the valley nearby. Thankfully the wind from the previous day had died down, and the cold mountain air was refreshing instead of biting. The trail headed steeply up the side of Mt Baden-Powell, and near the top it disappeared among patches of snow. Some footprints veered around the blocks of white, others cut a path across it. It was a “choose your own adventure” of steep, loose rocks or hard,
