Day 39 - Mountains Ahoy!!!

May 24

Depart Kennedy Meadows  

Arrive Mile 712.94

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO A TECHNICAL ERROR THIS BLOG REPLACES THE ONE TITLED SHORT DAY  

I was up at 5:30 am today as I had a lot of sorting out to do before I could head out to breakfast. I carried all my food, and bear canister, over to the large outdoor patio that is the focal point of the General Store at Kennedy Meadows. This is where everyone gathers, after setting up camp, to meet up with old friends, and where new ones are forged. Now that we are out of the desert all food has to be stored in a bear proof container, and I would estimate that 95% of hikers use this method. The problem a lot of hikers have is fitting everything in, but I’m hopeful the idea I have will prove to be a winner! What I have observed is people trying to fit everything into the container in its original packaging.

Upon arriving onto the deck I found a clean table, and set out my food, and then I sorted out my ziplock bags. Ever since Tina departed, at Aqua Dulce, my meals have consisted of Knorr sidekick pastas, and I had several different types, plus Kraft Mac and Cheese as well as a risotto dish. I would add either chicken or salmon and peas and carrots for protein or taste/flavor. I then proceeded to empty the contents of one of my food packages into the ziplock bag, and once the package was empty I cut off the name, and dropped it into the ziplock so I would know what I was  eating. Once I had everything in place I folded over the ziplock, to squeeze out the air, and rolled up the contents to make for a much smaller package. I then started the process all over again, until I had all of my dinners neatly parceled up ready to go into the bear container.

This next leg of my journey had proven to be the most difficult to plan for due to the logistics. There are 3 towns along the way, but to access each one involves detours from the PCT, a couple of which involve side trips of anywhere from 5-12 miles, which makes for a rather lengthy day, then, the following day, you have to repeat the process in order to return to the trail. Due to the ambitious schedule I had set for myself I could not afford to be taking detours, and instead elected to stay “up on the trail”. I had met a number of people who shared my concern, but because they were not on a schedule were playing things “by ear”. Anyhow, I digress and must get back to packing!

I easily fit all my dinners into my container together with my breakfasts, but the tricky part was fitting all of my Larabars and trail mix in as well. With a little bit of “creativity” I was able to fit everything into my container with the exception of a handful of Larabars, but I contented myself with the knowledge that after a couple of days everything would easily fit once I had eaten several meals! As the morning wore on a couple of other people joined me on the deck but I could not stop to chat as I was on a mission! Once I was done I took everything to my tent, stored it and got ready for breakfast. I was back at the General Store by 7:30am to meet up with Atlas, Einstein and Sundown for the ride up to Grumpy Bear for breakfast. Right on cue our ride arrived and within 5 minutes we were at the restaurant. There were a handful of people milling around and more were sure to follow so I went and stood by the front door. I reckoned it might be a lengthy process to get fed if the previous evening was anything to go by. Atlas came and joined me at couple minutes before 8am, and we were the first ones through the door when it swung open right at 8am.

Breakfast was pretty straight forward, and had to be ordered and paid for at the bar. They took your name, and payment, after which you helped yourself to coffee, which included as many refills as you could drink. Breakfast included a huge pancake, with maple syrup, and two eggs cooked any way you wanted, with hash browns, and you could get an extra pancake if you were able to eat the previous one. I’m so glad I lined up early, as within minutes there were 30 hungry hikers looking for food. The pancake was excellent, and I’m not sure there would be too many looking for seconds when it came to the pancakes. After breakfast I enjoyed a 2nd cup of coffee as I waited for Sundown and Einstein to eat, and then I excused myself as I wanted to visit the small hiker store that had recently opened close by the restaurant.

To get there I had to cross the road, go up a side road and then down a long path to a small house that had been converted to the store it had become. For such a small operation they had some terrific stuff, and at decent prices too. I ended up with several tent pegs, (it’s amazing how easy it is to lose them), and several other items including a cream for my shin which the lady at the store recommended. I then returned to Grumpy Bear to say my good byes to Atlas, as he was leaving the trail for a couple of weeks to take care of some personal business. I then joined the rest of the guys and jumped in the truck for the ride back to Kennedy Meadows. It was now mid morning and upon arrival there was a hiker receiving physio from a fellow PCT’er, who happened to be a physio. I was very fortunate to be able to have my leg looked at and it was confirmed I had shin splints in my right leg. The physio’s trail name was Dodo and he hailed from Tel Aviv and he spent 10 minutes massaging a cream into my shin, and it turned out I had purchased the exact same cream just a few minutes earlier at the outfitters near Grumpy’s. After saying my thanks I returned to my tent as I had to organize my backpack, which was going to be an interesting exercise now that I was using a bear canister.

After a couple of false starts I was now happy with my packing job and hoisted my bag into my shoulders. I was shocked how heavy it felt. Could someone have slipped into my tent, when I was at breakfast, and dropped a couple of small anvils in my bag? It suddenly dawned on me that I had reintroduced my Katoola spikes into the equation, which added 1/2 lb in weight. I was camped about 60 yards from the General Store, and it was slightly uphill, and once there I placed my bag on the deck. Before leaving I decided I was going to eat a burger for lunch, which would save me time out on the trail. It also allowed me to have a nice chat with Scientist, and get to know her a little better. Finally it was time to go and after wishing Einstein all the best, as he was taking a zero, I departed at 1:30 pm and started the longish road walk back down to the trailhead. The backpack felt very heavy but I consoled myself with the fact it would be 2 lbs lighter in 24 hours, and 4 lb lighter in 48 hours!

Earlier Legend had suggested I try to get 14 miles in, as there was a great campsite at a bridge over the river, but I wasn’t confident I was up to hammering out this amount of mileage in 6 hours or so. The first couple of miles seemed to take me through the last remnants of the desert and then I entered a new landscape which was very exciting. I was now encountering large evergreen trees, some of which were very impressive and gradually the feel of the desert was receding. All of a sudden I had a panic attack, as it dawned on me that I had forgotten an important item when buying supplies. When I had originally arrived at Kennedy Meadows I had enquired about fuel canister’s, and upon finding out they carried them decided I would pick one up later. I was a good 2-3 miles out from Kennedy and was debating on  returning when I bumped into a day hiker who was heading back to Kennedy Meadows.  The hiker’s nationality was Asian and so there was a little awkwardness in our verbal exchange, when I asked if he could get a message to Einstein for me. The message was a request for Einstein to pick me up a fuel container. Finally I felt I could do no more and had to trust my “messenger” would carry my message to its destination. I was now walking through some beautiful country which had lovely big trees, and a river that was bubbling alongside the path. 30 minutes after meeting the Asian traveler I came across another day hiker heading in the  opposite direction to me. The gentleman was from Germany and he was also heading to Kennedy Meadows, so I thought I would ask if he could carry the same message to Einstein for me, just in case the first gentleman didn’t follow through. No sooner had I made the request then the German fellow told me I could have his fuel canister, as he was heading to pick up a rental car due to his journey being over. This was trail magic at his best. My new German friend would not take any money, and his actions are so typical of the kinds of generosity you find on the PCT. After a great visit it was time for both of us to resume our respective journeys and we said our farewells. I now strode out with a renewed purpose and felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Life was good and I was a very happy camper!!. There are some incredibly nice people on the trail and I had been fortunate to meet not one, but two within the last hour. It was now getting late and I decided to keep an eye out for a decent campsite, and according to my map I was very close to a 5 person campsite, but when I arrived there were no other people, and the quality, or lack thereof, of a decent campsite probably explained the former. I made the decision to push on and within half a mile came upon Beck’s Meadow which was huge. Unfortunately it was not your typical “meadow”, as there was no grass, but I persevered and eventually found a piece of land that was acceptable. I quickly pitched my tent, made dinner and climbed into my tent to write notes for my blog. It had been a great day and I had walked a little over 11 miles and was excited at the prospect of going into the Sierras, and it wasn’t too long before I fell asleep.

Atlas, in the hat, of “Is she hot” fame, and the  speed merchant Einstein.

The last views of the desert which will shortly be consigned to memory!

Here come the big trees.

Mountains ahoy and the start of Beck’s Meadows.