Day 55, June 10 - We're Here!

Kennedy Meadows Campsite Mile 704 to Trailside Mile 727

It's official - I <3 the mountains! And I can now say without any hesitation that I absolutely love this trail! Today was a great day.

We hiked with the Wolfpack for the first 15 miles or so and had a ton of fun experiencing the change of scenery together. (I'm hoping we may have passed our last cactus of the trail today!) At the end of the day, we climbed over 5,000 feet, and almost climbed to 11,000 feet at the highest point of the day - and I feel great! How odd. Our surroundings were green, there were trees everywhere, the temperature was perfect, and all were happy in our idyllic little world. After the first big climb, we turned a corner to find ourselves entering a huge, picture perfect meadow with a mountainous backdrop surrounding the scene. Everyone started cheering and we shared a moment of awe appreciating where we were. We stopped for lunch at a meadow where the trail crossed the Kern, and there were about 10 other hikers also stopped enjoying the suddenly lush trail. All this seemed all the more special because of what we endured and persevered through to get here - we earned this beauty!

Unfortunately, after lunch, Brett and I had to leave the rest of the Wolfpack behind - they planned on taking it slow and acclimating gradually to our new elevation, and we needed to average close to 20 miles/day in order to make it to Mammoth in time (arriving a day late was absolutely not an option!) Our guidebook said to not expect to do more than 10-17 miles/day in the High Sierra, so I was a little concerned what we were about to get ourselves into - darn that trail magic that was too hard to leave behind a few days ago! On our first day in the Sierra, we managed to pump out almost 23 though, which I'm pretty excited about. It was hard to leave everyone behind, but I'm sure we'll all be together again soon. And maybe we'll catch up with Lunchbox, Viking or Gummy Bear.

I am already SO much happier not being in the desert, and feeling very much stronger/fitter/more bad@$$ than I have in years! These fun times are only going to get better to boot. Yep, just another Monday in the ole "office."

Days 52-54, June 7-9 - Kennedy Meadows at Long Last

Trailside Mile 680 to 703, Kennedy Meadows! 0 at Kennedy Meadows

Well folks, I arrived! Can't believe I finally made it to Kennedy Meadows, mile 700, the beginning of the Sierra Nevada, and everything all hikers have been fantasizing about for the past month and a half. There was some time when I was definitely not sure if I'd make it this far, so I am insanely proud of myself for actually making it - I don't think I've ever proclaimed such pride in an accomplishment before either! What a great feeling this is.

Yesterday we braved the heat and hiked in to KM. At the end of the last climb before KM, we reached a saddle and looked out at our very first view of the Sierra Nevada. It was a pretty special feeling to look out and see where we've hiked to, and where we will be hiking through in the next weeks. I shed a few tears (of joy, pride, accomplishment, relief) and then took some time to soak it all in. I did the same thing a few miles later when we hit mile 700, which is recognized by hikers as THE end of the desert.

I still can't believe I walked 700 miles from Mexico on my own two feet. Reflecting on the trail, I remember some of the lows and the many moments of uncertainty that I would be physically or mentally capable of continuing on. I'm so happy I did, and I'm feeling more optimistic than ever that I'll be finishing this trek in just a few short months!

We spent a few days hanging around Kennedy Meadows with a major crew of hikers rolling in and taking off consistently. The mood was electric - everyone was happy to have arrived, excited for what was to come, and in need of some time to hang out. The Kennedy Meadows General Store and cafe are just about the only things in town, and we were all allowed to set up our tents around the property. Most of us whiled away a few days on the patio eating and drinking and socializing. Life was sweet, and the crown jewel of the hike was about to start.

Amidst the casual days in which we didn't think about time or life outside of our hiker life bubble, Slosh and I realized we had less than two weeks until we were due to arrive in Mammoth for our good friends' wedding. We had a house reserved with some of our best friends for a long weekend and somewhat of a mini-high school reunion for me. While we'd considered taking two full zero days before leaving KM, we realized that wasn't a luxury we had, and knew it would be important to hit the trail on Sunday. We hoped to hike the Sierra with our friends and not get ahead of everyone, so we all left KM Sunday afternoon and only planned to go a few miles to the campground outside of town - sometimes the most important thing is just to remove yourself from the temptations of town, so even getting a few miles in is an accomplishment! We all set up camp and Scones and Doodles arrived as well. We had dinner together, chatted about our expectations of the Sierra Nevada, and got to bed early in anticipation of the amazing journey ahead!

Day 51, June 6 - Desert's Last Stand

Mile 656 to Trailside Mile 680

Even though we were only 2.5 days from the Kennedy Meadows promised land, we started the day in a total funk. It took forever to really get moving, and by the time we did, it was too hot. We wanted to make it to mile 670 for water and lunch, but we were so slow we didn't make it until almost 3 - after untold number of breaks and my feeling like I was overheating all day. We finally got to the water and there was nowhere good to take a break, but we found some shade with Happy Hour and Squeaks to relax for a few hours.

We tackled the days really big climb after lunch and rocked it, which was a nice way to end the day. We didn't leave ourselves much daylight though, so we didn't make it to the goal mile of 681, but we did get close. Just a little over 20 to Kennedy Meadows, so we're hoping for an early start tomorrow and to be hanging out at the cafe and general store by tomorrow afternoon!

Day 50, June 5 - Near0 at Walker Pass Trail Magic

Near0 at Walker Pass to Mile 656 Trail Camp

The decision to stay in camp for a near0 instead of hiking on was an easy one, especially because we expected the rest of the Wolfpack to show up. Started the day with morning pancakes, which were amazing! I'm not usually one for sweets in the morning, but ever since Casa de Luna pancakes and syrup, there's been a little corner of my hiker hunger especially devoted to those tasty treats, and I ate 3, sans guilt!

We did laundry down the road in an old trough and then hung out most of the day, which was perhaps a bit of a mistake. I started feeling weird hanging around for so long, especially so close to Kennedy Meadows - I was so ready to be gone and on my way to KM, but I just couldn't bear the thought of actually hiking out and doing the work to get myself there. Lunchbox scored a ride from Aloha straight to KM, and it took every fiber of my being not to hop in the car with them. I knew I'd regret skipping 50 miles, but the thought of relaxing for a few days before everyone else arrived was SO tempting. Instead, I spent the day with Chik Chak talking about the trail, life, and everything else.

We hit the trail after dinner because we knew an early morning departure would probably turn into another day at the campground. We made it a little farther than expected, which put us a mere 46 miles from Kennedy Meadows and in good shape to arrive by the 8th. Hooray!

Day 49, June 4 - Trail Magic is Magical!

Mile 627 to Mile 652, Walker Pass

7 weeks on trail! I can't believe this crazy journey has come so far. And we are finally in spitting distance to Kennedy Meadows - I can't remember the last time I was so excited to move on to a new chapter!

Once again, I didn't sleep a wink last night. Well, not until 3am - and alarms went off at 3:30. Awful. I snoozed for a while (it seems the only time I CAN sleep these days is when I definitely shouldn't be sleeping...sigh) Hit the trail by 5am, which isn't too bad, and managed to catch an absolutely magnificent sunrise - one of our last in the desert! It was nice to be reminded of the beauty here, especially towards the end. The cache at mile 631is the last water source for at least 33 miles, and is maintained by the same trail angel who stocks the previous cache. Without these two caches, there would be a stretch of well over 50 miles without water on trail. Everyone who provides trail magic is an angel in my book, but the woman who maintains these two caches is probably the most important and unsung hero of the trail. As we arrived, Trail Angel Mary pulled up in her blue pickup truck to do her daily restocking of the cache. This woman defines angel - she's probably in her 80s, lives in the middle of the desert, and singlehandedly maintains both caches during hiker season from the well on her property - shuttling over 100 gallons of water to the trail every day during hiker season. We helped her unload crates of gallons to the trail and tie them such that once drained, empty bottles won't blow away. The crates are heavy - I could hardly carry them - but this is Mary's daily routine for months of the year! She told me that she has sleepless nights worrying about hikers out in the desert without enough water. This section would have been incredibly challenging without Mary's help. I'm consistently amazed by the generosity of strangers on this trip.

We hustled to the top of the mountain after filling water bottles and the climb was refreshingly easy! I hustled my short legs up that mountain with the fear of heat in me, and I was on top before I knew it! We cruised through pines and forest the rest of the day. Took a lunch break under some shade and LunchBox caught up to us, on track for a 30 mile day to Walker Pass! We wanted to make it to Walker Pass before dark, because rumor had it there was the possibility of trail angels and root beer floats. Imagine my surprise when I rounded the last corner to see a cluster of tents in the campground filled with people providing more trail magic! The one and only Yogi of hiker fame - she is the author of our guidebooks - and a handful of others including Jackelope and others served us cold drinks and cooked dinner for the dozen or so hikers who arrived as well. I went to bed with a full stomach and the knowledge that I'm only 50 miles shy of the Sierra Nevada. Life is good!

Day 48, June 3 - Refuge Under the Joshua Tree

Landers Camp, Mile 609 to Trailside Mile 627

Landers Camp was so lovely, and we were so comfortable under the pines, we forgot we were still technically in the desert and slacked on the waking up portion of the day. It felt so mountainous, it was hard to remind myself that would soon change. But change it did! We only made it 7 miles before hitting a water cache that marks the beginning of a very long, exceedingly dry section. We were in the middle of some of the most barren desert we've seen yet. It was only 10am, but we had to seek shade under the solitary Joshua Tree in sight with Viking. Soon, the Wolfpack arrived, and all of us spent the entire day curled up under the minimal shade of the spindly tree. Surprisingly, it was a really fun day - perhaps because our tired bodies and brains were heat addled - but whatever. We set up tarps for shade, and passed around the Jameson from my last care package - just enough for everyone to have a little nip!

During the hottest part of the day, two ladies and a dog drove up the dirt road in a van and were dropped off at the cache. It was clear off the bat that they weren't thru-hikers, as the first thing they did was fill every last one of their water bottles with water from the cache, and then washed down their dog - a serious no-no considering they'd clearly come from civilization (and water!) They packed up and then got ready to hike in the middle of the hottest part of the day, in an area with absolutely no shade. It was well over 100. We were all confused and a little annoyed by the selfishness of using SO much of the limited cache supply when they'd just arrived from town to trail. Hours later when we finally started hiking again, we ran into the mom no more than a mile down the trail and she seemed to be showing signs of heat exhaustion. She was already exhausted and I checked in with her to ensure she had enough water and recommended she get under some shade. I felt bad leaving her but thought it more important to catch up with her daughter and dog and send them back. When we caught up with her daughter, she didn't seem too concerned, but when I asked her if she had a water report (fairly essential guide on how/where to find water on the trail) she looked at me with a blank stare and just replied that she had the Halfmile map. Lighthouse was able to convince her to turn back, and I think was successful in convincing them this wasn't the best section to start your hike in. None of us are sure how or why they decided to attempt a section hike where they did, especially when we're so close to the Sierra, but we do know they were seriously underprepared and it was nerve wracking to see people try and set out in such conditions. This portion of the desert is incredibly remote, so they certainly didn't wind up here on accident. The whole experience was unsettling, as it reminded me of just how easily things could go wrong out here, and the sheer brutality of the place we're hiking through right now. Any of us are just one wrong turn away from serious trouble, so it was a good reminder of how important it is to remain vigilant in these kinds of conditions. It also reminded me of how much I've learned the last month and a half, and how far we've all come.

After much debate, the Wolfpack decided to only hike 6-10 miles more instead of the full 15 to the next cache. I was just hoping to get as far as possible - the plan was to hike until I couldn't hike anymore. I was so tempted to stay with everyone at a nice flat spot we found about 5 miles past the Joshua Tree, but knew I'd regret it if not - a huge climb is looming tomorrow, and I wanted to get as close as possible in hopes of completing it before the heat sets in.  Managed to make it about 6 miles farther, then had a quick dinner and set alarms for a mere 5 hours later to get up and do it over again!

Days 42-47, May 28-June 2 - Sleepless Nights for 100 Miles

Sleep was hard to come by at the Sawmill Campground - the nice cool breeze we'd enjoyed during the day turned to a full on windstorm at night, and we spent the night continually re-pitching the poor tent, which kept collapsing in the gusts. We had to restake the tent at least 5 times throughout the night, and then woke up to a rainy and dreary morning - a definite change! The day was long and chilly, but passing mile 500 felt great. All milestones are exciting, but 500 seems like the first really legitimate big deal. I can't believe I've WALKED 500 miles - it's hard to wrap my mind around! 

After hiking the dreary day through a creepy desert hunting club (seriously), we made it to mile 518 and a strange little place called Hiker Town. Oh...Hiker Town...what a place. After Hiker Heaven and Casa de Luna, this place was a little bit of a shock to the system. It didn't help that we showed up right around dusk and there were about 30 people there ahead of us already. Hikertown is an old western style "town" built right next to the highway, with small buildings designed to resemble a saloon, schoolhouse, general store, etc. on the facade. Inside, they're bunks available to rent out for the night for a suggested donation of $10. I think it would be a fun, cheeky place to stay at times, but when we arrived the place was bursting at the seams with hikers and the proprietors seemed a little overwhelmed.  We originally planned on continuing on, but after our lack of sleep the night before, were deterred by the weather forecast which predicted continued wind storms with gusts up to 80mph. The owner allowed us to roll out our sleeping bags in the garage, where we decided to stay with Games and Reason. (They'd decided that the lodging they'd been offered on the other side of highway was just a bit too dodgy after noticing the plethora of "No Trespassing" signs and the use of a rock to jimmy open the side of a barn.) Joining us in the garage was a dog, who apparently doesn't like the wind, because he howled ALL NIGHT LONG. Coupled with the wind slamming the aging garage door against its metal rails continuously throughout the night, and we literally got absolutely no sleep...for the second night in a row! I finally started to drift off sometime around 4am, but the roosters on the property started crowing and actually pecking on the garage door sometime around 4:45. It was an awful nights sleep, and a fairly creepy place to wait out the howling windstorm, but I couldn't help but crack up as we packed up and hightailed it out of there by 5am for fear we'd otherwise be asked for our $10/person "donation" for the night's "rest." 

I didn't mind getting an early start, because day 43 was aqueduct day! For some reason, I was really excited about the prospect of walking for miles and miles across the sweet, flat aqueduct. It seemed like such a fun change of scenery, and as we walked on and on I couldn't help but marvel at the feats of civil engineering to carry ALL THAT WATER to Southern California. Maybe I was just drunk off the sight of that water! And, did I mention it was flat?! We even walked on concrete for a few miles.  I loved the aqueduct...for about an hour. Then the novelty wore off, and I was walking in the exposed desert in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and it felt like it went on forever. We finally made it to a cache under a bridge at mile 535, where we caught back up to the Wolfpack! It was so good to see everyone, and it turned out we'd barely missed them at Hikertown the previous evening. After waiting out the heat of the day, we took off for camp at Tyler Horse Canyon at mile 541 - only 6 miles to the end of the day! The last 6 miles went directly through a gigantic wind farm - wind mills that went on and on as if forever.  It almost felt apocalyptic, like the only things left on the earth were wind mills and a few straggly hikers. Turns out, those wind mills are there for a reason - it was incredibly windy, and there were a few moments when it literally took all my effort to just stay on my feet. It was exhausting but funny - we laughed as we had to practically throw our bodies forward to get one step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the wind didn't die down, and we had another awful night's rest. We were cowboy camping (no tent) and the sand whipped across my slightly burned face all night. So frustrating. When you're putting your body through the daily rigors of a thru-hike, sleep is the magical solution to so many problems. Somehow, you can go to bed dog tired every night sore and in pain, but wake up the following morning after a good night's rest and be ready to go out and do it all over again. A night's sleep is a terrible thing to waste out here, and I felt absolutely awful after 3 nights of no sleep.  (What are the odds the only time in my life I'd have trouble sleeping is when I'm more exhausted than ever?!)

We didn't plan on taking a zero in Mojave, so we left camp early to complete the last 17 miles to town early enough to leave time for chores. The hike was brutal - I'd cut holes in the top of my too-small-shoes to try and give my toes a little extra room up front, but then we returned to super sandy trail. You can imagine how that felt as it filled my shoes with every step. But there was trail magic waiting when we arrived at the road! Coppertone was on site with his camper passing out root beer floats - a little taste of heaven! 

A nice trail angel named Doug drove the 10 miles to pick us up and drive us in to Mojave...which the guide book had recommended over Tehachapi as the "less awful" of the two options. To put it lightly, there's not much for thru-hikers in Mojave. Our hotel was directly across the street (highway) from a train switchyard, and our dining options included fast food, Denny's, or El Jefe Mexican and Pizza (which we visited twice during  our slightly more than 24 hours in town). Mojave was great for actually taking care of chores and relaxing though - fewer distractions! I caught up with family and had a surprise package waiting from my Mom - stocked with cookies, candy, chips and a little Irish whiskey! Amazing. 

We waited out the heat of the day in Mojave the following day and then got back to the trail around 8pm, after trail angel Doug and his equally kind wife Suzy picked us up and brought us back to the trail. We only hiked about a mile and a half - now that is a serious near0! The following morning, we hit the trail by 7, but it wasn't nearly early enough - it was one of the hottest days we've had yet, and we were boiling almost immediately, with a 2500 ft climb looming. The hiking wasn't the prettiest we've seen, and the wind mills continued - I'm ready to be done with the wind mills! We had a late lunch with Sunshine, Dance Party, Buff, Boulder, Scooter, Lighthouse, and Viking. I was tempted to stay at the nice shady spring to wait for the Wolfpack, but given how hot it had been and the fact that they'd taken a full zero the day before in Tehachapi, we weren't sure if they'd catch up. We hiked on to 586 and found a nice flat camping spot. I took a Tylenol PM, which I'd picked up in town - wasn't prepared to deal with another sleepless night! I don't even think I moved until the alarm went off at 4am!

Today proved as hot as yesterday, but the hiking was so much more enjoyable. We tackled the day's big climb first thing in the morning before it was too hot, and then had a nice break underneath the shade of - wait for it - pine trees! We talked about the summer and our plans that are suddenly feeling very soon. I realized we'll be in Mammoth in 2.5 weeks! I couldn't be more excited. In all the excitement, we also crossed mile 600! Only 2,000 left to Canada! Made it to mile 609 at Landers Camp and set up camp underneath huge pine trees in the middle of a field. I feel like we're finally getting close to the mountains, and they are calling!