Day 41, The Gateway

Part 1, The Desert, Day 41

The Gateway

Miles: 14.2

PCT Mile: 702.2

When I woke up this morning at 4:30am, I forgot where I was again. I knew I was on the trail, but not exactly where. It took a few minutes to realize I was on a ridge and almost at Kennedy Meadows, and I think this happens because I've been so itinerant. Constantly moving will jumble up your brain, I guess. I only had 14 miles to go today,  so I made coffee from my tent for the first time, and went slow this morning. My tent and sleeping bag were soaked from the dew, but I'd dry that out later. I took off at 6:30am.

I had to finish walking down the burned ridge that I'd camped on.

The trail was pretty boring here, but I could see this great meadow in the distance where I was going, and this excited me.

This place had such a different feel to it than anywhere I'd previously been. I knew that I was at the doorstep of somewhere special. I stopped to sit and admire my surroundings, and I was able to dry my tent and sleeping bag in the sun.

I thought I would be almost running being this close to Kennedy Meadows? But I stopped often and walked slow. I felt the need to savor every step, almost as if I wasn't quite ready to let the desert go just yet. 

I saw a few cacti clinging to the landscape. They made me reflect on my time on the desert. 

I suddenly heard the flow of water and knew I was at the Kern River. I haven't seen a real river (the L.A. River doesn't count.) on this hike yet. After drinking foul water from so many desperate sources, this was a thing of beauty.

I was 4 miles away from KM, but I dropped my pack and was drawn toward the water. I soaked my feet, even though I got attacked by an angry army of ants, and it was pure awesomeness.

I have been dreaming of food for a week and what I would eat at KM, but I decided to eat the last of my food by the river. I didn't want to leave it, and I used any excuse to stay.

After all that disgusting water, I got drunk off the good stuff: ( I still filtered it though)

It was hot out today, just beautiful. I basically had a smile tattooed on my face. I packed up and started out.

The Kern River. What a welcome sight. I stripped down and jumped in and basically wept with joy, it was a blast! I washed all that desert off me. Just me and myself, basking in an ACTUAL RIVER, PEOPLE!

It's hard to describe the feelings I was having here. Kennedy Meadows isn't much, just a general store and some camping, but it's significant to the PCT because it's considered to be the gateway to the Sierra and the end of the SoCal desert. 

I felt happy to be in this beauty and proud of myself for the hiking I did to get here. 

I was even more excited when I saw this:

I've walked 700 miles...

It was 1pm when I hit the road and walked toward the KM General Store.

As I walked alone up near the big patio filled with hikers, I was given a roaring applause! They do this for each hiker coming in, but it felt really special. I was super awkward as usual, and mumbled something or other, before wandering off.

Hikers were lounging, drinking beer, eating burgers, or going through their resupply boxes. I barely knew any of these hikers, so I felt like a bit of a lone wolf. I've realized by now that l will probably be hiking alone for the rest of the trail. The hiker groups form early here, and they are tough to infiltrate later on. Remember, it's a lot like high school out here.

I had been craving one thing for days for some odd reason, so I bought it:

These chips really didn't live up to the hype in my mind. I got my two massive resupply boxes filled with gear and WAY too much food. 

I received my bear canister, which is required for the next 400 miles:

It's heavy, but I'm loving it as a new seat. I got micro spikes do I can stick to the high icy passes. I probably won't need these, but good to have:

I got trekking poles to help with weight absorption, river crossings, etc. 

even though my shoes are still in tact, I have new ones now. I could have used my current ones for many more miles, but I have these now, so I think I can get 1,000 miles east on these.

I bought a sixer and got really buzzed off it. All this hiking and elevation I guess.

I bought perishable lunch items from the store, took a cold outdoor shower, and set up my tent out behind the store. I could be eating an overpriced burger from the snack bar, but since I sent my self so much trail food, trail food is what I am resigned to eat while I'm here.

I plan to zero and rest my body here tomorrow. There's not much to do here, but I'm just gonna read and relax. It's so crazy to think about where I am and what's to come. Thanks a lot desert. It's been real, and it's been fun, and it's been real fun, but now it's time to go up. It's time to GET HIGH!

The next blog post will be the first day of Part 2, The Sierra Nevada. I'll be zeroing in KM on day 42 and 43 to wait for the ice to melt on Mt. Whitney, and will not blog about it. It's super boring here.