Memories from May 30

I woke up early with the idea of getting to the Kern River before the heat set in.

The trail started to open up.

And after a few side shows.

I arrived at what might been the first of the meadows for which Kennedy Meadows is named. It was also my first view of large granite formations which I associate so much with the Sierras. Very exciting.

After a bath and laundry in the Kern I walked in to the Kennedy Meadows General Store. The last five miles were through fields of small purple flowers.

Tradition has it that hikers are applauded when they approach the Kennedy Meadows General Store. It catches you off guard, though not as much as the price of gas. Much cheaper to walk.

It was about 2pm and hot enough that I was very glad to get off the trail. After a pint of ice cream, I entertained Druid, Ramen John, and Gone With The Wind by trying to fit all my gear for the Sierras and 12 days if food into my 45 liter pack. After three tries I fit the bear canister and warmer (read bigger) into the pack. Two days if food were relegated to the mesh pockets on the outside since the bear can isn’t required immediately.

Repackaging Nutella into Zip Lock bags so they pack better was a huge mess.

Memories from May 29

The plan from Walker Pass had been to do two 20 mile days and then get into Kennedy Meadows in a 10 mile day. That plan got thrown out today (the second 20) about 8 miles in just after Chimney Creek.

Before I talk about that, some pictures from the morning.

Soft light on the soft colored ground cover.

Bright green lichen.

The Annual Day Zero PCT Kick Off was canceled this year. Different people have told me different things but this make up party was being put on by a guy named Paul who thru-hiked the PCT in 1977 (remember, it was completed in 1993 so that’s saying something) partially in memory of his friend Greg “Strider” Hummel who he met on that hike and was active in the PCT community (he organized the ADZPCTKO).

I showed up around 8:45am and was served breakfast. No other hikers showed up for a while until we realized that the sign was just a short distance from a Chimney Creek where many hikers were likely to draw water and siesta. I took another sign down to the creek itself and about a half dozen hikers showed up in the next hour.

Lunch was burgers and dinner was steak. Wow.

After dinner there were songs around a campfire.

Campfires are rare in California where dry conditions makes it so prone to wildfires. I wasn’t the only one to capture the moment.

After each song, Paul would usually try to ad-lib a bonus verse or two about the PCT.

The PCT experience he’d had had clearly had a deep impact on Paul. His only request for the three meals and live music was that we find a way to give back to the hiking community.

Memories from May 28

Last night a horse rider seems to have pulled in to the Walker Pass Camp Ground.

Lots of pretty during morning’s hike. The climb out of Walker Pass is infamous for being hot but it was fine at sunrise.

According to some carefully arranged sticks, I passed the 25% mark of the trail.

While taking a siesta at the second crossing of Spanish Needle Creek which, I saw the thru-rider who came in last night. It was really cool to see a horse on the trail.

With the late afternoon light softly irradiating the clouds over a valley with multiple layers if ridge line running in to it, this view was my favorite of the PCT so far. My phone’s camera couldn’t capture the effect at all much less the feeling so I took a bunch of photos. Here are two.

Memories from May 27

I got up early to beat the heat and passed Claudia while she was breaking camp was I hit the trail. Despite being desert and largely exposed, the weather has been relatively cool, which has been really nice.

The trail joined a dirt road through a rolling meadow of shoulder high sage and I took a mid-morning break to mix up 2 liters of milk and drink it since I’m well ahead of my one liter of water per five miles supply.

Continuing down the road, I found a missed connection on the sign where the PCT turned off. I wound up meeting the Ramón it mentions at Walker Pass that night.

I saw an rock which looked like it had been sliced by another rock and was going to slide off.

I like these red ground cover plants because they paint the ground red which is so different from then typical greens and browns.

As seen here.

There was a particularly informative trail sign. It’s uncommon but not rare to find signs with their text worn off.

I got to the Walker Pass Camp Ground which marks the end of the 42 mile waterlesss stretch before the heat of the day. There was a water cache and a trail angel had dropped off bread (yes, multiple loafs of plain white bread is a wonderful treat when you’re used to tortillas), donuts, beer, and soda. The actual water source is a short walk away but it was really nice not to have make it.

Sitting on a shaded bench at the Walker Pass water cache, I passed most of the afternoon talking with other hikers as they trickled in. There was a quartet doing a Warrior Hike who were there when I showed up along with Gone With The Wind and Druid. I forget how we got to talking about software engineering but both Gone With The Wind and Druid are a programmer and a software tester respectively.

When I last called home, mom requested more info on my gear so here’s a picture if what it looks like when I cowboy camp. The hiking poles are just holding the sleeping bag down because it’s so light that soft breeze will move it. The orange sleeping pad under is 3.5 inches thick and weighs 17oz. It’s the one piece of gear which I’ve opted for a significantly heavier option for the sake of comfort. I like sleeping. The ground cloth is an 0.7mil painter’s drop cloth. I want to swap it for a piece of Tyvek when I get the chance.

Memories from May 26

The trail out of Lander’s camp was well decorated though perhaps not with the same quality of curation that the trail in seemed to be.

The land grew drier, though in fits and spurts and the views eventually began to remind me of the cover are on sci-fi novels.

Took a siesta from about 2 to 4 in the shade of a large Joshua tree.

Passed a water cache. There are supposed to be three in this 42 mile waterless stretch but I’m carrying 8 liters of water so I didn’t take any.

Camped just at the top of a hill where a rock outcropping sheltered my spot from the wind. On the way up the hill I’d decided to take the first campsite I found after the climb. Unfortunately an older German lady named Claudia had had the same idea but fortunately there was a small site where I could cowboy camp a few yards behind hers. Over dinner I learned that she’s been traveling for the last three years living out of a modified Toyota 4×4.

Memories from May 25

Today looked like this until shortly after noon.

Everything looked ghostly. Condensation would collect in trees and cause small showers beneath them and my shoes acquired a thin layer of mud. The grass and fox tails which line the trail were we as with dew so my lower pant legs became damp as well. This seems like a foretaste of what the trail will be like in Washington where it’s sometimes jokingly referred to as a hiker wash.

Since the air was cool, and the ground offered few good places to sit, I walked continuously until the snacks I had stashed on the outside if my pack ran out and I had to sit down to eat something. Before then…

I passed the House of Bear which had a notice posted about armed surveillance. I thought it looked abandoned and was a ways off the trail so I stopped to take this picture. Instead, a few hundred yards up road, I passed a moderate size cabin shrouded in fog like something from a horror movie. I didn’t stop for a picture that time.

I did stop to get a picture of the 600 mile marker.

And when I had finally stopped to eat sitting on across a drier section of the trail, a few rain drops fell so I dug my poncho-tent out of my pack and through it over me. A minute or two later, the sky started to clear.

The 5-ish miles into Landers Camp were gorgeous, perhaps the prettiest on the trail so far. There were no scenic views, instead it felt like I was walking though someone’s garden. Alternatively it might have been the floor if a well decorated aquarium because of all the colors and sandy quality if the soil. I don’t know that pictures capture the effect properly but here’re a few.

At one point I crossed Puite Road where the Kern County Sheriff’s office has put a questionnaire for PCT hikers about encounters with dirt bikers (dirt bags?).

Landers Camp itself seems largely designed for ATV type use and had warnings about helmet requirements and spark suppressors. The spring at the camp is flowing wonderfully so I used my left over water to mix up about 64oz if milk.

I shared a large campsite with Druid who I’d been leap frogging with for most of the day. He’s not particularly talkative but is one of the few southerners I’ve met on the trail. We were joined by Icebath who is hiking a section missed during last year’s thru-hike. We had a fun conversation about a number of subjects including US education (Icebath is a teacher) and intellectual independence.