Goodbye Desert, Hello Sierra.

I promise each successive post will not begin with a preface, but one is necessary here. This post is going to be short and more anticipatory than reflective. Or, more accurately, reflective about my anticipation. In any event….

I’m currently writing from Kennedy Meadows, which is right off mile 702 of the PCT. Kennedy Meadows is town with a population of 200, no cell service, and only three known establishments: the General Store, Grumpy Bear’s Retreat, and an outfitter, all of which are mostly filled with hikers celebrating their achievement of walking 700 miles. But despite its size, Kennedy Meadows is the first major milestone of the PCT, as it marks the end of the desert section of the trail and the beginning of the long-anticipated Sierra. I’ll say more on this in a bit, but this marker felt special. When we walked to the General Store, the big round of applause from the hikers already there (a PCT tradition) reverberated through us. We soaked in that applause with a true sense of pride and accomplishment. On June 7, we finished the desert and walked 700 miles. I still can’t really believe it, as walking a lot day after day feels somewhat normal now and everyone around me walks a lot, but this moment made us realize what we have done.

Since I last wrote, we left the town of Tehachapi and restarted the trail at mile 566 on May 30. This is actually where Cheryl Strayed started her hike and she got a book and movie deal! I really don’t know what to say about this portion of the hike. It was hard. There was no water. There were a lot of big climbs. It was still desert. It was hot. I took only a few photos. We all complained we were still desert-ing. Some days I felt great, others my legs felt like they had weights attached to them. The usual. The landscape was interesting because, depending on the side of the mountain, we could be in Joshua trees one minute and pine trees the next. As shown below, the first photo was taken on June 1 and the second was on June 2. I’m not so fast as to go that far in a day.

At mile 652, on June 5, we reached Walked Pass. There’s not much at Walker Pass, except a monument for Mr. Walker, who apparently discovered this pass in 1834. Not sure what is special about the pass that it is named for him. But everything needs a name I suppose. There are a few towns about 30-45 minutes from Walker Pass (thank you nice people who drove us!). My tramily and I decided on Kernville, which really should be the setting for every rom-com where a big city lawyer visits a small town and falls in love with a farmer, furniture maker, or innkeeper (take your pick). Unfortunately, I didn’t stay long enough for this trope to play out for me, but perhaps in my movie deal, they’ll bend the truth a bit. Kernville is known for whitewater rafting, but it is filled with establishments such as Dress Your Soul, That’s Italian Restaurant, and the Mother Lode. You really can’t make this stuff up. We stayed at the Pine Cone Inn, maybe my favorite hotel on the PCT so far. We did our chores (laundry, food resupply, etc.), enjoyed a burger and beer at the local brewery, and talked about how we only had 2.5 more days of desert.

Miles 652-702 were filled with excitement. I just wanted to get to Kennedy Meadows. I couldn’t believe I was so close. I (almost) wanted to run there. I felt adrenaline running through me pushing me there. I don’t even necessarily want this trail to end, but I needed this reward of sorts. We all did. We had walked 700 miles, sometimes with 20 miles worth of water, with blazing sun, up and down countless mountains. We did it. And we had fun, too. I’ve now hiked with some folks for nearly 600 miles. You get to know a person when you walk that long with them. We couldn’t wait to walk into Kennedy Meadows together. Here are some final shots of the desert, including the final sunset, at about 8000 feet.

Tomorrow we start the Sierra, which will be filled with glistening mountain lakes, flowing rivers, and the highest peak in the continental United States, Mount Whitney. This is the part of the PCT people dream about. This is what we have been dreaming about. I’m filled with nervous excitement. Excitement for the surreal beauty, the water (unlimited water!!), and being on top of the world. Nerves because I now know the desert. I feel comfortable and confident there. I don’t know what to expect in the Sierra. It’s all new. My pack is heavier due to extra gear and larger food hauls. There is snow. The climbs are big, as we will traverse at least one mountain pass a day, including Forester Pass, which sits above 13,000 feet. But, I never imagined I could walk 700 miles at all. Those miles were good confidence (and leg) training for what’s to come. First big challenge of the Sierra: summiting Mount Whitney, at mile 766. I can’t wait.

I’d write more, but the Wi-Fi is spotty and I have an early morning tomorrow. ‘Til I find Wi-Fi again…