Week 12: Walker Pass to Lone Pine

Day 81

5 miles

We decided to get back on the trail on an extremely hot day in Ridgecrest. At one point in our day we walk by the Baptist church, whose digital signage says it's 116* outside! I texted High Risk a picture of Easy by the sign and he made a comment how it was probably hotter INSIDE the Baptist Church! At one point just walking on the main street with our backpacks on made me feel like I was going to faint.

We got all of our errands done (grocery resupply and post office) and then we went to the local movie theater for 90 minutes of air conditioning. We weren't too intrigued by the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie but the timing worked well with the bus schedule, there was popcorn, there were electrical outlets to plug in our phones and above all, there was AC!!

After the movie, we popped by Subway to get sandwiches to go and then took the bus back to Walker Pass, where we'd left off three weeks before. The first few steps were hard I will admit. It was nice to be out in nature again watching the sun set. We had two firsts that night - we tried night hiking for the first time (we hiked from about 7pm to 10:30pm to the glow of headlamps, spiders and scorpions) and we set up our new tent for the first time too. We were pleasantly surprised by both of the firsts.

Day 82

13 miles

Today was extremely hot. It had to have been in the 90s (at least)! In the afternoon we took a siesta under a tree. Every hiker we saw had the same idea. It seemed that the desert still had some more heat to offer us on our last bit of desert...!

Day 83

17 miles
 

It's very common in thru-hiking to aim for "10 before 10." This means ten miles before 10am, and is often used as the measure of a successful day on the trail. This morning I reached a similar feat - 8 bugs flew up my nose before 8am! I pride myself on my ability to meet my personal hiking goals. :)

I mentioned to Easy today that sleeping without the rain fly on our tent last night made me feel like a deli case for the wild animals. "Hmmmmmm... what do I feel like eating for a midnight snack?" Of course sleeping without the rain fly is much cooler, but I prefer the coverage.

Day 84

15 miles

Ironically, we hit the10 by 10 goal this morning! It must've been all of my thinking about it yesterday that helped to manifest it... or maybe it was the excitement of knowing we'd hit Kennedy Meadows tonight!

Today we reached the Kern River, a very brown, fast-moving, icy cold river that runs right next to the trail. Many hikers were jumping in. We both did partial dips, me with my shirt and Easy with his feet. There were tons of biting bugs by the water, so unfortunately it wasn't the primo break spot we had hoped it might be.

We arrived at Kennedy Meadows in the afternoon. If you've seen the movie "Wild," you've seen Kennedy Meadows. It's a place where there's a big front and side porch filled with dirty hikers eating burgers and drinking beers. When hikers arrive at Kennedy Meadows "fresh" off the trail, everyone cheers and claps to celebrate their arrival. It was such a funny feeling to be applauded as we walked up. I had this strange desire to do a backflip while holding my trekking poles (but of course that's something I can't actually do). We were greeted by "Papa Homie," a hiker we had met near the hot springs, who warmly greeted us and bought us each an ice cold Corona. It was delicious! Not long after we started to wind down, my friend (and former co-worker) Jess and her boyfriend Charlie walked up!! I cheered louder than ever and ran up to give her a big hug. It was such a treat to see her and catch up. We swapped stories over Sierra Nevada beers, shared suggestions on which porta potty was the least disgusting (the older green "vintage" model with a string to tie the door shut) and ended up camping near them for the night.

Day 85

7.5 miles

We had a slow morning with lots of stories with Jess and Charlie and took the time to re-pack our bags with the new items that our Portland friends had sent us for the Sierras (bear canisters, ice axes, and microspikes)! It felt so great to be have the luxury of packing up slowly. Then, after some relentless "yogi'ing" (trying to catch a ride with anyone who drove into the General Store parking lot), I got Charlie, Jess and I a ride to the new outfitter shop near Grumpy's Restaurant. The man who offered a ride had also hiked the PCT and his trail name was "Badfish." He was arriving to Kennedy Meadows after picking up a hiker who was supposed to start in Campo (the Mexico border). This hiker hadn't realized how hot hiking from Campo would be in July and Badfish had offered to drive him from LA to Kennedy Meadows. Badfish had heard about the new outfitter shop and was game to check it out too. Jess wanted to check out the prices for bear canisters and I was in desperate need of bug spray and a bug head net for the next section. The outfitter shop was owned by "Yogi," a woman who wrote a very popular PCT handbook and who has hiked the PCT, the Appalachian Trail (AT) and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) multiple times. This makes her a "Triple Crown" Hiker. Meeting Yogi felt like meeting a celebrity. I told her that my mom had also bought Yogi's handbook so she could follow along on our adventure. Yogi laughed and mentioned how her mom still calls the Pacific Crest Trail the Pacific COAST Trail. I responded with, "Now wouldn't that be nice?" She laughed and we headed back to the Kennedy Meadows general store with Badfish.

The four of us left Kennedy Meadows around 3:30pm - Jess and I both noticed Charlie and Easy getting antsy to get back on trail. We could've probably sat on that porch and chatted all day!

Not even an hour into our walk, we were stopped by a photographer who was doing a personal photo project on the Pacific Crest Trail. He asked if he could take a group picture of the four of us. After signing waivers, we posed for the picture and each shared one favorite memory from the trail. He shared the pictures with us on the little screen on his camera - they were gorgeous! The colors of the sunset and our bright colored clothing was so beautiful up against the rocks and trees. He promised to email us if any publications pick up the photos so we can be sure not to miss it.

It was such a treat to hike with Jess and Charlie. When we first started hiking, Jess and I were talking so much that I almost lost my breath! It felt good to be part of a group, although I will admit that they were faster than us, and we learned that fairly quickly.

Day 86

20 miles

Today we reached 10,000 ft and ran into a little bit of snow in the shady areas up high. I started my first audiobook on the trail and was able to almost "get lost" in the story. Being able to walk and walk with this distraction seemed dangerously tempting.

Somehow today I developed a small group of blisters between my first and second toes on my right foot. I can't figure out where this was coming from - it must've been the flip flops I bought in Las Vegas and wore during our three-week break...? Wherever it came from, I was worried that between-the-toe blister locale would be tricky to keep clean.

We planned to camp near a seasonal stream, but much to our surprise, there was no water! My feet were hurting, so we decided not to go any further. This spot was full of bugs! I was so glad to have my ridiculously nerdy bug veil and Deet bug spray. We were then faced with a tough decision to either drink the water we had left our use it to cook our Ramen for dinner. We both agreed that having it to drink seemed more valuable. Snacks and energy bars for dinner - not too horrible.

Day 87

18 miles
 

Today was the last day before reaching Horseshoe Meadows, where we would hitchhike into Lone Pine. The day had a lot of ups and downs in elevation, and I finished my audiobook. I shared with Easy how tempting it was to listen to an audiobook all of the time, and mentioned how tough it is for me to hike silently most of the day. I see many hikers listening to music, audiobooks and podcasts, which I'd probably feel better about if I were hiking alone. It feels somewhat rude while hiking with a partner. And, at the same time, you're usually so physically far apart from each other that you're not having much conversation anyway.

After we crossed the creek in a couple of different places at Horseshoe Meadows, we hitchhiked into town. We were picked up by three people in a truck visiting the area from San Diego for the 4th of July. They were so curious about thru-hiking and asked about what food we eat and what the scenery has been like.

After getting into Lone Pine and reading a few stories on the PCT Facebook group about the next section (The Sierras), I started to get worried for our safety. Easy has some mountaineering skills from his time in NOLS, but I have absolutely no mountaineering experience. It felt so strange to now be carrying an ice axe and microspikes, neither of which I'd ever seen before let alone used before.

Day 88

Zero miles!

We went out for breakfast this morning at a delicious little restaurant. As luck would have it, the laundromat was right next door (ah, the simple things that bring us joy)! I made some calls to friends to catchup and share some of my fears about the Sierras.

In the afternoon I met up with Jess for beers and we talked openly and honestly about the realities of thru-hiking as a couple. It's very unusual to spend 24 hours a day with your partner for a multi-month adventure. It was great to be able to share stories and have that in common with another woman. Jess was thinking about leaving the trail or flipping further North. Later that day, they both made the decision to head back to Portland. It had felt so great to reconnect with her and I was sad to see them go. At the same time, I trust in timing, and trust that each hiker knows what's best for them ("HYOH" or "Hike Your Own Hike"). I know that we'll see each other down the trail whether it's on or off the PCT.

Today was also the last day for donations to The Breathe Network to be matched by Easy’s incredibly generous family. I can't tell you how fun it was to watch the donations come in during this last week! The support and love that I feel when I read the names of each donor is indescribable. It's like a lightning bolt of joy and inspiration! I'm sending lots of gratitude to all of you donors and especially to Easy’s Family for matching donations. Your generosity is remarkable!