Mile 702 to 719

We groaned as we picked up our packs and put them not on our backs but on our thighs and then swung them onto our backs with a thud and sharp exhalation. Bronzed and strong legged from the desert though we may be, we are now suffering under the weight of ice axes, crampons, bear canisters, and 10 days of food.

Entering the Sierra after completing the desert section of the PCT is almost like beginning a completely new hike. Your gear has changed, water is everywhere, and you will be traveling on snow for long stretches. In a high snow year, especially in a record breaking snow year like 2017, you will also be sleeping on snow as well. We have paper maps with escape routes and reports on stream crossings and snow conditions, but somehow all this information does nothing to assuage our fears. We don’t plan to do anything foolish, but we do intend to see the conditions for ourselves and make decisions based on what we see.

As we left Kennedy Meadows, we said goodbye to Hitch and Woodstock, two quirky girls from the bay area. They are planning to leave Kennedy Meadows a day or two after us and we hope to see them again soon. Walking down the road we crossed by the South Fork of the Kern River. Two days before we all practiced stream crossings walking across or swimming. I was able to walk across, but the water was up to my chest and flowing fast. The girls had to swim to make it. We all agreed that we wouldn’t try to cross a river like that up in the mountains when the consequences would be more dire.

As we turned onto the trail from the road, we walked up a valley and through a notch in the foothills of the Sierra with the Kern River on our left. The going was slow and we stopped for breaks every few miles. We were surprised to see the land change quickly from desert scrub to pine forests filled with the scent of Christmas and a gurgling stream or raging river never far from sight.

Our shoulders were sore and backs hurting as we walked off trail and up a stream to a nice lunch spot. We scattered around and quickly cooked up a meal. We are trying to eat all the food that won’t fit in our bear canisters as fast as possible, but it will likely take a few days.

The main entertainment at lunch was Burnout and Valdy as the spread out all their shared gear and hefted each piece. Earlier in the morning, we had felt the weight of each other’s packs and Burnout’s was surprisingly 8 – 12 pounds lighter than Valdy’s. It seems the crafty red head was trying to get out of carrying his share of the weight. As each item was weighted by the two, I served as the third-party judge verifying the heftiness of each. Justice was served and Burnout was required to carry a few more items. Valdy was happy to be freed from the role of pack mule in the relationship and equality was restored.

After a brief nap, we all started walking again at 3:00 and entered a beautiful meadow with the South Fork of the Kern River winding lazily through the center and low forested hills ringing either edge. The trail crossed the meadow and we all remarked on the beautiful landscape we were walking through. I would love to come back here and spend a day or two wandering lazily along the river.

Throughout the day, we glimpsed snowcapped mountains between gaps in the hills. At our pace, we should be camping on snow tomorrow night and climbing Mt. Whitney in three days.

The day ended with a short uphill, and we camped near Cow Creek. Group moral is high and we are all happy to be entering this next part of the trail togther. We hope to have a safe and exciting journey over the next 9 days before exiting the trail at Kersearge Pass to resupply in Bishop. Hopefully we will have summited Mt. Whitney and gone up and over Forester Pass by that time.