June 11, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Kennedy Meadows
Miles: 8

Adrian:
So we made it to Kennedy Meadows! The desert is finally over and mountains begin. What an epic 700 miles. We are healthy and ready to move on.

Kennedy Meadows is just a general store and a few small homes. The south fork of the Kern River flows just to the west and where the PCT emerges from the forest onto the road. A short hike east leads to the store. The store allows hikers to mail packages here for pick-up and people send food and gear for the mountain section ahead. Warmer clothing, bear canister, ice axe and fishing equipment round out the list. It's not uncommon to see 20 to 30 hikers sitting on the porch drinking beer and sifting through their gear.

All of this extra gear, coupled with the fact the next section is 178 miles plus a 17-mile roundtrip to Whitney, is going to stretch our packs to the limit. We are required to store our food in a bear canister but there is no way all of it will fit. The canister itself weighs over two and a half pounds and I'm not very happy about it. I'd rather not carry it but we face a large fine if caught without.

The first 702 miles for me have been real tough. It was mostly desert with sections of mountains and harder than I thought it would be. Water became an obsession and we had gone through several 20-plus mile sections without any available. While I can appreciate the fauna and flora of this climate, the truth of the matter is that this can be some pretty monotonous terrain not to mention dangerous. The amount of poisonous snakes one encounters is alarming and stepping on one is very possible. The hiker needs to constantly keep an eye on the trail, even though the scenery is spectacular, lest you step on one of these guys. If that happens and you are a few days from a road, it could be over. Because of this, I think this might be the most dangerous section of trail. Nevertheless, I still love the desert and appreciate the subtle beauty as well as the harsh reality of the danger.

So here's to the desert! We enjoyed our stay and saw a lot. The sights and smells will stay with me for a long time. I'm happy to be through but melancholy it's over...if that makes sense.

So onward, to the Sierra! So kickback and read on...

Kirsten:
The buzz around Kennedy Meadows is contagious. There is lots of revelry, storytelling and planning for the days ahead. It's amazing how long it takes to go through a box of food. I've been sifting and shuffling various packets of food in a futile attempt at making my load lighter.

Walking down the road to KM was such a thrill. We had just swam in the chilly South Kern and connected with some other hikers - honeymooners Moonshine and Rosemary, Treebeard and Sven. That 0.7 mile walk from the trailhead to KM general store marked a moment of success for all of us.

The first day of the hike out of Campo was the most difficult for me. Since that day, the trail or the miles I should say have come a little easier. That's not to say the trail has been a breeze. There have been days or parts of days where I have struggled with the heat, wind or even the scenery. Hiking through burned forest was mentally draining. Those were the miles that seemed to defy time no matter how fast we hiked.

Some of my favorite days included our time from Big Bear into Wrightwood. It was here I began to feel my body getting stronger. The best town we went through was Idylwild - compact and easy to get around, lots of markets, shops and restaurants and some of the friendliest people. One of the best meals we've had were lobster tacos at the Gastrognome here. The best hamburger I've had was the Jose Burger at the Paradise Cafe. I was pleasantly surprised with Wrightwood and our stay with the Moore's renewed my faith in the goodness that can come from people.

So that's it. Now a whole section awaits our arrival. Who knows what is in store or how long we'll be on the trail. Of all the little secrets and lessons I've managed to absorb these past 6 weeks, it's how easily and quickly it can all come to end. Now even on the hardest days I try to take something of value from it because tomorrow it all could be over.