June 12, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Kennedy Meadows
Miles: 0

Adrian:
Did laundry, sorted food, took showers, ate, packed, studied maps and guidebooks, and laughed at how heavy our packs will be.

It sounds like Rob is coming out to join us for about 70 miles and an ascent of Mount Whitney. This is definitely cool and I think he'll have a great time. He should show up in Inyokern tomorrow around noon and we'll head out a bit later.

The Clover fire, just north of here on the PCT, is not yet contained. In the past, the Forest Service was escorting hikers through a small portion of it and it seems that has not stopped. I talked with a Ranger and was informed that hikers were just being asked to pass through the fire zone during daylight hours and to be vigilant and on the look out for hotspots and flare-ups. He also said the fire was being kept in check by fire scars of past incidents, and mentioned two mobile fire fighting units are in the field monitoring the situation. We'll run into these units on the trail before the fire area.

The rough plan is to leave at 2 p.m. and try to do 12 miles to rendezvous with David for the night's camp and then hiking together for an ascent of Whitney.

Stay tuned...

Kirsten:
What does a thru-hiker who has just completed 700 miles of desert eat for breakfast in Kennedy Meadows? A pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, of course. I've watched about seven hikers including Adrian chow down on this chilly dairy treat this morning. I went with a muffin and coffee because I'm a bit more of a traditionalist.

Most hikers camp right behind the general store. We are maybe 100 yards down the road in a trailer owned by a local named Tom. He offers up a few of his trailers to hikers as well as an Internet cafe of sorts located in an old Airstream trailer.

I'm looking forward to hiking with Rob. He is in good shape and should have no problem doing the miles. I do think it will take some time to adjust to the weight of the backpack.