5/22/20, mile 669, elevation 5,108 ft
First off, I forgot to mention that when Safety and I were grabbing the ride off of Walker Pass yesterday afternoon, a couple of hikers showed up. I recognized Pac Man and he said that Loud Cloud was following shortly! Amazing, after all of these miles we finally meet again…almost.
Meanwhile, my idea to night hike last night while different and interesting, it propbably didn’t help me much when it comes to making miles quickly. I made it to the top of the first ridge before the sun peaked over the mountains to the east, so I took some time to make breakfast. It was another cold breezy morning, so waiting for some solar gain seemed prudent. The next trail segment was on the western slope of the ridge, so it’s going to be cool for a while. Due to my lack of sleep and early start, I’m not energetic at all and walking slow and taking many breaks. This allows Rockin’ and Safety to catch me soon enough, and then they leave me. Since today’s distance isn’t very long (water sources, remember?) I’m not in much of a hurry, anyway.
At one point, I get a view of the desert to the east which means cell reception again. I’ve been working on my transportation plans to get home from Kennedy Meadows, so I take more time to finalize those and to let Sarah know the plan.
After this, the last bit of trail for today is first flat before crossing a saddle in a ridge and dropping down into the next valley. It’s only a couple of more miles to the next campsite and water source, a nice flowing creek in the trees. Besides Rockin’, who flew ahead, and Safety, there’s no one else out here. Since we got to camp early, Safety and I both take some time to rinse our feet and legs of the trail dust, and I even rinse out my socks. I’ve found keeping my socks mostly clean helps prevent chafing and abrasion. Happy feet, happy hiker.
Safety and I eat our meal together as we discuss the various options for the post-Kennedy Meadows sections of the trail. And of course, we’re always concerned about the amount of snow we’re going to encounter. There’s one way to find out.
Savior out.