5/23/20, mile: 683, elevation: 6,522 ft.
Safety has a resupply package showing up in Kennedy Meadows on Wednesday, so he isn’t in a rush to get there. My ride is scheduled to leave K.M. Tuesday morning, so I don’t need to rush either. But it IS a town stop, they serve town food and beer and there should be other hikers, some I haven’t seen in weeks and months. I’m feeling the pull…
Safety and I both plan similarily when it comes to the trail, water and elevations. This site last night affords us a morning climb for several miles before the sun hits us and we’re also fresh. My favorite type of morning walk! The majority of the trail today is on the western flanks, so we’re more likely to be shaded this morning, and since it’s mostly following the contours, we can make time. At one point when I’m taking a breather and just viewing the canyons below, I get buzzed by a bird diving down-canyon. It’s like those videos you see of wingsuits buzzing trees and rocks, the sound of the whoosh just off my shoulder startling me. That was a first!
Around noon, we come to a saddle and campsite and we run in to Pac Man again! We all catch up on old times, give updates and discuss our plans. He has been hiking with a tramily for several weeks now, including Loud Cloud. L.C. even left me a stick note on the trail, which is a first for me. Pac Man says that someone’s sister joined the crew, so their daily mileages have dropped during this last stretch to K.M, so he decided to sleep in and take his time leaving camp this morning allowing us to catch up to him. As we talk, we hear more voices. Two day hikers come up the trail and all of a sudden it’s a crowd of five of us, the most people I’ve seen in one time in weeks. The pull of town gets stronger…
I take time to rest and make some food, no rush again to get to camp too early. It’s only 6-ish more miles to the next water and it’s downhill so I take my time…again. This is getting kinda easy.
The next water is a creek at a road crossing. There are quite a few cars here, reminding me it’s Memorial Day Weekend. Trail magic?
Nope. So be it, I have too much food anyway, and K.M. is within striking distance. The next campsite and water source is now only a couple of miles away, so off we go. With flat spots and trees, it’s similar to last night’s spot, though there’s not nearly enough “benches” to sit on. And again, due to the amount of food I rushed to buy in Kernville, I’m eating whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like it. While wandering around camp, I get buzzed again by a bird. This one is a robin pretending to be one of those forest speeders on Endor. This one I see coming and have no time to react, he’s going so fast. Lucky for both of us, he aborts his course and buzzes over my head by a few inches. More whoosh for me. What the hell?
Savior out.