up, up, and away

Day 38 - miles 702.2 - 704.9

So Thor, Ferntoe, Joker, and Cracker Keeper used their charm to persuade us to stick around Kennedy Meadows until this evening. It didn't take much work on their part, we're pretty easy to convince (especially when it comes to staying in town).  We enjoyed the extra large shaded porch of the general store for most of the day.

We hiked out around 6:30, just a few miles to the Kennedy Meadows campground.  Several other hikers had the same idea..looks like we'll be heading into the Sierras with a big group of people.  Safety in numbers, right?

We are still in disbelief that we are at the gateway to the Sierras!  How did we even get here?  It surely doesn't feel like we've walked 700 miles.  Well OK, my body does feel every bit of those 700 miles...but it has flown by.

Up, up (literally), and into the Sierras we go!

bear can scramble

Day 37 - zero miles at Kennedy Meadows

Typical day off, chores, food, etc.  Kennedy Meadows is a great spot for a day off because everything we need is in one location.  There's no cell reception here (sorry to anyone who was expecting a call), but it has been really nice to be in "town" and not have every hiker on their phones!  Also, it's Memorial Day weekend, and the general store has been hoppin'!  Guess when your in a small town even the portable toilet companies don't work on the holiday weekend...the port-o-johns are quickly getting filled to the rim (no exaggeration).

Our favorite trail couples arrived to Kennedy Meadows today!  Thor and Ferntoe and Joker and Cracker Keeper (formerly known as Kelsey) rolled in, and our trio of duos was complete.  Also, a reunion of the entire Idyllwild cabin crew.

Many areas in the Sierras require "proper food storage" to keep bears from obtaining human food.  This means we need a bear canister, a large, 2+ pound cylindrical bear-proof can in which we will store our food.  Hours of entertainment was provided by watching everyone try to fit all of their food into their canisters (most were unsuccessful), then try to fit the canisters into their packs.  We decided to get one large canister for the both of us...all of our food definitely will not fit (maybe after a few days of serious eating). 

It's been a good day off, back to the trail and into the Sierras tomorrow!

marathon to Kennedy Meadows

Day 36 - miles 676.1 - 702.2

Today was a big day...we arrived at Kennedy Meadows (also we have completed 700 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail)!  Kennedy Meadows is such a monumental point on the trail, it still seems surreal that we are actually here!  This place is the gateway to the Sierra Nevada mountain range for PCT hikers.

Our hike to KM was hot, long (marathon day!), and uneventful.  We arrived to the road crossing late (7ish), and walked nearly a mile up to the Kennedy Meadows General Store.  We were surprised at what we found.  First of all, we imagined there would be a meadow, well there sort of was, in a desert sage scrub kind of sense.  No grass or wildflowers as I had envisioned. Kennedy Meadows is a very small community, and the General Store is the hub of it all.  We were a little concerned, as we knew the store closed at 5:00.  Also, historically, hikers have been allowed to camp at the store, but we heard this was no longer permitted.  So where would everyone be camping?  And why were we walking a mile up the road to a likely closed store?  The streets were silent as we neared the store, and we grew more worried.  As the store came into sight and we neared, we noticed a couple of people up on the porch.  We made our way up onto the porch and were greeted by applause and cold beers and some faces we hadn't seen in some time, including the guys of the cabin crew.  It was so great to be reunited!  We setup our tent in the store's backyard (rumor was wrong), and caught up on trail life and gossip around a campfire.  Looking forward to a day off here!