Cold night sleeping. Missing having the pad for insulation. Probably was the coldest night on the trail so far.
Had a fairly gradual 2500′ climb to begin the day. After we made it over the first ridge, the scenery changed a bit. Up high it was wooded, and beautiful. Down low it wasn’t the same desert that we were used to seeing, much more green and the valleys even had some trees. It was fairly apparent that we are pretty close to the Sierras.
Spent most of the day walking fairly fast. Wanted to get to the Kennedy Meadows general store before it closed. I had eaten all my food and they make burgers, and have soda and beer. Also my maildrop was there to pick up. Was able to make it in just before 3.
Lots of people at Kennedy Meadows tonight. Lots of folks take a zero here, as it is a good place to recharge before the Sierras.
Late in the afternoon, Condor, another thru hiker, wanted to get a photo of the beard continuum, so we took a photo. It was pretty funny…will load that pic up.
There is a trail angel across the street that serves dinner and breakfast. There is probably about 50 people here tonight. After dinner, they put on ET, the movie, on a little projection screen outside. It is a pretty crazy scene….all us dirty hikers sitting around on couches and random chairs that have probably sat outside for years….watching ET under a starlit sky. This trail continues to surprise me. There is even a 5 week old puppy roaming around the property.
Daily Distance: 21
Trip Distance: 618.4
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