Had a good nero yesterday at Kennedy Meadows. Lots of folks coming through. We heard that there were 75 people through in the course of a day and a half.
Ordered some shoes online, ate, and waited for our turn in line to to do laundry….which didn’t happen as they ran out of water on the load before ours.
Also, sorted out food and collected my bear canister for the trip. In the Sierras, it is required to carry a bear proof storage system. I will have to take a picture. They are an extra 2-3 lbs and most hikers complain about the requirement to use them because of the weight and the cumbersomeness in the pack.
This is the longest food carry for most folks and the amount if food that people had shipped to themselves ahead of time is pretty fine…lots more than they needed. There is a scale here and the range of pack weights is interesting. The lowest with all gear and food and a liter of water was 27 lbs and the highest that I heard was 65 lbs. Mine was 30 lbs. More than I want to carry, but less than most.
In the evening, we had spaghetti dinner at Toms and then headed out to the Kennedy Meadows campground, where Nugio’s dad (Sleeping Bare)had his RV parked for trail magic (Nugio is another thru hiker who is getting back on the trail after some foot and leg injuries).
In the am, Sleeping Bare cooked up pancakes, eggs and Bacon for us…what a great treat to start the day. We got a late start as Qball and JJ needed to let the condensation dry off their sleeping bags, and we were not in much of a hurry. Also, other hikers came by (Sniper and Corn nut) and it was nice to chat with them.
The walking today was really nice. One of the best of the trip thus far. Most of the day was in and out of the big pines, while skirting a very large meadow. Really a great scene. We had a nice long break at a river and washed our legs, and tried to catch trout with our hands, unsuccessfully…but it was fun. Steamer, Legion, Steady, Condor, Frank, Robin Hood, Birthday Girl and Mother Goose were all there.
Temps were outstanding as we were above 8000′ for the majority of the day. Blue skies, and great sun.
Tonight we are camped around 9200′. It is calm and not too windy at 9pm, and not too cold, yet. We have our bear canisters tucked in rocks and trees and any food that didn’t fit hanging in a tree.
Daily Distance: 19
Trip Distance: 637.4
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