Day 48, June 4: Mile 694 to Kennedy Meadows/Mile 702

• Start: Mile 693.5

• End: Kennedy Meadows - Mile 702.2

• Miles: 8.7

• Ascent: 930 | Descent: 768

I woke up slow without an alarm and everyone in the group but Squirrel Daddy was gone. He was still asleep in his tent so I hiked out by myself. I thought it would be an easy morning but it was still a super tough hike as my foot was hurting a lot and my body still hadn’t readjusted to hiking after my week off in Tehachapi.

Still, I enjoyed the scenery and hiked with anticipation for getting into Kennedy Meadows. Cicadas were buzzing loudly in the bushes and trees, and the trail followed the Kern River for a bit, which was beautiful.

Finally, I made it to the road into Kennedy Meadows! The KM General Store, where I was meeting friends, was a half mile down the road. I tried to hitch with the few cars that passed by but was unsuccessful. I trudged down the road.

When I got to the General Store, everyone sitting on the porch and outside clapped and cheered for me as I came in. I didn’t know about this tradition, but every hiker gets clapped in. It was incredible and also emotional to feel the relief of being done with the desert and the pride of having made it this far while being cheered on by my fellow hikers. There was also a twinge of sadness because I hadn’t actually hiked the entire way there. But I can’t live in regret, and I made the best decision for me at the time.

Moping aside, my friends and I did a celebratory beer shotgun upon my arrival. It was fun but it also confirmed I am definitely not in my early twenties anymore. 🤢

We hung around the General Store for a bit and I saw many familiar faces including Flower, Spinewalker, Rookie, Jupiter and others. There were tons of hikers and it was a bit chaotic but everyone was in a great mood.  We eventually took a shuttle to the nearby Grumpy Bear’s Retreat, which had a similar vibe and more familiar faces.

Once at Grumpy’s, I took care of the normal chores- eat (a patty melt that was meh), picked up packages, organized my resupply. In one of my packages there was a new backpack that I ordered that has 10 more liters of capacity and 10 more pounds of weight limit because I felt like I wanted a bit more space for the bear canister I would have to carry through the Sierra. The backpack felt more comfortable and I definitely had more space for the canister.

I set up my tent in the camping area at Grumpy’s and lazed about on the porch outside for most of the day. They also had a bar there and we had a hiker party there to close out the night.