I'm so proud and excited to report that I have reached Kennedy Meadows. It is a huge milestone! This spot marks the end of the desert in Southern California and the start of the Sierra Nevada mountains, which many hikers report are absolutely beautiful. I'm realizing I did not actually expect to get here; I thought I would get injured and have to leave the trail already. Several days ago when it registered that the next stop would be Kennedy Meadows, I started tearing up. I'm just so pleased and amazed I actually made it here. Gosh, the best part about this are the moments when I think, this is incredible/beautiful/special/(insert awe-inspired adjective), I'm so glad I'm here, I'm out here living this life dream!! I am SO lucky to be doing this. I am so GRATEFUL to be doing this. And I'm actually doing it! I'm making it down the trail! It's such a positive surprise, every day.
Mile 702, whaaat?! Over 700 miles, wild! Each hundred goes by faster and faster. 600 was about 5 days ago, 500 a week and a half. It's pretty freaking cool to get to measure your hike in HUNDREDS of miles. It's both unreal and so darn real!
Let's see, stories to report. One big one is "Bear Night." We were at Sawmill Campground near mile 490, accessible only to backpackers. We'd gone there in part because we'd read comments about a persistent bear at a different campground four miles south. I'd planned to store my food in the pit toilet (room with a door), but upon seeing a mouse in there I opted to simply place it in my pack leaned against a tree about 30 feet from where I was cowboy camping (read: dumb). I was lying awake in my sleeping bag around 2am because it was windy and I was watching the clouds wondering if it was going to rain. I hear some footsteps and rustling and think, that is either a human or a bear. I look over and in the glow from the city below I can make out a bear messing with my pack. Shit. I put my shoes on, grab my stuff sack to look big, and stand up. Then, I ROAR at the bear as loud as I can. It runs off! I pursue it over the hill to get it to go further away. I see it is a small bear, but it refuses to leave the camp area even with my "Get outta here, bear" commands. I put my pack in the toilet and help a friend hang her food - I'd woken everyone up with my roar. We eventually get the bear to leave the camp area, but I learned the next day that it returned and was poking its head at my friend's tent for another two hours! I'm glad I was a semi-successful bear guardian that night, but the experience left me much more wary (and paranoid) of bears and more diligent about hanging my food if I think we are in bear habitat. I am glad I at least placed my food away from myself that night, because I could have woken up to that bear right next to me. Oh, wildlife!
A week and a half ago we walked the infamous LA aquaduct, a 20-mile completely flat stretch atop a huge pipe that moves water into LA. It's super dry and hot and ironic because there's loads of water just feet below you. We night-hiked it to avoid the heat and planned in advance to make it a party. So I bought some glow sticks and we listened to music on our friend's speaker (luxury item!). It was quite fun, and certainly made the long, monotonous haul much more interesting. After the aquaduct we walked into the Tehacapi wind farm - a massive area with wind turbines we continued under for several days of hiking. Late in the night, we made a wrong turn and ended up right under one of the new, 300-foot turbines. It was surreal. I walked around directly underneath the thing whooshing in the wind, my neck craned to admire the graceful arms with the moon and the stars behind. It was spectacular; a moment I'll never forget. We ended up hiking until 4am that night - ugh! Stumbling with sleepiness and dragging hard the next day was miserable. I will not be repeating the experience, but I'm glad I did it once!
Garik (visiting Oregon friend) has been a wonderful trail angel for the last couple weeks. He's fed us several times, driven us to hot springs, and whisked me away to beautiful Santa Barbara, three visits to REI, and to see my old friend Kat in Ventura. He'll now join us on the trail for about a week, which will be great fun!
Next up is Mt. Whitney (so excited!), Forrester Pass (a little nervous!), and out Kearsage Pass to Lone Pine and Bishop for a resupply. Then more, lovely Sierras! Life is really good out here :).
