I woke up and did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. My thermometer read 20 degrees inside my tent so you know it was colder than that outside. My water bottle and bladder were frozen. When I retrieved my socks and underwear from the branch, they were frozen. I made my oatmeal in my vestibule and ate it in my sleeping bag.
Anyway, inevitably, we started walking. I said to Ingrid, "As far as I'm concerned, we are walking till we're done today. You game?" Of course she said she was game. When is Ingrid not game? 19 miles to go.
We just had about 600 feet to climb to get over this mountain and then we started a long ass descent into the Rock House Basin. The thing about the PCT is it's not straightforward. It winds along ridgelines, in and out, and has a mind of it's own. You think you're getting somewhere and round the corner and, psych! Not there yet. We walked along this ridgeline, in and out, and it didn't end. Ingrid sat straight down in the middle of the trail and said she had just hit the wall. So we took a break and then continued down.
We were coming down the last line of ridge when Ingrid points in the distance. I squint and try to make out what she's pointing at. "Is that PEOPLE?" I ask dumbfounded. We had seen nobody since the 4x4'ers from Day 2. What are they doing out here? Are they hiking? Are they wearing day packs or backpacks? I had all these questions! Ingrid turns to me and asks "Do I have any boogers hanging out of my nose?" I said "No, do I?" She said, " No, it's just red and chapped." Okay, we're good for potential encounters of the human kind. LMAO!
It's a group of 8 day hikers, 3 of whom are former thru-hikers. The usual trail banter occurs. Where you coming from, where you going, how long you been out here, etc. "Nuts" then offers us some homemade cookies. I just about swoon to the ground when I bite into it. Fist bumps all around and we continue on our way.
Manter Creek is flowing pretty good and that's where we stop to eat our lunch of tuna fish and left-over lasagna. For the most part, we are done with the huge climbs and we are thankful for that. The trail wanders through the Rock House Basin area. There are really cool rock formations in this area that offer a welcome change of scenery.
Finally, at long last, we made it to the south fork of the Kern River. OMG, never was a sight so welcome! I stripped down immediately and took a step in. I had every intention of dunking myself but that water was too frickin' cold! So I just waded around and then would sit on a log. Rinse and repeat for several times. Stuffing my face with my remaining food all the while.
But we still had 5 miles to go so we must walk again. I say this at the end of every backpack, but that was seriously the longest 5 miles of my life. Ingrid told me later that I was grunting and moaning while I walked. I could barely get my legs to turn over.
Those first glimpses of Kennedy Meadow brought tears to my eyes.
We walked along the Kern, through some tall reeds and came out into a clearing of sorts and stopped to debate where we should camp. There is camping allowed for hikers at the store but we were leary of that because the store sits on a road and there can be sketchy people around road situations.
I saw two people climbing over the gate about 300 yards yonder and pointed them out to Ingrid. They approached and struck up a conversation. At this point, I knew my legs were done moving and I wanted to lay down right at everyone's feet in a fetal position.
Patty and Ricky are their names and Patty has a trailer just up the road here, we can see it from where we stand. Would we like a shower? What the what? I have never been a recipient of a trail magic shower so this was all new to me! I look at Ingrid and she's nodding her head YES. OMG, I can hardly wait for this shower. Usually when we backpack, we have streams, rivers, or lakes we can dunk in and rinse off or take a ziplock shower but this time with the lack of water sources, we had none of that. I felt the grossest I've ever felt in my life. This shower was so bomb, I even took a picture of their bathroom because it was like a shrine with Patty's Costco shampoo, conditioner, and dove soap.
Patty and Ricky also invited us to pitch our tents in their driveway which was awesome because it took the chore of finding a spot to camp away. THEN they invited to roast hotdogs at their campfire! OMG, I was so hungry. Patty kept trying to ply us with champagne too and I kept declining because I hadn't eaten much and that wouldn't have been a good combo. Once she popped that cork though I did have some champagne. And hotdogs, chips, potato salad, nom nom nom nom!
We chatted around the campfire till about 10:30pm which you know is about 4 hours past my bedtime but it was SO much fun.
Then we climbed into our tents all clean and with full bellies, eternally grateful for the kindness of strangers. This type of situation really does renew your faith in humanity.
The next morning, Ricky brought us coffee to our tents! I was eating oatmeal out of my ziplock baggie when he brought a real coffee cup to me. And it was good coffee.
We packed up our gear and Ricky walked us partway to the store. Patty sleeps late so we had said goodbye to her the night before. Hugs all around!
We walked the remaining steps to the General Store, signed the logbook, met the new owners, and bought all the snacks. Payday bars, cheez-its, water, and I don't even know what else. Then we set up out on the back porch and waited for Carolen and Don to retrieve us.
What's next? Good God, I need some rest first.
Photos can be found on my Instagram @tinahikes
Author of Lola Hikes the Icy Mountain
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lola-Hikes-Mountain-Tina-Fernando/dp/1524656089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491443809&sr=8-1&keywords=lola+hikes+the+icy+mountain
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lola-hikes-the-icy-mountain-tina-fernando/1125793085?ean=9781524656089
Crazy Compression Ambassador: 45% off code CCA-TFernando www.crazycompression.com
Honey Stinger Ambassador
Nuun Hydration Ambassador
No comments:
Post a Comment