Day 48 – From tentsite to Diaz river tentsite, mile 742

June 7.

Stayed in tent until 7am, then Tinkle and Cactass came to check on me. 😂

Quick breakfast, on trail around 8am. Cactass and Tinkle had already started. After finishing the climb to 11000 feet that I started yesterday, most of the trail in the morning was even or even downhill. 9 miles in at around 1130am, got new water at Death Canyon Creek. Just before the water, I caught up with Husk and Queso – also Cactass and Tinkle had just settled down.

My feet still felt good – actually during the hike in the morning, I already felt home in the boots. But I am careful… I don’t think adjusting to new boots will happen after just one day.

At lunch, we discussed the next days. Crabtree meadow will be the starting point for the Mt Whitney summit. To reach Crabtree meadow tomorrow night, we would need to do 22 miles today and about 24-25 tomorrow. An ambitious plan, considering that the day after on June 9 will be the summit with over 4000 feet climb.

We left the lunch break with the target to go to Dutch Meadow mile 743 instead of Diaz river at mile 742.

The trail offered amazing views also in the afternoon.

My feet started hurting though… Pushing the second day in a row to 20+ miles in new boots didn’t feel right. I kept playing scenarios in my head for the next days. But given the pain of my feet adjusting to new boots and the fact that I had planned with 15 miles for the Sierra, I gave up on aiming for Crabtree meadows tomorrow. With the summit planned for June 10 then, the next two days will be easier.

So when I came to Diaz river, I decided to stay, so did Tinkle and later also Husk and Queso. Cactass had already left for Dutch Meadow, but we asked some hikers to tell her about the change in plans.

Day 47 – From Kennedy Meadows to Tentsite, mile 722

June 6.

Into the Sierra!

Left the campground at the Kennedy Meadows General Store at 6.15am, walked to the trail head. It was not easy to get up early. The last night had been long and fun with lots of beers.

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Took a break at South Fork Kern river at mile 716 where we met a lot of other hikers. Also Husk and Queso joined the group. The bridge leading over the river is noticable. Close to hundred swallow’s nests hang under the bridge. It is the only construction by humans surely within several miles. Still the birds chose exactly this spot for their nests. And they were busy feeding their offsprings… There were birds constantly flying in and out.

Tough day, heavy pack with bear canister and 7 days food. And a climb from 6000 feet to 9700, overall climb of 4875 feet or 1600m.

Pitched my tent at a nice tentsite with spectacular view at mile 722 at 9700 feet altitude.

Delicious Mountain House dinner sweet and sour pork. So hungry.

Day 45 – From Manter Creek to Kennedy Meadows, mile 702

June 4. Slept pretty well. It had cooled down during the night, that helped with the sleep.

Started walking at 6am… Motivated to make it to Kennedy Meadows by 10am and with that in time for breakfast. The trail followed a river… The sweet sound of running water accompanied us on the last steps towards Kennedy Meadows. With that also the anticipation of having creeks, rivers and lakes around you for the next section, the High Sierra.

Being able to wash yourself every day… Do some laundry, wash the dishes… 😁

Oh yes. 700 miles done. And so excited to move on to the Sierra.

After the 700 miles marker, it was just a couple of miles to Kennedy Meadows and the General Store there.

Will be camping here at the Kennedy Meadows General Store for a night or two.

Light boots for the desert (left), leather boots for the Sierra and beyond (right).

Time to prepare the gear for the Sierra, fill the bear canister… And give my feet some rest.

Day 44 – From Spanish Needle Creek to Manter Creek, mile 694

June 3. Early start, 5am on trail. As often, not so easy to get up. But once awake, the cool air and the darkness is nice.

The vertical profile today said a first climb to 7000 feet, down to 5500 feet, up again to 8000 feet. With every day you feel the Sierra coming closer. Also the trail itself changes. Less sandy patches, more and more rocks.

Took a break after getting water 12 miles in. Nearby forest road. Car driving by. I joked about smelling trail magic… And guess what! Mountain Dew, Cliff bars, cookies,…. Yeah! Surprising trail magic is the best.

The last days in the desert turn to be really hot. But the beautiful scenery, the blossoming flowers, …

After the 8000 feet peak today, it was more or less downhill towards Manter Creek. The heat remained and the last few miles felt longer and longer…

Came to campground after 24 miles today around 6pm, with tomorrow morning less than 10 miles left to Kennedy Meadows and the breakfast there at Grumpy Bear’s Retreat.

Day 43 – From Lake Isabella to Spanish Needle creek, mile 669

June 2.

Breakfast at Nelda’s Diner. Tinkle had found a trail angel (Mariann) to pick us up right at the diner at 8.30am to go back to the trail head at Walker Pass.

Took two Gatorades from the trail magic at the trail head. Started walking 9.30am.

Lots of climbing. Really hot day. There was talk about a heatwave with temperatures in the high 30s Celsius.

At 5pm, when getting water, everyone was tired from the heat, so we went an early end of the day.

When pitching my tent, I realized that one of the guy lines nearly had ripped, it must have been scratching at a rock when I had pitched it last time. Kind of disappointing. The guy line is long enough to continue using it… But I wished they would have used a bit robust material for the guy lines.