May 28, 2007

I had a great night's sleep and retrieved my bear bag by 5:30 a.m. Breakfast doesn't excite me, but I ate my bars anyway for the needed energy.  Today, I had Smart Start bars which taste like a sweetened Rice Krispie treat.  I do love my early morning solitude.  I happily put on my long-sleeve Arcteryx shirt because the air was chilly.  And...I wanted to wear it just for the sake of it.  This shirt has gone on all of my long distance hikes and I was pleased to have it back in my possession.  One has to choose apparel carefully, so missing a garment matters especially when heading into the cold and snowy high Sierras.

I began hiking by 6:30 a.m. and climbed to an elevation of over 8,000 feet through a burn area.  By 11:00 I had hiked to Manter Creek, my first water source.  I enjoyed a lunch break with Rocco who had been lounging under a huge tree which provided shade even though it had been burned. The water was cool, clear, and plentiful.  This was a good sign my water sources were about to improve.  I was completing my hike through the dry and arid desert.  I gave Rocco my extra food and a pack of my Sport Beans. We both laughed about my willingness to unload about 1½ pounds.

Unloading my food helped Rocco because he needed to re-supply from the Kennedy Meadows General Store which had limited food.  Rocco offered to carry my garbage, but I declined.  I hiked onward in the heat of the day focused only on getting to Kennedy Meadows at mile 702.  I ran into The Mule who was camped a couple of miles from the store.  The Mule provided directions and told me about the great cheeseburger I was about to get. 

The Kern River was pretty and it felt great to hike along a plentiful water source. 

I completed my 20 mile day by 2:30.  I was greeted by Clara, Patrick, Ironman, Duke, Pie Man, Parker, and Geek.  The locals were just finishing up a bake sale and were hanging around on the porch.  My first order of business was to collect my re-supply box which contained eight days of food and my ice axe.  Then I ordered a cheeseburger which was scrumdiddlyumptious.  The hikers phoned Grumpy Bear's for dinner and we were picked up and shuttled to the fine dining establishment (Just kidding about it being fine dining).  We were given foil and asked to create a piece of hanging art.  I made a letter L and placed my Ladybug stickers all over it.  Geek created a backpack.  We were shuttled back to Kennedy Meadows and I set up my tent in the outdoor movie theatre.  I slept well with a full belly!