May 31, 2007

Fireball and I hiked out of Kennedy Meadows Campground with Hot Chocolate and Bumblebee, Fireball's wife and dog.  Bumblebee is Percy's (the dog's) trail name because it eats bumblebees.  We began at 6:30 a.m. with plans to hike 23 miles.  During our first couple of miles we ran into Marcia and Ken Powers and exchanged good mornings.  I spotted two deer, hiked past beautiful and large meadows as I climbed to elevations over 10,000 feet.  30-30 joined us at Cow Creek.

We hiked northward with me bringing up the rear.  At one point in today's hike I looked up the trail to see Fireball falling backwards.  It looked like a scene out of a cartoon.  Fireball had hit a downed tree with his head.  I laughed with Fireball (not at him, of course) and 30-30 and I immediately captured the Kodak moment.  Fireball had a small gash on his head but was fine, thank God.  By the end of today's 23 mile hike I had climbed over 4,000 feet in elevation through the High Sierras.