At about 3:30am I heard a pack of coyote yipping, it was a real chorus.
The alarm went off at 4:00am but we both needed more water so we went to the creek again to get 1 more L, so we were actually hiking by 5:30. This morning we decided to each hike at our own pace and meet at the crest of the hill. It was getting hot by 7:30am and because we had enough water we didn't have to stop at the first spring. I began to see "Sierra-like rock outcroppings. The uphill miles were completed by 10:00 and we began to enter a large burn area, open and exposed. We took a break under a bush and were passed by about 6 hikers. We used our umbrellas since it was getting pretty hot out. I decided to try to get miles done and was aiming for 3 trees out of the burnt area that were visible from a mile away. Once we reached it the trees were scraggly and it was on a slope but we were too hot & tired to go further. We stayed for 4 hours moving to shade as the sun moved. Other hikers passed us braving the heat. Finally, around 5:30 we ate our dinner and moved out to the trail, it was still plenty hot. We exited the burnt hills out into the valley where we could see willow trees and there was a bit of water.
At 6:30pm we had 1 L of water and started toward trees to camp. We were on auto pilot wanting to be out of the desert and settled when I heard someone say "There she is!" I looked up and stopped, thinking "Who are they talking to?" It was Nanine & Kevin from CalPoly where Peggy works, they'd come Peggy hunting and had found her!
We hiked about 2 miles further, found a camp spot in the trees and boulders on a small hill off trail and unloaded our packs.
Nanine & Kevin had packed a feast!
Steaks, mushrooms with butter, fresh beans, hollandaise sauce, strawberries, blueberries, shortcake, fresh whip cream, and Kevin had given us a baggie of chocolate covered almonds. Yum! Nanine started her camp stoves, put the steaks and mushrooms on a griddle that Kevin had packed in and the cooking process began. It was a pleasure to watch her cook, Kevin handing her what was needed without a pause and later he whipped the cream by hand!
It was a wonderful feast eaten as the sun was setting. We decided to keep the strawberry shortcake until morning and went to sleep with very full tummies.
6/7/14 Saturday. 6.5 miles to Kennedy Mdws.
This morning breakfast was fresh strawberries, whipped cream and shortcake, not our usual hiker grub!
We hiked from 7-10:00 and came across the Kern River, an actual river, a body of water, it had been so long since we'd seen so much water and lush greenery, we stopped to let Bosa swim in it.
It began to get hot and my tolerance for heat gave me problems so everyone went ahead while I took a break and cooled off. I met up with everyone soon and since it was a short road walk to the store, Kevin and I drove the car while Peggy, Nanine and Bosa walked. My iPhone was on the blink and wouldn't take photos so I have none of the store (Later Kevin suggested I turn the phone completely off and that did the trick.)
The store was a ramshackle affair consisting of store, restaurant, showers and washing machine complex; hikers sitting, talking, going through their boxes, writing letters, calculating what would fit into a bear can and what would need to be given away. People all over the place! Whenever someone hiked in on the road all the hikers would clap. They knew firsthand what an accomplishment it was to make it there. I stood in line and gave Peggy's and my name to the store keeper then waited for our name to be called so we could collect our resupply boxes.
We repacked our packs with our new food and put a call into a small cafe a few miles down the road. The owner would drive his truck to the store, loaded with hikers who had eaten at his place, and pick up the next bunch wanting food. Peggy & I caught a ride there and Nanine, Bosa & Kevin met us for lunch.
We then got a ride to the Kennedy Meadows Campground where I stayed with our packs while Peggy slack packed the 3 miles from the trail to the campground. Slack packing is doing the miles without your pack so it can be done faster. Me sitting on a picnic table in the shade watching the packs? I don't know what you'd call that, but it was entirely too hot out for me!
Kevin & Nanine ready to go home, their "Peggy hunting" was a success, they had bowled us over with their generosity. It's a story we'll be telling all up and down the trail!
Peggy and I ate dinner at the campground, did a bit if laundry and dried it on a tree branch. Afterward we put our packs on and hiked about 1.5 miles down the trail to a campsite by the Kern River just across this bridge.
We camped near Sunny Side and Bad Ass who we've been calling Pink Poles. We first met Sunny Side in Lake Isabella and Pink Poles had just gotten old ski poles at a thrift shop, they were neon pink. We'll be leapfrogging with them for the next few days.
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