Tofu worked her magic to gather a group of us to leave Kennedy Meadows together and head into the Sierra. It was her, Yote and 2.Toe, Vice and Boathouse, and Bam Bam. Vice and Boathouse set out early and the rest of us packed up and left at 8AM.
It was incredibly hot already at 8! Plus all of our packs were quite heavy with the new gear we got at KM: bear canisters, ice axes, crampons/microspikes, and warm layers. Our first few miles were still through the desert and were very warm with the sun beating down on us. After that we started climbing and heading up into more mountainous terrain. Unfortunately the area we walked through was burned from a forest fire years ago so it was less lush than it once was, and also very hot.
After a couple hours we left the burn area and came across a beautiful lush open grassy meadow with views of the snow capped Sierra in the distance. We took a break in the shade of a big tree and soaked up the beautiful views. After our break we sort of split into groups to walk with–we planned to go to a campsite at mile 721 and stay there or see how we felt when we got there. The different couples each walked together and Tofu and Bam Bam did their own things. Wolf Bird and I went ahead and the others took breaks for a little longer.
We eventually went across a beautiful bridge over a river in the meadow and swallows were swooping around to their nests under the bridge which made an amazing sight. There were many people taking a break by the bridge but we decided to press on a bit more. We have a joke that we are “hiker bullies” because we like to pick on each other all the time. We also joke that we are “about the miles, not the smiles” which is switching around a phrase that people often use to remind themselves to enjoy their hike. As we walked, Wolf Bird and I had fun coming up with different little Dr Seuss rhymes about caring about miles instead of having fun. For example, some highlights were: “if you’re still having fun, you aren’t yet done” and “if your energy isn’t diminished, you aren’t finished”.
As we walked we eventually came across a Hungarian guy we knew walking south instead of north. I liked him because before on a tough day he told me about the PCT that “it’s no merry Christmas everyday” in a thick accent and I found that a hilarious made up idiom and also really accurate. Anyway, he was walking the opposite direction and told us he had gone to mile 780 and there was a tough summit or two and also that he saw a bear and mountain lion tracks and also that he was done with the trail and walking back to Kennedy meadows and was doing a 35 mile day. He was a big ball of energy, mostly of frustration, and we felt bad he was having such a tough time. All of a sudden a thought came to him and he grabbed a small yellow bell off his pack and held it out to Wolf Bird for him to take it. He said it was to make noise so bears wouldn’t get us. Wolf Bird politely declined (this is a pretty pointless and excessive piece of gear–Bears would definitely hear our voices and be scared, or even if they didn’t get scared away we could easily yell at them if we needed). This guy shouted “nein” at wolf bird and made him take the bell so the rest of the day it sounded like a pack animal or Santa’s sleigh was walking behind me.
Wolf Bird and I took a break at a stream and two retired guys Mayo and Z Man eventually caught up. We chatted with them for a bit-they’ve both hiked the AT before (separately, as they met on the PCT). Wolf Bird put his feet in the stream and almost cried it was so cold. Seems like a great sign for the many cold river fords we have ahead of us.
We were kind of waiting for the rest of the group, but we waited an hour and no one showed up. We were getting antsy so we decided to walk another 3.5 miles to the campsite we’d talked about stopping at. The walking was uphill and was surprisingly strenuous–I think the high elevation of 8000 feet or so was making me more exhausted than usual. We got to the campsite and were hot and sweaty and to top it off there were mosquitoes swarming us. There wasn’t much shade either so we sat for a couple minutes swatting mosquitoes and feeling pretty miserable. As we were discussing what to do, Bam Bam caught us and told us the others were behind taking a break. We debated whether to stop or go on. It was only 430 or so and we didn’t feel like setting up our tent in the hot sun (as opposed to shade if there had been any) so we decided to press on another three and a half miles to the next listed campsite. This also meant we’d get the rest of the climbing up this big hill out of the way and not have to do it tomorrow morning.
Bam Bam was on board but decided to take a break and said he’d pass on the plan to the others if we saw them. We debated trying to write a note to the others in the sand or something so they would know we went on, but decided they’d figure it out. We continued our climb up and came across some patches of snow. It was crazy to see snow when the air temp must have been at least 80 or 85. I’m sure a few weeks ago much of the trail in this area was covered in snow. We had amazing views of the mountains as we climbed and it made me so happy to see them as well as be surrounded by trees.
We got to the campsite around 630 or so and found a bunch of other people already set up there. We didn’t know any of them but luckily there was plenty of tent space. It was super buggy so we put on some deet we’d just got at Kennedy meadows (thanks mom and dad!) and that did the trick. We set up our tent and cooked some dinner. A guy at KM had given wolf bird a mountain house meal and he had the most amazing dinner of chicken fajitas–it tasted like something you’d get at a restauarant. Bam Bam arrived not long after us but after an hour or so of no one else arriving we were getting a bit worried the others weren’t going to come. Just when we were going to give up, Yote and 2.Toe showed up! They told us them and Tofu had been confused when we weren’t at the last campsite and even thought we might have somehow gotten behind them. They pressed on to a campsite that was 0.5 miles past the last and still we weren’t there! Tofu was getting water and Yote and 2.Toe were waiting for her but when it was super buggy and she hadn’t shown up after a while, they decided to hike on and just asked a couple camped there to tell Tofu they were hiking on.
We chatted with them and Bam Bam and as it grew darker we realized Tofu probably wasn’t coming. We all felt bad that we hadn’t waited for her and hoped she wasn’t mad! She loves doing big mile days so we thought she’d be excited we went further. I had somehow thought we’d hiked only 20 miles for the day but actually it was 23, so it was a pretty big day out of KM when we intended to not do a big day. We got into our tents (wolf bird and I watched some Abbot and Costello on his phone) and went to bed hoping Tofu would catch us in the morning and not hate us forever.