Day 46
Zero at Kennedy Meadows General Store (mile 702)
Cost: camped, free

Grumpy Bears, 3 miles up the road usually does a breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns and all you can eat pancakes for $10 but they were closed this morning so the KM General Store made pancakes but by the time I got up and made it to the deck, breakfast was over! I had lots of dinners left over from my last resupply anyway so I forced myself to eat a cous cous knowing that it was good for me but incredibly boring tasting. (I had bought a new gas canister from the store yesterday). 

Scott from Grumpy Bears came and picked me up yesterday and took me to their restaurant to pick up the bear can – there’s a loan program that I was lucky to be accepted in so I didn’t need to buy a bear canister and just need to pay the postage to send it back when I’m out of the area where I’m required to carry one. 

So after my breakfast of cous cous, I set about trying to fit 8 days of food into the bear canister. It didn’t fit. And the canister is heavy. I foresee a love/hate relationship over the next 300 miles with this canister!

While eating a burger for lunch a few of us decided it would be safer to head into the Sierras together… Tomorrow! Allowing us to gorge on pizza tonight and Grumpy Bear’s breakfast tomorrow morning! I’ll be heading out with Shepherd, Mr & Mrs Smith, Teflon & Bearly. 

702 miles of desert, with a few more miles left tomorrow before I start to climb up into the Sierras… What the desert means to me: Rattlesnakes, lizards, hummingbirds, acorn woodpeckers, cactus, wild flowers, sand, wind, heat, snow, hail, thirst, blisters, 3 pairs of shoes, poodle dog bush, burnt areas, detours, coyotes, boulders, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, stunning daily views, amazing Trail Angels and Trail Magic. 

I’m nervous about what lies ahead in the high sierras. I know there’s snow up there from the last few storms and there’s been a lot of talk from hikers who have friends ahead of us about the conditions but a lot of the stories are conflicting – some say there’s ice and you shouldn’t attempt to summit Whitney and some say you’ll be fine without micro spikes and an ice axe… I have micro spikes but I don’t have an ice axe… At least today is one more sunny day that whatever snow is up there should be melting? I’ll find out soon enough!

Kennedy Meadows General Store

Kennedy Meadows General Store

Kennedy Meadows General Store