The desert is over! It took its revenge at the end though with a series of 15-22 mile water carries between caches – not even streams. I carried 7 days of food out of Tehachapi for the 133 miles to Kennedy Meadows S – coupled with 10 pounds of water, my pack was the heaviest it’s been on trail so far. I did end up heading into Ridgecrest with some friends and spent the night with Pancakes, a trail angel. I picked up some supplemental food in Ridgecrest, but very little.
I have to give a huge shout out to the trail angels who maintain these water caches – the hiker bubble is real, and each person is probably pulling 1-1.5 gallons of water out of each cache. These caches go through probably 50 gallons a day – several hundred pounds of water a day to lug up these remote mountain passes. Without the caches, it would have been a 43 mile waterless stretch, way beyond the carrying capacity of most hikers, including myself. With 90 degree heat, I would need 10-11 liters of water.
From Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows the terrain changed dramatically. It went from desert to Sierra in 50 miles. There is some overlap, lots of sagebrush and desert plants in Kennedy Meadows itself, not like a Washington meadow of grass and wildflowers. But the mountains are more prominent and with exposed granite, and significantly more tree cover.
I’m greatly looking forward to seeing the Sierra, and spending some time deep in the mountains. It may be a few weeks before I find the time (and internet connection) to update the blog again. I’ll put some shorter updates on Instagram at @cfreypnt
