June 16th Afternoon
Trail Miles: 702

J.C. and I arrived early to Kennedy Meadows, and promptly started to relax. After taking a moment to enjoy my beer, my pack exploded and I was on my to the shower. We spent the day talking with the hikers who had already arrived earlier. I met a few hikers I had not met yet and gathered information about the trail conditions through the Sierras. It sounded grim, but passable. I was left with the decision to figure out if I wanted to try them or not. This would be the struggle for the next few days, a much different struggle than climbing up over hills.

The next morning J.C. and I had a local take us back to where we hopped trail. We had emptied our packs of their gear and were going to “slackpack” the last 21 miles that we missed. I left with 3 liters of water and some snack food.

We started with an ascent up 2800(?) feet. As we worked our way into the forest we encountered more burnt trees. We were working our way through a 74,000 acre remains of a forest fire. The fire occured a few years ago and was so intensely hot that nothing survived, and the ground was baked. However, now life has returned to the area.

With a lighter pack I was able to run once I was on the downhill. As I came around a bend in the trail, I stopped dead in my tracks as a rattlesnake reared up and fiercely shook his tale. Shortly he slithered off the trail, but still rattled in a warning to me. Once my heart rate returned to normal, I continued running down the trail.

Since I have lost a good deal of weight while out hiking my hiking shorts are getting too big. Annoyed at them persistantly falling, I decided to take them off and hike. After I shed the shorts, I continued running down the trail in my boxers and boots. Occassionally I would slow my pace to catch my breath.

Running down the hill looking at the now-not-so-distant Sierras, I noticed a higher mountain, which possibly could have been Mt. Whitney, but probably was just a closer tall mountain. Continuing on, I ran past a class of high school students backpacking through the area. I wondered what ran through their minds as the saw a guy wearing boxers and boots with an empty pack running through the heat of the day.

As the day grew hotter, I began to realize how little water I did have. I decided to slow down to limit the amount of water lost through sweat.
About 15 miles down I made my approach to the rushing Kern River. As I walked along the bank, I found a nice sandy beach. I walked over to the river and found the perfect sitting rock. I sat down on the rock, kicked off my shoes and realized my solitude. Promptly I stripped down and bathed in the river. Doing my laundry in the river, I was amazed at the level of dirt, sweat, salt, and dust I was able to wring out of my clothing.

Wishing to stay, but knowing I had too little water to lounge about, I continued on. I neared Kennedy Meadows store and noticed the trail faded into several smaller trails. Taking a guess (since J.C. had the map) I walked in a direction that had others footsteps.

As I wound away from the Kern River, I noticed I was in someones backyard. Oopse, I lost the trail. I looked around and saw a truck drive by in the distance. Realizing I was near a road, I continued on the trail. However, once I made it to the road, I did not know whether to turn left or right. Using my mental compass I chose left.

Fortunately I chose wisely. I walked about 3/4 of a mile down the road arriving back at the general store parched, hot, and out of water. Immediately I walked over to the faucet to drink a liter of water. The rest of the day was spent in a haze. I wasn’t that bad, but I knew I drank far less water than I should have.

The next day was spent lounging about, playing cards, enjoying beer, and contemplating the Sierra dilema.

“Meadow Ed” was throwing a party at a nearby campground, so we all went and enjoyed, beer, bbq pork, and chicken, and beer. Filled to the brim with good eats, we made our return to the campground, where I played cards with Jean Luc (”Slash”) and J.C. (”Whatever”). As the evening progressed, I called friends up and chatted the dilemma with them, knowing they might have some insight, but that the ultimate decision resided in me.

As I went to sleep, I knew I had to make a decision on whether to flip-flop, to flop-flip, or to go straight through. Time was running out and a decision needed to be made.

The next day, my gear arrived for the passing of the Sierras. Soon a crew of people showed up at the general store to grab a snack and say goodbye as they went up to Ashland to head south. They asked what my decision was, which I did not know.

So I put it in the hands af Mistress Fate.

And with the flip of a coin deciding my fate, I called heads, flipped the coin and promptly cursed it after seeing it was tails…I then knew what I wanted…

to be continued…

Happy Trails, Inner Peace, & Harmony