Day 48: Trail Anniversary in Kennedy Meadows

Date: Mon 6/4

PCT Start Mile: 698.3

PCT End Mile: 702.2

PCT Mileage for Day: 3.9

Total PCT Mileage: 702.2

The Highlights: 700+ miles, the end of the desert, Kennedy Meadows!, trail anniversary

This morning, we slept in. Last night’s campsite near the river was peaceful and we only had a 3.9 mile hike into Kennedy Meadows for the day with no need to get there early. Finally we could sleep past 4:45am. Still, even sleeping in, we started moving around by 6am and were on the trail by 7.

I may have jumped the gun in mentioning our last day in the desert for yesterday’s blog, as the desert stretched even over our last four miles today… unwilling to leave us. Always one more sandy uphill, one more scrubby bush, one more lizard.

After less than two miles of hiking, we hit 700 miles, another hundred down. This one was particularly significant as we leave the desert and enter the mighty Sierras.

The miles stretched through rolling meadow, the sun casting a beautiful morning glow that was unseasonably hot, especially for the 8am hour. Desert sun, let us go!

Just before the road to Kennedy Meadows, we signed into the trail log. A bit dilapidated on the outside, the log inside was intact and we signed our names with anniversary love 🙂

While we hadn’t planned to arrive in Kennedy Meadows on our anniversary that’s just how it worked out, and we couldn’t have picked a better place, our excitement high for the next leg of our journey.

Not far down the road to Kennedy Meadows we posed with the famed sign. We made it!!

*Anniversary arrival in Kennedy Meadows*

Arriving at the iconic Kennedy Meadows general store, everyone on the patio cheered as we walked in, a tradition for all arriving hikers. Shawn threw down his trekking poles and did his best body builder poses. Suns out guns out. I only wish I had photos of this.

At the store, we caught up with other hikers and dug into some breakfast grub. We’d spend the day in camp chore mode: eating more food, picking up our resupply packages with bear containers, ice axes, and other gear, buying food for the next section, laundry, showers, catching up with online stuffs. And, talking with everyone about the Sierra conditions.

Today was a day of milestones. Hiking the PCT you have to need to have many tiers of goals to pull you forward. If all you think about is Canada, it will be a very very long hike.

And so, you break it up – the next tier are the states: California, Oregon, and Washington. But… California is also very very long, comprising over 1700 miles of the 2,650 mile trail.

California is further broken into the desert, the Sierras, and northern California. And, beyond the states and regions, you use towns and 100 mile markers as progress points, inching your way northward up the trail.

Finally, daily goals include the campsite for the night, the next break, and – especially in the desert – the next water source.

Today, we hit a huge milestone. The desert is the largest single region of the PCT and, while beautiful, we are also happy to leave it for the Sierras.

There is some anxiety heading into the Sierras as everyone looks to weather reports, social media, and word-of-mouth for current conditions. What is the snow like? Do we need ice axes? Microspikes or crampons? How do I fit the fricking bear canister in my pack?