Hello Sierra Nevadas!

At Mile 745.3

We are resting up today in Lone Pine, CA. As we approached Kennedy Meadows and then as we left it behind, the trail has slowly been transitioning from high desert into the high Sierras. Sagebrush and chapparel is slowly giving way to soft pines and huge boulders. The countless lizards that scurried around the trail are gone and instead there are chipmunks and marmots darting around in our periphery. Carrying water for 20+ miles has quickly become a distant memory, as we step across springs and mountain streams many times a day. It is a strange feeling to suddenly have the option to pass by clear, cold water because we already have enough.

We strolled into the dusty town of Kennedy Meadows Tuesday afternoon and there were probably 40 other hikers applauding as we walked up, a PCT tradition. There are only three places to go in Kennedy Meadows: general store, outfitters, and a bar/restaurant, so the hikers effectively swarm the place. We did laundry, ate burgers and fries, met a cool lady at the bar who fed us dessert and let us shower at her house, caught up with friends who have been a day or two ahead of us for a while, and picked up food to last the next few days.

We also had to make another addition to our packs: a bear canister, a hard plastic tub that will have to hold all of our food for the next 400 miles. The bear canister is bulky, heavy, and has a 'bear-proof' screw top with latches that is proving so hard to open it seems more 'human-proof.' Our next resupply will be in 9-10 days. We had to get creative with our food choices to fit this amount into the canister, and even so, we will have to ration ourselves to make it last.

So here we go. We will be out there for nine or ten days, in some of the most remote and beautiful sections of trail yet. Hopefully we will come out on the other side with tons of stories, pictures, and moderately full bellies. Wish us luck!