There have been a few groups going through the Sierra already, so there is some limited information on the conditions. There is snow above 9-10,000 feet, which is what we will be above for much of our traverse. It seems to be rapidly melting though, which is both a good or bad thing. If snow is firm, it can be easier to travel on, and can bridge creeks that we would have to otherwise ford. However, if it gets soft in the afternoon, it can make for slow travel sinking in or postholing.

The passes we have to cross also cross steep terrain on snow, and it is best to go across when the snow is more firm and icier in the morning. However, that makes the implications of a fall worse. We are all carrying ice axes though to self arrest if needed.

We will see what happens, but I am not worried about it. It should be beautiful.

We soon saw signs of humanity with fences and then habitations, and our road came into view. It was a short walk into the Kennedy Meadows General Store, a classic trail hangout. However, it was basically a ghost town when we got there, with one hiker the only person there. Eventually a worker came around and said he would scrape something together for us for breakfast, but nothing came of it.

We hung out for a bit, but nothing was happening, so we got a ride down to Grumpy Bear’s Retreat where all of the normal hiker services are free. Unfortunately, they had just stopped serving breakfast when we got there, so we missed out while waiting for breakfast that never came at the General Store, but not the end of the world.

The Spicy Bandits and Lanyard and Lou were at Grumpy Bear’s, so we were able to catch up.

Lunch soon opened, and I had to get the PCT burger which had 3 big patties, bacon, avocado, onion rings, etc. It was enormous but I managed to eat it without taking it apart unlike anyone else.

The sun was definitely heating up on my climb, but I crested the ridge after a few miles and had my closest view yet of the snowy Sierra, with a couple ranges of mountains spread out before me. I’m very close to them now, with the unofficial trail gateway only a few miles away. Some of the mountains were almost solid snow, but others were quite melted, at least on their southern sides I was facing. I won’t know truly what it is like until I get in there.

We took a break on top to enjoy the mountain view, but there was no shade since it was a burn area, so we pressed on. We were killing it on time, but just can’t sit out in the sun.

We grabbed some water at the bottom and started up to our next pass. This climb was out in the open with desert vegetation, and the day was beginning to heat up. It was a decent grade so we had to slow down a bit to keep good forward progress. It still wasn’t too long until we summited the pass and headed back down once again to another new layer of mountains. This one looking more dramatic and rocky.

We made excellent time and actually got to the bus stop 30 minutes before we had targeted. There was some fruit there that we partook in while we waited with a couple other hikers.

A car picked up a hiker hitching in the other direction, and the driver handed us a box of cold pizza that he didn’t want. We ate most of it, but I wanted to save some room for hot food in town.

Our bus took us the hour or so to Lake Isabella and we grabbed brunch at a diner, resupplied, chilled at the bus stop, got mistaken for homeless people, had lunch 2 at Subway, and got an extra sub to pack out.

We were done with our minimal town chores well before the next bus ran back to the pass, so we were more than ready when it rolled up.

We only had to resupply for about 2.5 days to get to the next stop, but it is actually harder to resupply for the shorter stretches of trail, when packages of food come in quantities of 6, 8, or 10. Thus our food bags were both heaver than they needed to be and we were headed up to a dry camp. Obviously, leaving town means uphill most of the time, and this was no exception. We hiked up 1,500 feet with our town food.

Hiking on up the ridge that had been looming before us, we passed the typical wildflower fields on our way up. It was a 1,500 foot climb which would be our biggest of the day. However, the first two thirds of it was graded really well, and it was hard to tell we were climbing at all. It got a little steeper at the end, but it was amazing how quickly and easily we made our way up the ridge.

The forest ended in a burn area, but this one wasn’t as bad as some of the others since it exposed the boulder strewn landscape and peaks in the area which suited the regrowing vegetation nicely.

I noticed a gray tent hiding next to the trail under a log. I opened it up to look at it, and it was the same brand and material as Lanyard’s tent. She was ahead of us, so I decided to pick up the tent and carry it in case it was hers and she somehow dropped it. It is not uncommon to see lost gear along the trail. It is hard to know what to do with it. Unless you catch someone quickly up ahead of you, you may have become the owner of the gear and not know what to do with it. So, do you pick it up or walk past it?

When I caught up with Lanyard a few miles later, she had realized she was missing her tent and was trying to figure out what to do. The tent was hers, and I was the last person to pass it, so it was good that I picked it up. A missing tent would be a pretty bad thing out here. You could cowboy camp for a while, but you would need it for the Sierra.

I took off ahead of the others towards the end of the day. I wanted to stretch my legs and pound out some miles. I can hike faster than some hikers, so I tend to follow when I’m in groups. I do need to go my own pace at times though.

When we took off in the morning, we could still see the remnants of snow on the mountain above where we stayed the night from the storm our first night in Tehachapi, but we never actually saw any snow throughout the day. The ground was just slightly damp at times and you wouldn’t have known that a storm had rolled through. That’s not the case in the Sierra though where I heard they got another 2 feet in the storm. Not what I wanted since the melt had been progressing well, but better than it dumping on us while we were in it.

Atop the ridge, the terrain around the trail was a bit different than it has been. The rock had more shear broken faces, and a lot more color. There were reds and whites in the rock, and a ton more variation than there has been in the mostly plain rock along the trail so far. A welcome change with the additional character.