Week 7: Lander's Camp - Kennedy Meadows
- scarlson51
- Jun 22
- 4 min read
Approximately Mile 610 through Mile 703
Tuesday, June 3rd - PCT Day 44
Got a ride back to the trail today from Sergio – 55 yr old Hispanic granddad. Very nice guy. We left at 7:00 and hit the trail around 10:30. Terrain wasn’t very hard today, and nice cloud cover for most of it as well. Forgot my cooking pot in Sergio’s car which sucks. Dry ramen for dinner. Camping at Dove Spring Pass. Goodnight.
Wednesday, June 4th - PCT Day 45
Cool climb out of camp today, right up a granite headwall. Very nice views of the High Sierra from the top which was nice. Rolling up and down through the forest for most of the day. God how I love the trees, the oaks and the pines in particular. Called G&G at lunch, good to hear they are doing well. Going to miss everyone on the 4th. Got water w/ Ada from Gdansk, Poland. Got to camp at Walker Pass, got set up as thunder started to rumble just to the east over the ridge. Saw some of the most amazing clouds as I sat - enormous and pearly white. I now understand why people used to think giants lived up there. Very nice sunset, goodnight.
Thursday, June 5th – PCT Day 46
Got a hitch this morning from Marie into Onyx. She was quite the world traveler, still staying in hostels in her 60s. She also had good advice on finding cheap plane tickets. Sat in the post office parking lot for an hour not so bad, in the shade w/ a book. Bron (?) gave me a ride back to trail; professor of math at the Ridgecrest Community College. Long climb out of Walker’s Pass, very beautiful though. Bounced between the western Sierra-facing side and the east Mojave-facing side. Cool slates and granites along trail too. Called mom and dad, nice to talk. Steep downhill into steep uphill after the first uphill. Camping at Spanish Needle Spring. Wish I had a gold pan, very nice Quartz & Sulfide in vertical meta-slate beds, & likely runs under creek. Mom’s cooking for dinner. Goodnight.
Friday, June 6th – PCT Day 47
Today was a blessed day. Very nice climb out of camp this morning, very cool marbles and blue limestones. Ran into Rizzler & Coastie around mile 10. Walked with Coastie to the next water source. The second climb of the day took me to right below 8000 feet. Stopped at Fox Mill Spring for water. Cool old mill building. At the crest of the second climb I was presented with perhaps the most wonderful & beautiful view so far. I could see far to the north into the snowcapped High Sierra. Finished day after 25 miles and ~5000 feet gained. Camped @ Mantor (?) Creek w/ Coastie, Skye, Trainwreck, Rizzler, Supermax, and other fella. Very nice to have some company for dinner after a while alone. Tomorrow I shall enter Kennedy Meadows South, drink some beer, eat some town food, resupply, retreive my cooking pot from Sergio, and then do another 8–10 miles. Very excited to be able to say there is no more desert to be done. It's off to the high mountains for me! Goodnight.
Saturday, June 7th - PCT Day 48
Very pretty morning today with the morning sun shining off the polished granite domes, slabs, and spires to the east. Took a very nice bath before going into town. The beavers and their ponds at the South Fork Kern River get an A+ from me. Reached the Kennedy Meadows General Store a bit after 10:00 a.m. Got a very good orange amber beer. Saw Robin, Barbie, Snacks & Co. which was nice. Also saw Best Friend Skye, Trainwreck, Costie, Super Max, Rizzler, and other fella come in to the sound of cowbells and applause, as everyone receives when they approach the store. Talked to Allen (?) about the monster trout I saw while taking my bath this morning, he promptly went off to catch it, promising to return and share it with me if he got lucky. I did not see him again. Had a nice conversation with a fellow hiker who was from Ireland and works as a lawyer. He said an ancestor of his came to America in the 1800’s to hunt for gold, and he apparently found some which was cool. Very nice campsite beneath a beautiful specimen of a Juniper, right by the river too. Loco Moco for dinner, goodnight.
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