Month: May 2021

Cold night and morning. Snow did not start until the afternoon.

Storm clouds moving in.

Long climb for the first hall of the day to over 10k feet. The air is thin.

Many are now on the trail. Morning camp was well over a dozen and must have seen two dozen throughout today.

Some hikers in front of me had stopped and looking at something off the trail. It was a rattlesnake under a log and making lots of noise.

In the afternoon after setting up camp some south bound hiker came by. After getting a water update they said no snow till 12k and it like mid July conditions. They did say the north side of Forester Pass was winter wonderland.

Warmer the expected as today was climbing to 8k. Tomorrow will be the first time over 10k.

Camping at the South Fork of the Kern River. It even has a bridge over it. I keep hearing the splash of fish from my tent. After multiple attempts I finally saw one jump out of the water. It is about 2” long.

Lots of swallow nests under the bridge. At sunset they all came out and flew around. Guessing there almost one hundred.

USPS delivery is around 2:00pm. Hopefully my resupply boxes are on that truck.

Packages arrived. New shoes, microspikes, food, etc. Ready for a morning start.

Afternoon showers the past two days. Cold and snow forecast in the high Sierras the upcoming week, which is common in May and June.

Had another ten dollar breakfast to start the day. Rain shower cam in the afternoon signaling a change of weather. Cooler and wetter weather is coming the next week. That will be snow and cold nights in the mountains.

Short walk on the trail to stretch the legs. Resupply boxes estimated to arrive Monday.

All you can eat breakfast for ten dollars. It is very uncommon for some to eat a second pancake. The record is seven which I cannot imagine some eating.

My shoes made it to Kennedy Meadows thanks to Molly stitching them up. Guessing they have around eight hundred miles on them. I will not push the next pair that far.

Said goodbye to my hiking companions from Washington. Was great to have them join me for the week and a half. They did a little sight seeing before heading to LA.

Arrived at Grumpy Bear Retreat. Double cheeseburger for lunch which was sorely needed.

They provide shuttle service to and from the trail, which is a few miles away. No cellular here but there is WiFi. It slow as there dozens using it at any one time.

Camping, restrooms, showers, laundry, charging are also provided for free. Unsure if there is electricity run to here. There is a huge diesel generator behind the main building that runs from 7:00am to 10:00pm.