Day 35: The Gateway to the Sierras

I’m a morning person and it suites me well backpacking. I was walking within 20 minutes of opening my eyes. The hike today was essentially a descent, a climb, a steep descent, and then level ground until I arrive in Kennedy Meadows, a major milestone of the hike. 

The morning miles went quickly (although admittedly the climb kinda sucked), and the descent was fun. My bag was light so I ran parts of it and clocked my fastest mile, 14:20, of the hike. It grew hot with no wind to cool me down and I cranked up the tunes to help power through the rest of the day. I finished ‘The Boys in the Boat’, an inspirational book highlighting the 8-man rowing team that won gold in 1936 Olympics. 

Filtering water

A shuttle whisked me away to Grumpy Bears, a hiker friendly restaurant that offers free showers, free laundry, and delicious food. I did all of those things, and it was a tough debate on whether the shower or the peanut butter banana milkshake was the highlight (just kidding, always the milkshake).

A bunch of hikers were hanging out and it was nice to meet new faces. I’ll be here until Monday evening when a friend, Parker, will be meeting me to tackle the Sierras. The adventure begins! 

Miles: 24.3

Total Miles: 915