Day 49: Winter Storm
I dreaded getting out of my warm sleeping bag. The temperature said 18° and last night was my coldest night of the trip. I woke up shivering a few times during the early morning hours.
But the pain of putting on frozen shoes only lasts a little less than a mile until the toes get warmed up. Thankfully, a few people hiked past our tent site last night and were ahead of us so they had the fun job of breaking trail for us. A welcome change since the miles went faster for us.
We stayed below 10,000 feet until the final 7 miles before reaching Sonora Pass, which is where we planned to catch a hitch or a shuttle to Kennedy Meadows North where we can dry our stuff, Resupply, and mail home our bear canisters (those things weigh like 2.5 lbs!).
The approach to Sonora Pass made me wish I hadn’t sent my microspikes home. It was snowy, steep, and slick making each step important lest I slide down the mountain. It was a grueling ascent.
At the top of the pass, we were welcomed by a strong headwind, snow flurries, and deep snow drifts. We were averaging about 30 minutes or more a mile in the hazardous terrain so I mentally prepared for 3 and half hours of hiking into the chilling wind. The windchill put the temps in the mid 20°s for the day, making hypothermia a real risk. Luckily, the wind and snow went on and off giving us some break from the weather. Visibility was poor for most of the day; it was like hiking in a cloud.
As we neared the Highway at Sonora Pass, I still didn’t have service so I messaged my girlfriend Kylee via my Garmin InReach to call Kennedy Meadows North resort to make sure their shuttle was running. It wasn’t. To make matters worse, the highway department shut down the road due to the bad weather meaning a hitch wouldn’t work either.
This meant an 8 mile road walk to the resort. We were in luck though since the resort owner, Matt, was able to get the highway department to get him a key to unlock the gate and come pick us up when we were about halfway down the road walk. The bad news is we probably wouldn’t be able to get a ride back in the morning since the road is closed until Monday. Oh well, that’s tomorrow’s problem.
The resort offered a bunk bed, a shower, and laundry for $40. It also had a $23 prime rib special at the restaurant that fit my hiker appetite. I’m glad to be sleeping inside tonight since the low is in the teens again up in the mountains.
Miles: 22.1
Total Miles: 1,245