Miles 693.5 to 702.2 (Kennedy Meadows)

When I started this journey ... I honestly didn’t know how far my old legs would carry me... if i could mentally fight through the days I wanted to quit... the PCTA permit is for 500 miles are more... a lot of people say once you have reached 500 you have earned you permit... for me that juncture was 700 miles - through the desert - Kennedy Meadows... if I reached there I could quit and feel proud of myself... if i reached there I could conquer the rest of the trail... Kennedy Meadows was my goal... my magical line of success I had drawn for myself.

I woke up this morning less than 9 miles from that goal... well first, I woke up this morning to Scout announcing everything in his tent was soaked... I felt around and yep... everything in my tent was soaked too... it had been so long since we had seen flowing water... we all excitedly set up camp by Manter Creek... quickly forgetting the dew and condensation consequences of camping so close to water. Oh well, I thought ... it’s an easy day... I will just bask in the sun, while everything dries... one by one my camp mates left - eager for a beer... a burger... a shower... whatever was driving them. I spent an hour by myself reflecting on how far I had come and what it felt like to be reaching this first milestone... then packed up and set out for a lazy hike to town.

The past few sections a lot of days have turned into just getting from point a to point b without running out of water or melting in the heat... today I wanted to bask in the last remnants of desert and the very beginnings of the Sierra.... to be present...

I reached the south fork of the Kern River and decided to jump in and take a quick swim... I sat on a rock for a half hour listening to the birds serenade one another.... I hiked slow and with no intention... deep in my meditation... it was a really nice morning....

As I hiked up the last .2 of a mile on Sherman Pass road toward the general store... the giant bubble of twenty year olds that had all left earlier that morning... began whooping and hollering and cheering... already emotional unsteady...the tears began to fall ... they cheered me all the way in... I had arrived ... I could finally call myself a backpacker... and i had made it in the same time as a number of people half my age and much fitter... many of them have made comments to me after learning that I have son their exact age about how they can’t imagine their mom out here and how much more that puts them in awe of me... I’ll take the old lady backhanded compliments any day.

Also sitting on the deck was Apple Pie, who I hadn’t seen since he got off trail at Paradise Valley Cafe... he has such a calming presence and I really enjoyed having lunch with him.

Later that afternoon, we headed in the back of a pickup to the other side of town to visit the outfitter, Triple Crown, and Grumpy Bears bar and restaurant. So many hikers were hanging out... some had been just hanging out for a few weeks... remember before I left for the trail angeling I did for two guys who had started in February? Well, I caught up (and now have passed) to Grizzly Gramp...

At the outfitter, I got my class bandana.. a gift each year from former thru-hikers to current ones... I got some new shoes... my feet have grown a whole size! And I got some sound advice about the Sierra’s from Yogi - a double triple crowner!!! (A triple crowner is someone that has completed all three of the US’s long trails... PCT, AT and CDT... and she has done each twice... talk about badassery!)

Hound and I set up camp at the General Store, which is much more my speed - quiet and less crowded - we made our plans to leave the next day and continue on to Lone Pine for our snow gear pickups... everyone else was sticking around Grumpy’s for another day or so...

Oh and I made a new friend, Buddy, at the General Store... he seemed to really enjoy the straps on my smelly pack as he curled up and took up home in my hip belt!