We got up this morning with plans to head to Lone Pine for a quick resupply after realizing our resupply in Kennedy Meadows South won’t make us the seven days we originally planned. Lone Pine is about a 45 minute drive from the PCT along a steep winding road taking us from 10,000 feet to roughly 5,000. It was a quick hike to the trail head where we gathered and planned for our ride down. Unfortunately, none of us had service. Getting a ride was going to be difficult… so we thought.

I walked a bit down from the trailhead to a stump in the shade and began laying out my food to determine exactly what I needed in town. Within two minutes, a guy pulled up in a Subaru and asked if I needed a ride. I told him yes but I was going to Lone Pine and he said sure, and then I told him I was a group of four and even that didn’t deter him at all. He told me his name was John but on the trail he goes by airborne. Turns out he’s ’yo-yo’ed’ the PCT meaning he hiked from Mexico to canada and then back to Mexico. A roughly 5,200 mile journey. He had just got down from Whitney and got lucky with several hitches back to his car so he felt the need to pay it forward.

Once in Lone Pine, we all got our groceries in order and promptly headed to McDonalds. We all proceeded to do what we do every time we get into a town and sit down to eat. Consume too much food until we’re sick and then struggle to stay awake. We stuck around the McDonalds for about three hours and then began our search for a ride. No trail angels were around and the drive back to the trail head would be much more difficult. We’d either have to get really lucky or pay for a ride. We stuck Mackenzie out on the road to try and wave down some potential rides but everyone who pulled over wasn’t going close to where we were. We had to bite the bullet and pay for a ride. It wasn’t cheap but it at least got us back to the trail.

We were planning on hiking an additional 10 miles but after walking upon Chicken Spring Lake, we all agreed to set up camp. Surrounded by cliff faces on one side and a valley below, it’s one of the most beautiful scenes we’ve walked on this entire trip. The sun was beginning to reach that golden glow and we were all also filthy. We took a swim and scrubbed ourselves and quickly threw on our rain gear to avoid the swarms of mosquitoes that ascended upon us.

We then had dinner with Candy Crush, Bastione, Berry, and Sonic. They’re a great crew and we really enjoy their company. We’re hoping to meet up with them for our hike up Whitney in two days. It’s so nice to be out of the heat and into the Sierra.

Happy trails…