Wait, what? Woke up to find both the inside and outside of my tent covered in frost… I am happy with my choice of “warm” thermal gear, which I’d shipped myself in a bounce-box to Kennedy Meadows. It’s holding up pretty well in the cold; wearing those while inside my sleeping bag I’m pretty comfy. I got out of my tent to collect my bear-canister, (dumped somewhere in a field as to keep the bears away from my tent) and I again agreed that the place I’d set up my tent was pretty special.
After a chilly breakdown (first time I’ve been wearing my gloves) I started cruising downhill, determined to catch up with the Canadian family. Within 15 minutes I’d found them, as they were having breakfast. They told me they’d changed their plans and wanted to get into Bishop (a bigger town, but further away) instead. I would make up my mind on what to do along the way. Since I was up and about and ready to hike, I decided not to linger with them. The trail led further down into the valley, dropping beneath the tree-line. With the early morning sunlight, creeks flowing everywhere, abundance of flowers, no mosquito’s (yet) and crossing paths with a deer, I once again felt as if I was walking through a fairy-tail. I really do think that some Hollywood directors must come out here for inspiration…
After dropping pretty low in the valley the trail suddenly took a mean turn; a very steep ascent through a very humid forest with tons of ferns. This was also when the mosquito’s had vacated their lairs, ready for battle. Stopping to collect and filter water was a nightmare. I kept bouncing from foot onto the other as to keep them away from my exposed legs. When finally made it out of the forest I let out a sigh of relief, and got ready for the last grind of the day; the climb onto Kearsarge Pass. After the climb onto the pass, there’d be only 5 miles down towards the car-park. During the climb we passed some beautiful lakes where I took some time to relax and soak my feet.
The climb was less brutal than anticipated, and I found myself at the top of the pass around 1200. I ate my last two remaining energy bars and chatted a little bit with some section hikers. Then started to cruise down. Beautiful views of the desert mountains again. What a stark contrast between the lush green valleys on the Sierra-side and the daunting grey-brown desert-plains on the other side.
Hoping to catch a ride quickly into town I stumbled into the car-park, curious what the rest of this day would have in store for me. Can you imagine my surprise when I saw, chilling in the shade, Jukebox, Thad (now officially dubbed Photo-Op, because he takes beautiful photos), and Pops! I’d caught up with them! Hurray! They had called an Uber to get them into Independence (to pick up their packages), to continue their drive to Bishop to stay at the local Hostel there. During my hike today I’d spoken to some other hikers who’d just gotten out of Bishop who’d all really recommended staying at the hostel, so that was exactly what I wanted had set my mind to. Within 3 minutes of me arriving at the car-park, I’d gotten a ride to town, was re-united with my friends, and now had the prospect to spend time with them the during the next 2 nero’s. All was good!
We swapped stories in the car and had a blast. In Bishop we got ourselves sorted out at the hostel and went for an early dinner at a Texas BBQ place. All of us ate crazy large meals, but still felt hungry afterwards. So we went to what we thought was a German Bakery to get some dessert. When I got closer however, I quickly discovered it was in fact a Dutch Bakery! Stepping into the shop I found myself surrounded by wooden clogs, Delfts Blue, Stroopwafels and a picture of the Royal Family. I felt right at home! I bought some Stroopwafels to share with the others.
We went back to the hostel to sort out some more chores and then it was time for the evening-event; Bowling! The hostel had bicycles which you could lend, so we cruised down, Pops and Photo-Op being a real road-menace on the tandem-bike; hilarious. After an hour of good bowling-fun we cycled back to the hostel getting ready for sleep in a bed. Tomorrow I need to get my resupply done, and I hope to get back on trail in the late afternoon. It felt good to be back in town and recharge!
When the sun set low in the blood red sky, yeah
Every house called out as we passed them by, yeah
She would grab my hand as the trees leaned in, yeah
Oh I’m still racing home from the place I’ve been
It was all I knew
I was waiting for the big one
And I stayed forever
Oh, oh, American secrets
I dreamed it was ours
That we just didn’t know yet
American Secrets – Parachute
