A quarter of the way through!

This past week started with a Full Moon Hike. Back on the trail as we were told, "Another day in paradise, girls!" Paradise was too cold for my liking and was so windy that it blew us off the trail several times. It was rather pretty though! Oh and the person who gave us a ride back to the trail asked us to share why we were hiking the PCT, see below..

In the days following we got to walk through meadows and pine trees. I love walking on pine needles, sitting on pine needles, laying on pine needles, smelling pine needles. After so many desert miles, my (and my joints) appreciation for pine trees has grown immensely. But good things never last and we soon walked through a 42 mile stretch without a legit water source. Lucky for us, kind trail angels left several gallons of water through this stretch to help hikers out. 

Our next venture led us to an old cabin in the woods. Our friend made a fire while I swept off a spot for my tent, a chore typically meant for my farm hands. About an hour after I went to my tent, I heard JLa leaving the cabin because it was already inhabited by a family of rats. Of course I am too nice of a person to say, "I told you so." 

The next morning we only had 8 miles to Walker Pass where we found PBRs and a ride to Lake Isabella. We immediately found the nearest bar, Shady Lane Bar, to drink Bloody Marys in celebration of our trail pal's birthday. That night ended at a campground, where we waited for a ride to Kernville the next day. Oh and I got new shoes in Lake Isabella, look at how gnarly the first pair got..!

Kernville turned out to be a beautiful little town. We played in the river, had drinks and danced to live music. We found an elementary school obstacle course to camp at, and spent the night lounging in a huge hammock/jungle gym while star gazing. French word of the day: etoile filante.

We ate a huge breakfast the next morning and met up with our new friend, Rex, who gave us a long ride back to the trail. Three more days of hiking led us past mile marker 666 and into a surprise memorial day hiker celebration. Attempting 19 miles, we stopped short at 17 to find several people who had hiked the PCT in the 70's. They graciously provided us with food, drinks, live music, and hiking stories. 

22 miles later we are stuck in the infamous Kennedy Meadows awaiting packages that may or may not be here in the next couple of days. Kennedy Meadows is an iconic place on the PCT because it is the gateway to the Sierras. We will maybe see the Sierras if our mail ever comes, but the road has been blocked on account of a fire about 20 miles away. In the mean time we've been trying to entertain ourselves the best we can with various extra curriculars. We've gotten really great at card games (Jla lost a round and had to wear a tutu) and origami, and I've been perfecting French phrases and learning to play chess. On a more positive note, we are finally out of the desert and a quarter of the way through this madness!! Jla saw the snow of the Sierras for the first time on the trek and even got misty eyed! We are so eager to get on to the next section!