July 16, 2016
I woke to a beautiful sunrise and chilly morning. It took me a while to get ready to go partly because I was still finding my trail routine again and partly because the addition of the bear can had changed the whole organization of my pack and I needed to adapt my routine.
High-dynamic range shot from my campsite
I stopped for a food break mid-morning at a campsite just a little ways off the trail. I was amazed at how many nobos passed right by me without noticing me. I wasn't that far off the trail and wasn't trying to be particularly quiet or still. Many had headphones in that I could hear from where I was sitting and honestly did not look like there were enjoying hiking at all. I continue to be surprised by the number of hikers I've met who started the trail with a very specific idea of what it would be like and when reality differs from expectation they refuse to reevaluate and force themselves onward. Why?
A few hours later I ran into a young woman named Heatwave and stopped to talk with her for a bit about the resupply options in Kennedy Meadows North and Bridgeport. Half an hour later I met another Eeyore, this one a retired gentleman who was finishing his last section of the trail after over 10 years of section hiking it. I met him after an hour or so of tracing along the bottom of a rim and the trail had just opened out onto the first trademark high-Sierra meadow. While we were drinking it in, Eeyore confirmed that there were a few sobo groups ahead of me!
Around 2:00pm I passed two women and a man stopped for lunch. Something looked awfully familiar about the women and I stopped to chat for a bit. Sure enough, it was Canary and Joules! They were part of the big group I had summited Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the AT, with in 2014. We caught up for half an hour or so before I got moving again. I had a long climb ahead of me up and over to Sonora Pass.
The climb wasn't particularly steep but it was definitely long. By 4:00pm I was exhausted and stopped for a food break. I debated taking a nap but decided to push through instead. A few minutes after I began hiking again I ran into the Kush Cousins: Prof. Kind and Dr. Nugs - pretty great names for the pair.
Looking back north from Sonora Pass
Looking south from Sonora Pass
I made it to the top of the climb just after 6:00pm and still had a long descent down to highway 4 and the actual pass. It was just before 7:00pm by the time I was on the road with my thumb out. Dusk was beginning to settle and I was worried I wouldn't be able to get a ride. Fortunately, a recent high school grad, Jordan, gave me ride down the hill to the Kennedy Meadows Guest Ranch. He dropped me off at the highway and I walked the last mile of paved driveway down to the general store and restaurant.
I joined Risky Biscuit, MASH, Mad Dog, and a German fellow whose name I cannot remember for dinner. It was close to closing time and our waitress' first day on the job so service was not ideal and I ended up not getting the meal I ordered at all. I did get a complimentary salad and a round of free deserts for the others though. Unsure of where the walk-in backpackers campground was, I walked back out in the direction of the highway and set up about 20 feet into the woods. It was a late bedtime.
