Flipping to NorCal
I walked into Kennedy Meadows on June 2nd, two months to the day from when I left Campo at the Mexican border. It was a surreal experience, and as soon as I saw the “Kennedy Meadows” road sign I found myself welling up. I did it. I made it through the desert.
That morning we all slept in since we weren’t in any kind of rush to get going. I’m so glad we didn’t leave camp until later, because as we were finishing packing up, I heard the “Frozen II” siren call from a distance, and looked up to see Ziploc and Super Noodz descending down into the canyon! It was incredible, I couldn’t believe it! It felt like Christmas morning. We ran to hug one another, and I was so happy to be reunited on trail for the first time in 550 miles. We walked the entire 8.5 miles to the road to Kennedy Meadows together, and it was so special to get to share that experience with them.
I had so many of my people there: Ziploc, Noodz, Girl Scout, Stakes, Bubbles, Hot Pink, Workshop, and the Umbrella People! All of us walked to the General Store together and reveled in what we’d just accomplished.
That afternoon and evening was joyous. We all did laundry and took showers, and then had a bit of a party on the deck of Grumpy Bear’s Retreat restaurant to celebrate. So many hikers were getting into town, and we cheered as they came in. Countless plates of food and many beers were had between 1pm and midnight when we finally all said goodnight and went back to our tents for sleep. It was the perfect way to give the desert an awesome send off, and spend one more night all together before the next phase of our journeys begins.
The next morning I woke up early and hopped in the car with Ziploc and her girlfriend who had driven all the way from Phoenix to Kennedy Meadows South to pick us up! They would be spending the next week in Truckee, just north of Lake Tahoe where I’d be meeting up with Erich.
The drive took us along the Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Seeing the Sierra gave me and Zip a little bit of FOMO, but at the same time we could easily see that it was covered in so much snow, we absolutely did not want to be up there. We stopped in Lone Pine for breakfast and got to experience the small town that would be my group’s exit point after their 50-mile stretch of the Sierra.
I got dropped off in Tahoe and met up with Erich the next morning. It was the best feeling ever!! We’ve missed each other terribly, and it felt so right to be together again. We originally had planned for him to only stay from Sunday-Thursday, but after being together a few days he changed his flight to the following Sunday.
Having so much time together, and then extending that time, was definitely needed. We explored Tahoe, I rested up and cleaned my gear, we cooked meals together, and just spent a lovely holiday feeling grateful for the time we had.
Near the end of the week, we drove up to Reno to check out the shoe stores and find me a new pair of trail runners. I ended up finding a pair of Nike Zegama trail runners that felt really good. They reminded me of a cross between a Hoka (because of how much cushion they had) and a Topo (because of the wide foot box). It was hard to want to take a chance on a shoe that I hadn’t heavily researched, but after spending over an hour in the store I decided to go for it and just see what happens.
In Reno we met up with my trail family since they had just taken a bus there. Erich got to meet everyone in person which I was so happy to finally see happen.
We all spent the next few nights together at an Airbnb in Chester where we got our packs loaded up and ready to start our first section in NorCal. Hot Pink and Bubbles decided to leave on Saturday morning, but the rest of us planned to leave the next day. Erich dropped us off at the trailhead on Sunday morning, and he and I had a tearful goodbye. I was ready to start this new chapter, but I certainly wasn’t ready to let go of Erich. Doing the PCT has always meant that we would have to spend this time apart, and while I’m still motivated to complete this goal, it’s extremely difficult to spend so much time away from him. It’s been hard on both of us, but after a week together we were both feeling stronger and resolved in what we each had to do to get through the next few months. It was so difficult to walk away from the trailhead - we won’t see each other again until August.
Looking toward the future of what is to come, NorCal has some great things to offer. We’ll start out by hiking through Lassen Volcanic National Park. We’ll walk along Hat Creek Rim, a long and exposed piece of flat trail which gives us our first views of Mount Shasta. We’ll actually be walking around Shasta for the next several weeks. We’ll pass by Burney Falls, one of the most incredible water falls in the U.S., and then find ourselves in the Castle Crags Wilderness. We’ll hike through the Trinity Alps and then finally the Russian Wilderness as we exit NorCal and enter Oregon.
Entering Oregon is still weeks to a month away, and I have a lot of miles between then and now. I walked away from Erich at the trailhead with tears in my eyes, but hope for what this next season will bring. Forests, lakes, waterfalls, snowy mountain views, and hopefully even more friends to meet. Thank you so much for continuing to follow along - I can’t wait to share the next phase of this journey with you!
