May 19,20 Getting to Kennedy Meadows

On the 19th I hiked 25 miles to mile 681 with Francis. My knee has given up thinking it could stop me and hurts less every day. So I was able to keep up with Francis and pressed on to put myself in position to get to Kennedy Meadows (KM) before 5 pm the next day, (the general store closes at 5). This is 2 days ahead of schedule but I figured it would be good training for what faces me in the Sierras.
I met a few day hikers, Chuck and his family. He recognized me as he has been following my blog. Sorry I could not take a pic to post but it is always a pleasant surprise to meet hikers who have been reading about my hike. Thanks for your kind words Chuck. It was a long hard day of walking.
A lot of climbing, hot and dry and tread was deep sand in most places. Seeing the Sierras and Mt Whitney in the distance motivated me to keep up my pace. Francis and I leaped-frogged and I got there 15 minutes before the store closed. Francis showed up an hour later. He is still struggling with a toe infection and many blisters. He needs new trail shoes. Hopefully this will solve his foot problems. He made the mistake of purchasing Gortex Hiking Boots. They don't breath well and your feet cook in them in the desert. In the Sierras they don't dry out so your feet are always wet due to the snow and abundant stream crossings. Unfortunately most people don't know this and suffer the consequences so if you are planning to do any long distance hiking don't buy Gortex.
Much of the last day was through more burned acreage leaving dead downed trees and no shade. The wild flowers were abundant though and provided some eye candy to the landscape. I took many pics with my Nikon which Mark will post in a couple of weeks. The last miles are always the longest and as I approached the road that I could see in the distance I realized I may not reach my deadline. I quickened my pace, jogging along the trail and finally got to the road at 430, but still had .7 mile of road walk to reach the store. I saw a couple of hikers coming towards me. It was Grasshopper and husband Break Man they were planning to stay at the campground below and head out in the morning for Lone Pine. They up dated me on trail conditions and then I hastened my pace. Seemed like forever to reach the store and I saw no sign of it ahead. A truck passed then stopped and backed up to me. "Need a ride?"
"Well I am just heading to the General Store but it closes at 5 - is it much further?"
"at least a half mile, hop in or you on't make it".
The seat of the car was full of stuff he pushed it onto the floor and leaving my pack on I squeezed in. Holding the door we sped up the half mile and I managed to get there just before they closed. Whew that was close.

Approaching the Kennedy Meadows General Store

The shower and laundry facilities were closed when I got to the General Store as they are working on short hours until Memorial Day so I would have to wait until they opened at 11am the next day to get clean. I have never been so dirty or smelled so bad in my life! You can only do so much with a HandyWipe and when water is scarce you save it for drinking. So the best you can do is a bandana wash with ice cold water when you cross a stream.
I purchased some fuel, a cold drink and a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (my reward). I was hot, tired and weak. I walked around to the outdoor tables to take a seat in the shade. There were 3 hikers sitting at a table in the back and we immediately recognized each other. It was Go Fish and Fidget! They were sitting with Alex Zinda a hiker I had not met but knew of. He started his hike on St Patrick's Day and took some time off due to the bad weather do ended up running in to my group and has been hiking with them. Mile a Minute (Jeremy) is just one day ahead and Snake Charmer is leading the pack. She is about a week ahead. Go fish had a stomach virus so had to get off the trail for a week. She and Fidget went home to check on their dog and now she is better so they set the next morning for Mt Whitney. I will skip Whitney since I hiked it last year and save my knee from the added strain. I will probably see them in Lone Pine in a week or so. Word is there is snow and blow downs but others are getting through so I plan to head out soon.
I stayed with them at Tom's in a vintage trailer. When I got there Burning Daylight was there. He is still hiking with Go Fish and Fidget. Orange Ranger is a day ahead and the others are about 2 days ahead.