Kennedy Meadows, at lastJun 01 2017

... and into the Sierras we go!

Jun022017
Map thumbnail of location

After spending the night behind the Kennedy Meadows general store, it was time for our pre-Sierras near-o.

First things first: a breakfast featuring all-you-can-eat pancakes (with eggs, bacon, and potatoes). The pancakes were enormous, but I still managed to pack down 1.5 of them somehow. (I'm grossly proud of this.)

Huge. How I ate 1.5 of these is still a mystery to me.Huge. How I ate 1.5 of these is still a mystery to me.

Then it was time to pick up our packages and sort through our first food-containing maildrop (which, also included all of our Sierra gear, like a mountaineering axe, crampons, and a bear can).

I sent myself too much food, so a lot of it was then re-mailed to myself later down the trail so I don't have to buy yet more mashed potatoes.

I also sent home a fair amount of gear that I won't use again, like my warmer-weather sleeping bag and my tent -- now that I have trees, I can use my hammock!

Monk and I process our maildropsMonk and I process our maildrops

While that was happening, we did laundry -- never pass up an opportunity to wash the only clothes you have and wear every single day!

Drying our clean clothes <3Drying our clean clothes <3

Finally, it was time to load up our massive packs (tons of gear, but not quite as heavy as when we were in the desert, so that's a plus), hitch a ride to the trailhead, and start hiking toward the Sierras!

I can't believe it's here already, but I'm totally excited.

And away we go!And away we go!
A taste of what's to comeJun 03 2017