Daily Miles: 0.0
Total Miles: 143.5
Waking up in Kennedy Meadows was a bit surreal for me after not having been there for 8 years. Some of the folks were getting packed up and setting out to the long awaited Sierras, others were just lounging around looking forward to a zero day. I on the other hand had a different agenda. In 2008 I had already hiked the next 87 miles of trail, so my goal for today was to find a hitch down to the eastern sierra valley where I could catch a bus that would take me north to Bishop, CA. This is where I would take some time off, rest, resupply, and get back on the trail at Kearsarge Pass, where ultimately my hike ended in 2008.
In addition to me, Ed (another section hiker I had met in Lake Isabella) was looking for a ride down to the valley too. He had had a rough first few days on the trail and wanted to get into a hotel to recharge. The problem though is that K.M. is not an easy place to hitch out of. You might get lucky if 10 cars drove by in an hour. You pretty much had to wait for someone to stop at the store and be ready to offer them money to drive you down and drop you at either Lone Pine, Inyokern, or Ridgecrest.
One car came in, Ed talked to them and they didn't have room. The next car that came in was a California Highway Patrol Car. Technically hitchhiking is illegal in California, so I figured we were stuck further until he left. Then low and behold he opens the back seat of the car and out pop 2 hikers and their packs. Me and Ed cautiously looked at eachother and shrugged, why not try? Ed walked over talked to the officer for a minute and gave me the thumbs up. Never did I expect to get one of my longest hitches yet (over 40 miles) in the back of a cop car.
He took us all the way down to the valley where highway 395 runs all the way north to Reno. He dropped me at Inyokern which is on the bus route. Ed stayed in the car as he was going to Ridgecrest which had better hotels. I was able to snap a picture at the last moment as he drove away.
The whole area was under a heat advisory for the next week with temperatures reaching into the 110's through most of the desert floor. Good time to be heading to higher elevations.
I found a burger joint had some lunch and sat for about 5 hours waiting for the bus. The bus made lots of stops all the way north so the ride took just over 2 hours until I pulled into another familiar town of Bishop.
Once in town I headed for a place that wasn't there 8 years ago, the Hostel California. Pretty sweet hostel that caters to hikers, climbers, and even international tourists. They had bunkrooms for $20, and couches for $10. Just like any other hostel it was basically a giant house where people came and went as they pleased and you could pretty much do whatever you wanted as long as you cleaned up after yourself and it didn't negatively affect someone else staying there. It was a pretty cool place and I'm upset I never got any pictures of it.
Once I got settled I was off to dinner at the Mountain Rambler Brewery. Great pretzels and flatbread for me and a couple amazing stouts.
Despite the fact that it was a packed hostel, it was real easy to get to sleep in a real bed. Tomorrow I will take off too, as so I can get all my chores done and head into the Sierras in 2 days.
Patch
No comments:
Post a Comment