PCT, Day 58

I get back to Kennedy Meadows just after 7 a.m. and order some plain pancakes for breakfast. Then I collect my new shoes, ice axe, and freeze-dried food I had sent here and buy a pair of micro spikes for the ice and snow in the Sierras. One parcel is dropped at the wrong address, and I get a ride at noon to pick it up. I retrieve my parcel, order a pizza, and manage to eat 3/4 of it, removing the olives and onions. I hope my system can handle it.

Then I get my bear canister. It is huge and heavy. I get a ride back to Kennedy Meadows General Store and start packing. I can’t fit everything into my bear canister. It is just before 5 p.m. when I finish packing. The place is crowded with hikers. It is very noisy, and since the ground is barren, dusty desert terrain, everything is covered in dust.

I can’t bring myself to set up my tent there, so I start walking. About 5 km from here is a tent site, and I aim for that. It is very hot, and soon I am drenched in sweat. At 5:45 p.m., I check the temperature: 40 degrees Celsius. No wonder I am sweating.

I am glad when I reach the tent site around 6 p.m. After all the usual chores, I get to “bed” at 8:30. My bear canister is 100 meters away, but I still have some food and toiletries in my backpack in the tent. They just don’t fit. I hope no bear comes along tonight.

Leaving Ridgecrest:

Pancakes breakfast at KMS. I chose plain pancakes.

New shoes again since those light blue ones' sole started to dissolve from the first day.

The cat is still there:

The general store and its petrol station:

The only other place at KMS that caters for hikers. Picked up my wrongly delivered parcel here.

Next to grumpies retreat is an outfitter in a small container. People have to wait to get in. There is a table with nail polish. Heavily used by many men and women to cover the dirty fingernails.

On my way to the campground, temperature at 5:45 pm, bear canister put far away from the tent and finally rest in my tent, far away from the crowds.