June 1st, 2016
Miles Hiked: 22
Total Miles: 575
Start Location: Mile 609
End Location: Mile 631
End Location GPS: 35.55184, -118.13605
We got an early start with a 4:30 AM wake up call to try and get some somewhat cooler miles in. But once the sun reared its ugly head you could instantly feel the heat.
It soon reached scorching levels of hotness by 10 AM. Luckily there was a water cache at mile 515, or thereabouts, and we each downed a liter and replaced it.
We hiked for another hour and found a shady spot for lunch, then hiked until 1:30 and found a really nice Joshua tree to take a 2 hour break during the hottest part of the day.
The hiking today was through high desert mountain landscapes with maximum exposure. It was very beautiful but that was sidelined unfortunately by the sun and the fact that we had to conserve our water through this 42 mile dry stretch, which made the day really not that enjoyable.
Around 5 we saw this big peculiar looking mushroom cloud over a mountain in the distance. As we got closer it became apparent that it was from a forest fire. The atmosphere above it was dark and hazy. I was a bit concerned as we kept walking closer and closer. Looking at the maps the trail was headed in that direction.
Near the end of the day we got to a road with thankfully another water cashe. Unfortunately an hour before, Carolyn set her bag down near a Joshua tree and punctured her water bladder spilling over a liter of precious water. Seeing that water made me really relieved. Some other hikers were by the road cooking dinner and informed me that the fire was north of Walker Pass, where we are headed tommorrow. At least this isn’t an issue tommorrow and I can figure out what is actually going on once we get to town. I really hope the trail is not closed. It would be a real shame if we were not able to walk into Kennedy Meadows.
