PCT 2018 Thru-Hike: Episode 8 - Gateway To The Sierra

Description

PCT Gear List Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQqPbu1Fa0

PCT Gear List - https://darwinonthetrail.com/2018/04/19/darwins-2018-pct-thru-hike/

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Tags: UL Hiking Gear,PCT,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT Thru-Hike,Thru-HIke Gear List,UL Backpacking,Zpacks,Enlightened Equipment,CNOC Outdoors,UL Backpacking Gear,Vargo Bot 700,Hiker Trash,Hiking,Backpacking,Adventure,Long Distance Hiking,Zpacks Duplex,Zpacks Arc Blast,Sierra Nevada,Kennedy Meadows,Grumpy Bear's,Gateway To The Sierra

Video Transcription

you

[Music]

had an absolutely awesome day on trail yesterday it went by really fast though 27 miles into Walker past campground so as soon as I got here yesterday my buddy Dan that I've known for a long time who lives just down the mountain picked up me and another hiker I was hiking with yesterday named beer hugs took his down to ridge crest got a couple more days of food for resupply got some pizza brought pizza back there's just such a fast day last night was absolutely amazing had great sleep at Walker Pass campground it feels so wild to be here again since I was living in Ridgecrest this past October and it's really weird to like walk here and then be back down in that town

but it's like 42 43 miles I think from here to Kennedy Meadows so this is it this is the last stretch get to Kennedy Meadows trade out some gear head into the Sierras so today I think when i dial it back a little bit I'm probably only gonna do like a twenty three twenty five mile day versus what I have been doing so it's that one back for me [Music]

so I have a pretty amazing B right now of down in rich Ridgecrest and in a in yo Kern

it's funny last October I was actually living down in in yo Kern and I can see exactly where snuggles and I were staying on Dan's property so where we went last night is Ridgecrest which is out that way and then in yo Kern is kind of like right under me so I spent pretty much all of October just kind of you know hiking up through these passes and stuff and I never did find the PCT because it's a much higher up it's just so cool to be back here and see out there the other really cool thing about this view is out past this this closest mountain chain in the distance is actually Death Valley so Death Valley is right up there and then here in a little bit should be able to get a little bit of a size of Mount Whitney so you can see Mount Whitney and Death Valley from this spot which makes it a pretty cool place to get some pretty awesome views so if you can see down where those like little green circles are that right there is in yo Kern and right next to those green circles is where snuggles and I were living in the month of October so pretty well to see that and then out there in the distance you see those big mountains the closest ones on the other side of that is Death Valley pretty well

all that's in your car and then out there in the distance is Ridgecrest a roommate last night pizza [Music]

time for a break I gotta we'll take a special

Awami bread have a little sandwich something different

[Music]

[Music]

so this is a where I was gonna stop for the night and camp but this is the very top of a ridge it's already pretty windy coming here I almost got blown over a couple of times because of the gusts I don't think I'm gonna camp here so it looks like the next spot is in about four point eight miles just going to make my day twenty-nine point something which didn't really want to do but the good thing is there is water at that campsite yeah I I just don't want to sleep in the wind again feel like I'm getting blown over every night so I'm gonna keep cruising all right well 30 miles later from one BLM campground to another I'm here really didn't want to do this big of a day today

it's morning to only do you like 25 but sometimes that just happens out here got it for that campsite they look crappy super windy cold just don't like sleeping and stuff like that so point to to the campground get some sleep get up in the morning get to Kennedy so Darwin what are you having for dinner at night well friend I'm having cold soaked couscous I know shocker however tonight is a special night because I found some soy sauce packets in the hiker box back at Walker pass and and I have two tunas and here here's the crazy thing

they're both the exact same tuna however this one has 150 calories this one has 160 calories 10 extra calories so I'd say it's a pretty good dinner myself mm-hmm don't taste that 10 calories it's pretty chilly this morning just packed up camp and I'm leaving this little BLM campground that I stayed out last night I have about a 20 22 mile hike today but it's a special day because I will be getting to a very big landmark for PCT three hikers and that is Kennedy Meadows so Kennedy Meadows serves as a couple things number one it's mile 700 which is technically the end of the desert so Southern California goes bye-bye and then it's also has some people for the Gateway to the Sierras so in Kennedy Meadows I'll be picking up my bear can my ice axe my micro spikes and all of my other Sierra goodies I'll be using for the higher elevation harsher colder trail that's coming up so I'm super super excited to get to Kennedy Meadows

[Music]

I have officially made it to Kennedy Meadows mile 700 so that is supposedly supposed to be the end of the desert and the Gateway to the Sierras feels pretty amazing to be here I kind of thought that I would not that I would never get here it's just 700 miles is a big stretch so you kind of envision that's gonna take you quite some time and even having like a week off and stuff even though is gonna take more time yeah baby I'm here

700 miles Kennedy Meadows oh and it just occurred to me that yesterday at some point I hit the quarter of a way done with the trail mark so at some point yesterday I walked past the point where the trail is now a quarter of the way done feels pretty good I mean not as good as half is gonna feel but I'll take a quarter I'll take seven hundred miles and I'll definitely definitely take Kennedy Meadows got it's beautiful out here

yesterday I rolled here into Kennedy Meadows and it's a pretty cool spot we got to the general store me and the other two guys I was hiking with yesterday towards the end of the day we got to the general store and it really wasn't exactly what everyone expects there was no hikers there it was I don't know a little bit disappointing I gotta say the general store is it's an iconic place to go but it's not the same I think as it used to be different owners so we got a hitch down the road two grumpy bears and pretty much spent the night camped here on the property they let you camp here for free they have showers food beer a really awesome place a lot of hikers hanging out and just had an awesome night last night didn't really film anything last night I was trying to be in the moment hang out with a bunch of other hikers which was great and today I'm just gonna kind of take a zero waiting for snuggles she's actually gonna come up here and bring me my bear can my ice axe and all of my Sierra gear so I'm just going to be chilling out here at grumpy bears today I'm gonna go down to the Triple Crown outfitter which is Yogi's resupply shop and outfitter her gear store check out all that she has and just kind of walk around and take it all in so here it grumpy bears you can pretty much camp all over the the property and see some tents up there a couple tents down here and a bunch of tents out in front they are super amazing people that run this place

and fairly new to the whole hiking crowd [Music]

but just awesome awesome people well today was a pretty awesome zero day took a zero here in Kennedy Meadows snuggles did come and meet up with me and brought me my bear can and my ice axe and my crampons so I am trading out really only one piece of gear and that is my solar umbrella and then like I said I did have to pick up a bear can which I had to be V 450 my camp course ice ax and then my micro spikes not crampons I'm taking micro spikes the only other piece of gear that I wanted to take with me into the Sierras was a pair of waterproof socks unfortunately they seem to be lost by the post office imagine that so hopefully I'll be able to get them somewhere and either Bishop or independence whenever I drop down from Kerr Sarge pass so hopefully I won't have to go too far into the snow before picking up the waterproof socks I wanted some of those because from reports from other hikers already being up there there's a lot of postholing and I just don't want frostbite so I'm definitely gonna try to get those waterproof socks still but again yeah today was really great we just hung out and drank beer and a food hung out with a bunch of other hikers that I haven't seen in a while

so now that I have everything tomorrow morning I'll be headed out and headed towards the big bads here as pretty exciting and a little bit nerve-wracking because you never know what to expect you never know how the snow is gonna be in and how the the ice is gonna be so it'll be interesting but I think I'm prepared prepares I'm gonna be