Day 41: Rainy Climb

From Kennedy Meadows mile 702.2 to Monache Meadow / Kern River mile 716.5

Chris and I planned to leave at 7 this morning but that didn’t happen.  He lost his toothbrush so we had to wait for the general store to open at 9.

My pack is bulging, it was a fight to get everything in there.  The scales on the porch say it is 45 lbs, still 5 lbs lighter than Chris’ pack but the heaviest of this trip for me.  I also weighed in at 170 so I have lost 23 lbs so far.

We finally got walking at 9:30.  By 2 the skies had darkened and rain started.  We stopped early because it was cold and wet and the area here along the Kern River looked so inviting.  There are at least 20 hikers here, some down along the river and others, like us, up above in the trees.

We have 34 miles to Chiken Spring Lake and 3 days to get there.  No rush, but it would be nice to get there in two days and have a full day off before the class starts.  The unknown is when we will hit snow and how fast we can go once we do.  Tomorrow will tell.