Day 04: Kennedy Meadows

From PCT mile 698.1 to 706.5 Total: 9.8 miles 5/28

On my fourth day of the trek I took it easy, hiking on fairly flat terrain while eating good food and partaking in fun hiker-conversations at the Kennedy Meadows Store and Grill.

When hiking solo, I typically go to sleep early, often before sunset, and, since I don’t require a lot of sleep, I often wake up in the dark, an hour or more before dawn. This lets me get hiking right away, at first light, so the air is cool while still allowing for photography. But not this day. Today was going to be easy, so I could sleep in.

I took my time getting up that morning as I had a very short hiking day planned, to Kennedy Meadows — I took my time getting up that morning as I had a very short hiking day planned

Last night, while hanging out in my sleeping bag, I thought about the days ahead. I started out with seven days of food in order to hike the 100 miles to the car, and planned on fifteen mile days. The trail magic from two days ago meant that I now had extra food in my backpack. If I stopped off at the Kennedy Meadows store today, I would surely eat there as well, thus leaving me with even more excess food. This led to the idea that I could spend an additional night in the Sierra while also hiking fewer miles per day! So I re-calculated everything and came up with a new plan for the rest of the week. Today would be a ten mile day, giving me several hours to pig out at the grill. It was almost like getting an extra resupply stop.

Now, in PCT Thru-Hiker Terminology, a ZERO Day is when you get a resupply in town and hike zero miles. A NERO Day is when you resupply by hiking only a few miles into and out of town. A HERO Day is when you get a resupply in town and also hike a full (typically twenty mile) day. I decided that today would be somewhere between a NERO and a HERO.

Once I was done packing, I started north. As I knew from when I hiked this section two years ago, the trail would be following the South Fork Kern River pretty much all day. I would be heading upstream, but it wasn’t all that steep in this region. Easy hiking, my favorite kind!

Morning light on the hill to the north of the South Fork Kern River as it entered a gorge at PCT mile 699 — Morning light on the hill near the South Fork Kern River as it flowed out of a gorge at PCT mile 699

I was sorry that I hadn't brought my Tenkara Fly Rod as there wasn't too big a flow in the river — I was sorry that I hadn’t brought my Tenkara Fly Rod as there wasn’t too big a flow in the river

Looking south toward Rockhouse Basin along the South Fork Kern River

Of course, the trail wasn’t always running directly next to the river. It occasionally climbed up higher, or went straight across a meadow while the river meandered within the flat valley. In late May 2024, the snow was still melting far upstream near Whitney Meadow, so there was still plenty of flow down here, but the water level was much less than the blasting flow of a month ago during the height of the Spring thaw, for which I was thankful. No need to accidently fall into a raging torrent!

I was glad that it was still cool and early as the PCT climbed up onto a shadeless plateau

The South Fork Kern River was looking good in the morning light at PCT mile 700 — The river was looking good in the morning light at PCT mile 700

I climbed up on a promontory and saw Kennedy Meadows spread out before me to the north

Kennedy Meadows was filled with small scrubby chaparral bushes rather than grass

The temperature increased as the morning progressed, and it was quite warm in the bone-dry meadows. I was rethinking my decision to wake up so late. But what’s done is done, and I hiked on, thankful for my shady hat brim. Plus, it was still Spring, and everything was green and beautiful.

The South Fork Kern River flowing south below Kennedy Meadows from the PCT at mile 701 — The South Fork Kern River was meandering through Kennedy Meadows

The South Fork of the Kern River as it makes its way through Kennedy Meadows at PCT mile 702 — View north from PCT mile 702 – Kennedy Meadows was quite large!

GoPro view of the South Fork Kern River plus a shadow-selfie — GoPro view of a big bend in the river, plus a bonus shadow-selfie

Sherman Pass Road bridge over the South Fork Kern River - I was near the Kennedy Meadows Store — Sherman Pass Road bridge up ahead – I was near the Kennedy Meadows Store

After a few hours of hiking, I reached the road into the town of Kennedy Meadows. I left the trail and headed up the hill to the store. As I arrived, a bunch of people started clapping and whooping. Huh? I looked around to see what all the fuss was about. Everyone laughed. The fuss was about me! Everyone who arrives gets an ovation, it seems. I took a bow and swept off my hat in salute. It seemed like the right thing to do. I didn’t mention that I only hiked about fifty miles to get there from Walker Pass, rather than the seven hundred that the rest of them did from Campo at the Mexican Border. That would only have spoiled the fun. And a few minutes later some more hikers arrived, and I got to join in with the cheering. Yes, it was a fun crowd at the store that day.

I hiked uphill on Sherman Pass Road for less than a mile into the town of Kennedy Meadows — I hiked uphill on Sherman Pass Road for less than a mile to the store, at PCT mile 703

I arrived to claps and cheers from other PCT hikers at the Kennedy Meadows Store, at PCT mile 703 — I arrived to claps and cheers from other PCT hikers at the Kennedy Meadows Store

I immediately got a cold soda at the Kennedy Meadows Store, then headed around to the grill — I immediately got a cold soda in the store, then headed around to the grill for some fries

I met up once again with the three Trail Angels who put on the Trail Magic at the Chimney Creek CG — I met up once again with the three Trail Angels who put on the Strider Memorial Trail Magic

Thru-hikers traditionally pick up their resupply packages here. I didn’t have one, of course, but I bought two cold sodas instead. Then I went around to the tables near the grill and ordered some French fries, which turned out to be surprisingly good. They had some kind of tasty coating that really hit the spot. I sat at a table with other hikers and joined the conversation. Most of it was about the remaining snow up ahead. I told them that Chicken Spring Lake was still frozen as of last week, and that the high country had yet to melt out. It was sobering news, but it was true. Most everyone had sent themselves an ice ax and microspikes for traction. They were ready. Or at least willing to try. They could always bail out later. But I made sure to remind them that they might want to carry more food, as they wouldn’t be cranking out twenty mile days in the steep sections of the High Sierra, and even less through snow.

I also charged up my phone as long as there was electricity. There were many phones all stacked on a shelf with multiple power strips. I had a spare battery, so I wasn’t too worried. As the afternoon moved on, I decided to chow down on a big burger. It was early for dinner, but I didn’t care.

I hung out with fellow PCT hikers at the Kennedy Meadows Store Grill - their French Fries are awesome! — I hung out with fellow PCT hikers at the grill – their French Fries are awesome!

After eating my fries for lunch, I decided to have a burger later that afternoon for dinner - Excellent! — After eating fries for lunch, I opted to have a burger later that afternoon for dinner – Excellent!

Of course, all fun times must end. I put away my phone and charger, then picked up my backpack. I said goodbye to some hikers I met, and we vowed to meet again further up the trail. This seemed likely, as I wasn’t hiking as many miles as they were. I headed back down the road. It was hot out there, with too few clouds. Yet again, I was hiking across a hot dry meadow and the cool river water was far away.

I headed out from the Kennedy Meadows Store later that afternoon, hoping to get a few more miles in — I headed out from the store later that afternoon, hoping to get a few more miles in

The PCT heads off to the right, across hot, flat Kennedy Meadows on the way to the campground

View north across Kennedy Meadows at PCT mile 703 - the campground is up ahead near those trees — View north across the meadow at PCT mile 703 – the campground was up ahead near those trees

Once I made it to the campground I knew that my NERO Day was almost finished. Of course, the PCT hikers usually camped at the farthest end, but that was OK. I walked down the wide path. There were several other groups in RV’s and tents camped here and there, most of them in the roasting sun. I wanted a shadier spot.

I arrived at the Kennedy Meadows Campground at PCT mile 705, and it was still very hot in the sun

The PCT goes right through the heart of the Kennedy Meadows Campground — The PCT goes right through the heart of the campground loop

I intended to camp near the northern end, but there were noisy drunken car-campers right next door to the standard PCT Hiker campsite. I didn’t need a Crystal Ball to predict that I would have a bad time getting to sleep later on. It seemed to be a bit early in the day for drinking and carousing, but some folks can’t help themselves. So I helped myself right on out of there. I signed the trail register and hiked onward. There was plenty of choice camping in the wilderness up ahead of me. Back in 2020, during the pandemic, Vicki and I hiked this next section (southbound) and I knew what to expect.

Official Trail Register at the northern end of the Kennedy Meadows Campground at PCT mile 706 — Official Trail Register at the northern end of the campground at PCT mile 706

As always, I signed the Kennedy Meadows PCT trail register as BIGFOOT in all caps — As always, I signed the trail register as BIGFOOT in all caps

After signing the register, it was time to hike onward. Even though it had been an easy day, I still wanted to set up camp and take it easy. Technically, I wasn’t supposed to camp too close to the river, and I didn’t want to camp near the rowdy loudmouths, so I hiked further, looking right and left for a likely camping spot. And I found one.

I wanted to camp at the campground but there were noisy drunken car-campers, so I hiked onward — I started looking for a legal campsite just beyond the Wilderness Boundary

I found a private spot above the river in the South Sierra Wilderness at PCT mile 706 and set up camp — I found a private spot above the river at PCT mile 706, and set up camp for the night

After all the socializing at the store, it was nice to have a spot all to myself. I knew that tomorrow I would be in a popular spot next to the river (this was by design, as part of my changed plans) so I just chilled the rest of the day. I could hear the river down below me, but it wasn’t all that loud. A bit of background noise to help me sleep, I figured.

I took stock of my food. I had two extra dinners, snacks, and lunches, but not breakfasts. I decided to use a Pop-Tart for breakfast, and ate a bit of snack for my “second” dinner. I wasn’t hungry, but why carry extra food outside my body when I could put it to good use right now?

After that, I texted Vicki via satellite about my extra day in the mountains, and headed into the tent. There was no sunset under the trees, and tomorrow I had a big climb ahead of me, so I went to sleep early. Thus far, the Sierra Section of the PCT was wonderful, and I was looking forward to the next few days on the trail.

For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page

For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page

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