This post originally appeared on The Trek, which you can read here .

*these posts are coming straight from trail, I apologize in advance for typos!*

Day 52: May 29, 2025

Location: High Sierra
Start: Kennedy Meadows South – 703.4
End: South Fork Kern River Bridge – 717.6
Miles: 14.2
Ascent: 2927 | Descent: 1103
Sleep: Tent

We are officially in the Sierra! We woke up at the general store in time to get in line for breakfast. Truffles and I chatted with Sea Wolf and Scout Master while we waited, they were both also from Tennessee! Truffles and I spilt a breakfast sandwich and the pancake breakfast.

I felt like I recognized more people hanging out on the porch this morning. I don’t know if it was that, the fact that we were leaving, or a good nights sleep but I was in a much better mood today. We ate our breakfast and chatted with The Bard, Pigeon, and Starburst.

I still had a package from The Trek to pick up from the store, so I waited for the store to open while Truffles packed up his things. Kennedy Meadows is a place where many people get vortexed, which is surprising given how little there is to do there. It didn’t seem like many people planned to hike out in the morning, so there were tons of people lounging all over the property relaxing. Pimento’s ankle is still bothering him so he decided to hang back and wait a few more days in hopes that it will feel better and that he can slowly hike on it.

It took a while for all of us to gather our things and leave, it seemed like beyond had a last minute side quest they needed to accomplish. Trying to figure out how to attach our ice axes and bear cans also delayed our departure. Finally around 11am we bid Kennedy Meadows farewell and headed back to trail.

We had about a mile road walk back to the pass to get on trail. The trail for the first few miles was flat and took us through the valley somewhat close to the river. It was hot and very exposed, and the added weight of the bear can made it challenging. I started the day with my bear can horizontally across my pack, but decided early on that it wasn’t carrying well and knew I wanted to make adjustments during lunch.

After several miles we made it to a beautiful bridge with some shade that we deemed an appropriate lunch spot. It was so hot, Pinky and I even went for a dip before sitting out in the sun to let our underwear dry. Jess at The Trek had sent me a couple of freeze dried meals, and I had a ginger rice bowl thanks to her for lunch!

Once we were done eating we started ascending in earnest. I felt sluggish and slow, especially compared to the rest of the group. While we were stopped for lunch I rearranged my pack so that my bear can was vertical inside of my pack with my things providing cushioning around it. This seemed to work out well, but I could feel a real strain on my low back. I know carrying 7 days of food in answer can will be uncomfortable no matter what, but I have to wonder if maybe I just haven’t figure out the “right” way to do it yet.

We slowly gained elevation, at our highest point today we were over 8000’. It was hot and sunny all day, I’m hoping the next few days will continue this weather trend and maybe burn off some of the bad weather we heard about was forecasted in a few days. We stopped for water about halfway through and having nice cool water felt like such a treat compared to the lukewarm water I had been sipping on.

After our steepest climb for the day we walked through wide open alpine meadow. Off in the distance were snow covered peaks that we will be at in a few days! My pack was really bothering me and I tried to push on to make it to camp quickly. The scenery just kept getting prettier and prettier the closer I got to the rivers: large clear areas with conifer trees dotting the landscape, sweeping mountains in the background, and a clear river snaking through the meadow.

I crossed the bridge and made it to the unofficial campsite. There were tents dotting the area on either side of the river. I unpacked and soon the rest of the group arrived. We all went down to the river to play in the water and eat dinner. Truffles was the only one that got fully in the water, everyone else just stuck our feet in.

When the sun went down it grew dark quickly. Truffles and I had originally planned to cowboy camp to see the stars but changed our minds when it got chilly. We set up the tent quickly and crawled in our sleeping bags. I am nervous about how cold it will continue to be at night, I know I will likely be uncomfortable. Hopefully it won’t be too miserable and the scenery during the day will make up for it.

Day 53: May 30, 2025

Location: High Sierra
Start: South Fork Kern River Bridge – 717.6
End: Tentsite – 739.4
Miles: 21.8
Ascent: 5042 | Descent: 2606
Sleep: Tent

A 22 mile day in the Sierra! We decided that if we could push bigger miles before we run into snow we should take advantage of the warm weather. We woke up around 5am and left camp just after 6am. Gooey and U-Turn decided to leave later so it was just Hangman, Pinky, Truffles, and I that hiked out.

I was warm while I slept and felt comfortable getting ready this morning, but as soon as we were on trail I www freezing! I hiked for the first several miles in my midlayer with my hands in my pockets.

The first couple of miles were pretty flat and fruity, we were basically just crossing a large meadow. When we got to the otherwise we entered a pine forest and started climbing. I again packed my bear can vertically in my pack and the rounded bottom was constantly digging into my tailbone. I had packed my sleeping bag and pad around the beer can to try and provide cushion, but it obviously wasn’t working. I was in pain the majority of the morning and all I could think about was how uncomfortable I was.

We were shooting for a water source about 6 miles from camp, and I promised that I would repack my pack when we got there. It felt like a very slow and painful 6 miles because we were also climbing several thousand feet and would top out at 10000’. I was nearly in tears by the time we finally stopped and I couldn’t take my pack off last enough.

I decided to pack my pack like normal and try to strap my bear can to the top of my pack rather than on the front. This was the third configuration I’d tried with the bear can, and thankfully it seems to be the winner. I am envious of my friend’s packs with the Y-strap that truly lets the bear can sit on top. The “brain” of my pack folds over the top of my bear can, but I was able to position it in a way to basically be on top of all my stuff.

After a short break and refilling our water, we continued climbing. Thankfully the morning was the most challenging and the second half was less steep. Once we were nearly to the top there were some open areas through the trees we could see down into the meadow below from which we just climbed. As we got to the top of the hill we started to see clear views of Mount Whitney and the surrounding peaks. It’s not that far off!

We descended for the next several miles and it was smooth sailing. We passed a handful of people and eventually stopped for a short break at a water source. I ran into Marianne, whom I had met back at Kennedy Meadows when we realized we were both on the trail team for Thru-r. She is doing a section hike of the PCT and is so sweet and upbeat. We chatted for a bit before Truffles and I continued two more miles to a campsite for lunch.

We relaxed at the campsite and Pinky and Hangman arrived shortly after us. We all took our shoes off and lounged in the shade and took the time to dry out our tents. We hung out there for over an hour before we finally mustered the will to finish the remaining 8ish miles for the day.

Of course there was another big climb right after lunch. I thought this one was easier than the morning’s big hill, but that could have just been because my pack was significantly more comfortable in the afternoon. I still huffed and puffed but was able to move forward consistently. I have found that I do okay at elevation, I just breath more heavily and my legs feel tired faster going up hill. I try to drink a lot of water throughout the day and I think that has helped, especially when it comes to having a headache from being over 10000”.

Near the top of the mountain I got a little cell signal and we all stopped to check the weather. Today is Friday and we plan to summit Whitney on Sunday night/Monday morning. Our plan is to leave camp around 2am and hike up to the summit for sunrise. Unfortunately it looks like there is some cold and wet weather coming in on Sunday afternoon and the temps will drop significantly.

We spent about an hour sitting there debating what we should do. We could potentially go into Lone Pine to wait out the weather, or just suck it up and see what happens. There’s potential rain and maybe about an inch of snow, but the temps will hover around freezing. It will be uncomfortable but I think we will be okay. We didn’t come to any conclusions but decided to discuss our options more at camp.

Truffles and I finished out the climb together and got through the final descent into camp. We ended up going about 2 miles further than we initially planned for the day, but still made it to camp around 5:30pm. The campsite is at a junction with a stream running near by. It is spacious with tons of room for tents. I was surprised no one else was already set up here.

We put up the tents and cooked dinner while discussing what our plans should be. Ultimately we decided that it would be too much of a hassle to go into Lone Pine and back. It will likely be cold and miserable regardless, the minor snow accumulation won’t add to that significantly. We will continue on with our planned itinerary and hope to summit Whitney in a few days!

We finished rating, packed our Bear cans, and called in an evening. I’m nervous about the weather just because I don’t want to be cold, but I’d hiked in similar conditions before and lived to tell about it. I wished I had one additional lower layer other than my sleep leggings and Frog Toggs, but it’s too late to do anything about it now. It’s been so warm these past few days that it’s hard to imagine the temperature dropping, I’m honestly hoping the forecast is wrong and there is no storm (even though I know that’s unlikely). We’ll be out here regardless so we’ll see what happens!

Day 54: May 31, 2025

Location: High Sierra
Start: Tentsite – 739.4
End: Chicken Springs Lake – 752.0
Miles: 12.6
Ascent: 2018 | Descent: 1065
Sleep: Tent

What a chill and easy day. When we woke yo we were surprised by how warm it was. It was in the high 40s and we had slept at over 10000”! I know this warm spell won’t last forever so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible. I slept so good last night and didn’t want to wake up, but felt refreshed when I finally got moving.

We were on trail just before 6:30am and had an easy 3 mile descent to start us off. The 4 of us hiked in a line but didn’t talk much, we were all busy taking in the scenery. We walked past towering pines and large rocks, all the while with views of snow capped peaks off in the distance.

We ran into Shaman near a water source and stopped to chat with him for a while. I was surprised to see Shaman since he left KMS a day before us, but he said he was going slow and taking his time to really enjoy the Sierra. We discussed our plans for Whitney and he is also planning to go up on Monday, but isn’t going to try for sunrise.

After Shaman left I popped down to the stream to get water before hiking on. The others had hiked ahead of me, so I listened to my audiobook and chugged up the hill. I am thankful I haven’t been bothered by the elevation much yet. I do feel slower going up hill, but I’m still able to move consistently and don’t feel the need to constantly stop for breaks. I am very interested to see how I handle Whitney.

The afternoon went by quickly and smoothly. It was mostly uphill for the rest of the day, but thankfully there weren’t many steep sections. Hangman, Pinky. and Truffles stoped for water about 2.5 miles from Chicken Lake, but I had enough to get to camp and decided to continue on. I ran into some patches of deep snow near the lake but was able to follow the boot prints and dint sink through the snow too often. It was just enough snow to be annoying and made me nervous for how much snow we will begin encountering in the coming days.

I made it to Chicken Lake around noon and was greeted by Shaman and Holly. There were two other women whom I didn’t recognize, but everyone was friendly. Shaman and Holly had been swimming in the lake and were drying out in the sun. I was too scared to get in the water for fear of the cold and worry that I wouldn’t warm back up after being cold. I sat near the water with everyone, though, and ate lunch and socialized.

Pinky, Hangman, and Truffles pulled up around 12:30pm and Pinky and Hangman came to join the group. Truffles went to take a nap. Andrew and Maddy also arrived and Andrew got in the water. We all discussed our plans for the next few days and when we anticipated arriving in Bishop. The impending weather had shifted a lot of folk’s plans, but we are sticking what we originally set out to do.

Since we were waiting in U-Turn to catch up, we called it a day at the lake after lunch. The rest of the group napped and I just piddled springs talking to other hikers and admiring the lake. Our first alpine lake! We had expected there to be more snow and hoped to practice with our ice axes, but most of the snow around the bowl shaped edge of the lake had melted already.

Around 4:30pm U-Turn finally arrived. We all ate dinner together down by the lake and she told us about her and Gooey’s parting. He had to get off trail for about a week to go back to TN for Air National Guard training. He got off trail and was headed into Lone Pine to eventually make his way east.

After dinner we played a quick round of dice Catan before retiring to our tents as the sun started to set. This will likely be our last night of warmer sleeping weather because the weather turns cold and potentially wet. Hopefully we all rest well!