6/14 Mojave to Kennedy Meadows

I stayed in Mojave for 3 days to rest my feet. I did the one mile walk in on the first day, slack-packed* 8 miles of trail the second day, and hiked out late on the third day. Shout out to Jetta Blue, the most dedicated and hiker-loving trail angel out here. Jetta, you are amazing, and Mojave/Tehachapi is lucky to have you. Can't wait for your 2017 thru hike! I fly Jetta Blue.

*slack-packing is when you hike a section without a full pack, so someone drops you off and picks you up and all you have to carry is water. It RULES.

Mojave was cheap and really enjoyable, but also had quite a bit of drama for me. I don't want to go into too much, but essentially there was a male hiker who confessed that he had feelings for me, and made me feel really uncomfortable and afraid to be around him. It didn't escalate into anything problematic, but he was manipulative, disrespectful, and inappropriate in the way he addressed the situation to me, and in the end I told him to leave. Fortunately, I had other hikers nearby who I trusted, and they let me stay with them and kept me safe until he was gone.

Ladies out there, do me and yourselves a huge favor. Don't ever let a guy tell you who you are and how you feel. Don't ever let yourself be controlled that way. No man has the right to assume power over you. We are women, and we are strong as hell, and a man can't take that from us. Some will fear us or call us crazy, but all should respect us. Girl power is a thing to be reckoned with.

Anyway, after all that, I hiked out with people that I knew and trusted, in case I ran into that guy again. This last stretch of desert up to Kennedy Meadows was really challenging, since it was my longest stretch between towns yet at 150 miles, and it was through the hottest, driest stretch of desert. We hiked at night mostly, to stay cool, and actually it was really beautiful (stargazing, meteors, shooting stars, city lights below) and only a little scary (demon cow that was standing on the trail in front of me, scared the crap out of me, and wouldn't move away...he just stared at me with his big reddish eyes...*shudders*). We had half our food and a few gallons of water dropped off for us by Jetta Blue's son about halfway through a 45 mile waterless stretch. He camped out up there with his girlfriend to wait for us, and when we arrived the next morning he grilled hotdogs for all the hikers and provided beer and sodas and shelter from the...wait for it...RAIN. I know. You thought I was going to say "sun" or "heat". But no. It rained while I was walking through the Mojave desert. Three times. Lots of thunder and lightning storms too, it was actually quite awesome.

Thunderstorms in the desert



Rain on the Kern River

Other things that happened this week: I saw a bear! I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. I jumped into a river. I hiked 42 miles with an oncoming case of pretty gnarly strep throat. I got attacked by ants in my sleep. I started hiking with someone new. I reached the 700 mile mark, more than one quarter of the trail completed.

It's a snake!

Forest cowboy camp sunrise

Desert sunrise

Desert ascents

The best part about this week was watching the desert turn into the Sierras. They call it the "Range of Light" for a reason.

Cloudy on the last stretch of desert into the high mountains, near mile 700

A close second was the standing ovation we got as we walked up to the Kennedy Meadows general store, where more than a hundred of our hiker friends were hanging out, getting psyched for the ascent into the high country.

I am resting in town right now. I went to see the doctor about my throat, which was so painful and swollen this morning it hurt even to drink water. Doc says I probably have strep, so I'm on antibiotics and instructions to rest for a minimum of two days to let the treatment kick in. Once I start feeling better I'll be back on the trail again!

Get excited, because my next post will probably include my ascent up Mt Whitney!!! 14,000 feet up wahoo!!!