Our original plan for the day today was to hike 23 miles and camp 3 miles outside of Kennedy Meadows. We slept in a little bit this morning as it was cold and windy, but the hiking was easy and we made better time than we anticipated. When we stopped for lunch at 1:30 and realized we were only 8.7 miles away, we decided to push on and get there tonight. The landscape slowly changed throughout the day as we moved from the desert into coniferous forest and granite boulders. We passed mile 700 in the afternoon, and made it to the Kennedy Meadows general store by a little after 5:00. This marks the end of the desert, the beginning of the Sierra. Our friend DK greeted us with a beer to celebrate. It feels exhilarating to be here! We are camping behind the general store tonight and will stay here tomorrow, entering the mountains again on Tuesday or Wednesday.
