Today we had about 18.5 miles to reach Kennedy Meadows North. To get there we first made our first climb over 10,000 feet since returning to the Sierra. This marks the northern end of the High Sierra, and we’ll spend much of the remainder of this trip over 10,000 feet and crossing high mountain passes as we head South. The weather was nice today, and the flowers were blooming. Summer has arrived here just in time for fall. Aside from a few steps on snow, the trail was clear, and we both agreed we are grateful to be here now instead of 3 months ago when the entire area was still under snow.
We picked up our package and headed to the campground, hoping there would be space for thru hikers. Turns out, there were trail angels from Mission Viejo who let us set up our tents in their site, fed us dinner and dessert, and had a campfire! We all stayed up later than usual enjoying the awesome trail magic. It was nice to do a shorter day today and let my muscles relax and recover.
