Finally! We’re out! I was so tired of Kennedy Meadows. The overflow of people making me feel more exhausted than when I arrived here. It was really nice to see so many people I hadn’t seen since the start though. Early Bird, Fry, Pippin, Lumberjack, Molly, Becky, Luka, Mermaid and even Sunshine, the one who named me. I found it hard to start talking to them right away, lacking the words to convey my experiences since we last met. It just feels like too much.
Update was there too. She had an injured ankle and had to rest
‘I stayed at this place called the Budpharm for a week and a half and then came here to work at Grumpy’s to earn some money until Breezy and Sticky arrive’, she explained.
I couldn’t believe my ears. She was with the Budpharm people now?! And indeed, not long after, I saw her sitting at a table with Sappy and Dirty Water. I don’t know how I feel about this. By then, Sappy’s antics had weirded out most of the peopl in my group. I felt for them, but at least they now understood what I was always going on about.
Next encounter was with The Dude. The Dude had kind of eluded me up until that point, even though I had heard plenty about the person named after The Dude from The Big Lebowski. A while back, he gave hikers glowsticks to nighthike the aquaduct section. The event was aptly named Dudefest. The idea was to create a train of glowsticks and thus, turn the boring aquaduct into a fun event. Sadly for him, the group of hikers quickly turned towards doing shrooms and the entire thing dissolved after a couple of hours. But now he was here. We briefly introduced and I was ready to walk away as he called me over to his table. We talked for a bit. Apparently, he was planning another event. This time, he wanted to rent a brewery in Donner’s Pass, to celebrate the end of the Sierra’s with everyone. I haven’t fully formed my opinion on him, but he certainly is a fascinating character.
The last bit of news was very sad. From Fry I heard that Dirty Mike got off trail permanently. He had to go to a hospital at some point and was diagnosed with heart problems. Continuing the trail was not an option. I was really surprised to hear this. Dirty Mike had already hiked the Appalachian Trail, so he wasn’t a novice. Hope he gets better soon and that his condition is not permanent. I’ll miss his jokes.
I spent a lot of time packing my food in my bear canister. Since space in the canister is limited, packing as efficiently as possible is key. Beetle and I also replaced our trekking pole tips, since they broke a while ago.
Sam, Mouse’s husband took us back to the trail in his van. We only hiked 3 miles, but I was so excited. Finally, we were headed into the Sierra’s!