June 2

703-723

The morning starts with another pancake breakfast. A small army of mini Australian shepherds, newly shorn like little sheep, prowl around looking for dropped food. Signs are posted on every corner of the outdoor dining area to not feed the dogs.

Our plan for the Sierra is to resupply early and often. We are still about two weeks away from the traditionally recommended Sierra entry date of June 15th, so we will be encountering a lot of snow. It is safer to have a light pack for that.

We place our packs on the scale- with our new snow gear, 4 days of food, and 1 liter of water my pack weighs a very reasonable 25 lbs. Amber’s weighs 20 lbs.

I require a little extra food and am carrying our tent., otherwise our gear is very similar. After saying our goodbyes we walk back to the trailhead and begin hiking into a new frontier.

The trail follows the Kern River while climbing up to 8,000 feet before opening up to a vast network of breathtaking meadows.

Underneath a pedestrian bridge crossing the Kern River is a large colony of swallows.

We watch them take flight from their mud nests and look on as they glide over the river in what looks like coordinated aerial maneuvers. They have built an entire bird society out here under this bridge, only disturbed by PCT thru hikers every June. It is simple, beautiful, life for these birds. I wonder about their biggest stressors, their form of government, and the complications of them all living in what is essentially a large apartment building.

The trail continues climbing into the lofty heights of the Sierra. Water is in abundance and it is a delight to only carry 1 liter at a time. At 10,000 feet we begin to see snow and I start feeling the effects of the elevation. My heart rate spikes with any activity and I find myself losing my breath very easily. I noticed I get out of breath if I take extended gulps of water. While laying in my tent, writing this journal my heart rate is 90 BPM, over 30 beats per minute above normal.