June 19th – South Fork Kern River to Kennedy Meadows

It was so nice to sleep next to a running creek last night. I slept like a baby. Woke up slowly and not in a rush – we had less than 5 miles to go to Kennedy Meadows. Although only a short, easy walk – it felt like forever. I guess when you are thinking about real food and a shower…town always seems so far away.

The first thing we noticed as we started to drop down into the valley of Kennedy Meadows was the quietness. We saw a few trailers and homes around, but absolutely no noise and no cars. We made it to the road about 8am. As we were walking down the road toward the General Store, we passed a couple of hikers on their way out. They told us about Tom (who incidently we had run into previously at the McDonald’s at Cajon Pass) who lives across from the General Store and has several trailers he lets hikers stay in. We easily found Tom’s place which had lots hikers milling around. Finally met up with Luke (now Splinter) and Jana (Aloe) who we had not seen since Idyllwild. We had been chasing them down ever since.

The General Store didn’t open until 9am – a long wait when you are hungry. They serve a limited hot breakfast – biscuits and gravy, juice, and coffee today. I’m not usually a biscuits and gravy girl, but quickly changed my mind once I smelled the food. Tom had 2 plates and I gobbled down one.

Got in line for the shower – there are 2 outdoor showers just outside of the General Store. Though rustic, they do have hot water…and did just the trick to cleaning off our dirt covered bodies. Unfortunately, there was also a line for laundry – so we had to scrounge around for some relatively clean clothes after our shower.

Finally got our turn using the 1 washing machine at the general store in the early afternoon. They don’t have a dryer, so you line dry your clothes behind the store. Luckily, it was sunny and the clothes dried quickly.

Spent most of the afternoon chilling on the big porch of the General Store. It seemed like I grazed all day long. Had an excellent burger from the General Store for lunch. I could have easily eaten 2, but decided instead to also eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. That did the trick.

Fridays the General Store has happy hour – so of course we had to be there for that. The beers were cheaper than usual and then before we knew it, they started putting out food. All the locals swing by for happy hour as well. The locals chatted with all of us hiker trash. Interesting folk – most locals have lived many other places in their lives and say “I stopped by here…and never left…decided it was the end of the road.” It is definitely a simple life here. All electricity is run by generator and there is no cell phone service – so there is always a line for the 1payphone at the general store. Really not much of anything here – but it is quiet.

Turned out one of the hikers (Splash) had a birthday coming up, so Kennedy Meadows Tom decided to roast some chicken and pork and have a big dinner for everyone. He whipped up everything in his outdoor kitchen. The food was all tasty and we enjoyed everyone’s company. There was probably a total of 20 hikers or so at dinner.

Spent the night paying a game called “Washers” – similar to horseshoes, but trying to throw washers in a hole. Not much to the game, but it was entertaining for hours. Ended the night with sitting around the campfire. Ahhhh…this is the life.

Retired to our humble abode – a green trailer probably older than us. Although not glamorous, it did the job.