Hitchhiking

Day 1

It is very common for PCT hikers to hitch hike to and from trail towns along the PCT corridor. I have done so about half a dozen times on this trip. 

During today and tomorrow I'm attempting a much longer distance hitch across about 75 miles of mountain roads. My last post was written while waiting for the first car to pick me up.

The lonly road where I started my long hitch to Kennedy Meadows.

It took about an hour and a half to get picked up at first, but I couldn't have asked for a better ride. I was picked up by Jason and Fran, a super nice couple on their way back from a Ben Harper concert. They invited me into their home and offered me a shower, which I happily accepted. I was overjoyed at a ride, let alone the hospitality they showed me. Jason shared with me some 18 year old Glenlivet and some great conversation. Then he gave me a ride another 30 minutes up the road to the Trail of 100 Giants

One of the Sequoias at the Trail of 100 Giants.

The trail went through another Sequoia grove, which I don't think can ever get old. I can stare at them for hours. I walked around the trail near a guy named Greg, and we traded taking photos for each other. I asked where he was heading as we left the trail and he described the road I needed to go down. I asked him for a ride, and he agreed to take me to the next main intersection of roads.

Strangely enough, it turns out that Greg is going to apply to Colorado State University and wants to do my same degree program! What a small world! He also ended up driving out of his way to get me closer to Kennedy Meadows. 

Now I am preparing to sleep next to a stream by the side of the road. I cowboy camp (sleep without a tent) almost every night I'm out here. I'm almost always comfortable with it, but Jason told me the mountain lions out here are really active right now, so paranoia is setting in. I think my knife fell out of my bag in transit somehow, so even my false sense of security is gone. Oh well, time for sleep. I have a bit more hitch hiking to do tomorrow, but I'm confident that I'll make it to Kennedy Meadows.

The pull out that I slept in after my first day of hitchhiking.

Day 2

After 45 minutes of not seeing a single car, I began to prepare for the roughly 50 mile walk to Kennedy Meadows. Then just as I was about to start walking I was picked up by a father and son who were going to ride some motorcycle trails. They dropped me off at about 15 miles to the trail, which is fine even if I don't get another ride. I should still be able to make it to the general store to pick up my packages before they close at 5.

The final road to Kennedy Meadows. It was a great walk before I got a ride.

I walked about four miles towards Kennedy Meadows, then got picked up by the first truck that passed.  It was a group of fishermen coming up to fish the endemic Golden Trout.

All in all, it took me about 22 hours and four rides to make it across the web of dirt roads, back to the PCT.  I was so ready to get into the Sierras I left shortly after resupplying, even though it looked like most hikers were staying at Kennedy Meadows for some recovery time.  This general store had the most PCT hikers hanging around it that I have seen for the entire trail.

I have about 60 miles of high desert until the start of the High Sierra! Time to get moving!