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Day 36 – 19 June 2026: End of Beginning

📍 Mile 703.4 | 🥾 46.99 km | ⛰️ +1,286m / -1,560m

The wind died down overnight, so I’d slept well and was breaking camp quickly. Today was town day, and I had one goal: make it to Kennedy Meadows in time for a burger.

There was a downhill section to start, which made for a good warm up. Then, after filling my water, the final climb of the desert began. I was hustling. The first section was steep but after I passed a spur to a spring the grade became much kinder. I positively powered up that hill, and once I reached the top I sat down for an early lunch, taking in the view. The landscape was definitely starting to transform. I was facing a wide valley, white rocks mixed with desert red. 

As soon as I started to descend the bugs started to get nasty. Up until now they’ve mostly only been buzzy, but now they were bitey, and relentless. Filtering water at a stream had never been so unpleasant.  The greenhead horseflies were the worst. At least I was motivated to keep moving. 

I reached the valley floor and sped along it, until I came to a sight that made me unreasonably happy: a wide, fast flowing river. Finally! Adios to the long, dry stretches and massive water carries. Not long afterwards I passed the 700 mile mark. 

After skirting a meadow and entering forest, I caught my first glimpse of Kennedy Meadows. The final mile dragged, but I reached the General Store at 4.15, just in time to order a burger before they closed the kitchen window behind me.

I turned and scanned the hikers sitting on the deck. Surprisingly I didn’t know any of them. I’d thought Analog would be here, since I’d seen his name in a trail register yesterday. But there wasn’t a trace. Instead I invited myself to sit down with a group that had plenty of space. They’d all spent a zero here today, so I got the lowdown on KMS from them. 

At 7pm the shuttle to Grumpy Bear’s arrived. I jumped in. The driver was in a mood, swearing repeatedly about how tired and done she was. I wasn’t sure how to react. Was this an act? Like, grumpy ? Thankfully a couple other hikers jumped into the shuttle which eased the tension.

Day 37 – 20 June 2026: First Zero

📍 Kennedy Meadows South | 🥾 0km  | ⛰️ 0m / -0m

My first zero began with a half-deflated sleeping pad. Strong start. Luckily, the enormous, literally hanging off the edge of the plate. As I ate I chatted to Matt, one of the hikers who’d done the insane multi-day McDonalds resupply to Agua Dulce, as well as two other hikers I hadn’t met before. At 10.30, we all piled in the shuttle to the General Store in search of packages and resupply. 

Between the hiker boxes, 2 Foot Adventures and the General Store I managed to piece together a resupply surprisingly quickly. As I was leaving, I bumped into a familiar face. El Pres, who I’d first met at the bus stop in San Diego when we were both on our way to CLEEF. We stared at each other for a few seconds until recognition dawned. She said she was walking with a couple of others who’d started on the same day as us, and they’d be arriving soon. I was excited to catch up with them. 

Most of the day disappeared chatting on the General Store deck and watching more hikers arrive. On the shuttle back to Grumpy’s it became clear that the driver’s attitude wasn’t an act. There’s a real, unpleasant rivalry between the two camps. 

Back at Grumpy’s I caught up with Analog, who explained that he’d been so hungry he’d hitched to a gas station from Walker Pass, and only arrived in Kennedy Meadows this morning. Mystery solved. Then he, Matt and I wandered over to Triple Crown Outfitters, where I rented a bear canister and then played my first game of bear can Tetris, trying to jam all of my resupply inside. It was a squeeze. Maybe the bear can will motivate me to reexamine my food strategy. Probsbly not. 

The afternoon was pretty chill, until the 4pm shuttle arrived chock full of hikers and suddenly the quiet atmosphere disappeared. At 7pm I caught the shuttle back to the General Store, so I could hike out whenever I pleased tomorrow morning rather than waiting for the shuttle – and risking another monologue from the driver. 

Day 38 – 21 June 2026: Welcome to the Sierra

📍 Mile 717.6 | 🥾 24.34 km | ⛰️ +918m / -400m

It was a rough night. I don’t know if it was the particular burger I ate yesterday, or just that my body isn’t used to the luxury of town food, but I felt pretty ill all night and slept less than soundly. It didn’t help that I’d cowboy camped and the moon had been shining directly on me like a spotlight. And once again my sleeping pad had deflated. I was basically in the wars. So my plan to get up and go at 6am went out the window. 

Instead, I dragged myself out of bed just in time to order breakfast before the kitchen closed. It was another ridiculously huge serving. I ate slowly, downing multiple cups of coffee that didn’t seem to touch the sides. It was a few more hours before I felt alive enough to set off on trail. I didn’t bother waiting for the shuttle, instead just walking the road. 

The first few trail miles were flat and easy. I was surprised that the bear can, which is strapped to the top of my pack, didn’t feel all that heavy. But my new shoes felt wrong. I normally wear a minimalist shoe but had gone for a model with more cushion for the Sierra, so I wouldn’t feel the sharp edges of every rock. But I could already feel my ankles pronating inwards. I hoped it would improve once my food carry got a little lighter. 

I made my way through a meadow to a trailhead, then began wandering beneath pinyon pines. Then I came to a sight that made me pause: a bridge! There was so much water they needed a bridge!! I was over the moon that I wouldn’t have to think so much about water from here on out. There, I ran into Hoppy, who I’d met at KMS, and who told me he’d been thinking exactly the same thing. 

Hoppy and I walked together for the better part of the afternoon, until we ran into the rest of his group at a spring. From there I walked with Brad, another one of the McDonalds resupply guys. Together we created a saddle and immediately stopped short. The view ahead was totally new: a wide, lush, green valley. The desert was officially behind us. 

At the next water source I said goodbye to the group, who were planning to camp a little earlier than I was. As I wound my way down a hill in the long afternoon shadows I spotted three young deer, but they weren’t particularly concerned with me. I soon arrived at the bridge where I planned to camp and ran into Matt, who was camping there too. We ate dinner together, but turned in pretty early when the air started to get chilly. 

Day 39 – 22 June 2026:  Propositioned

📍 Mile 745.1 | 🥾 46.15 km | ⛰️ +1,797m / -1,040m

I’d planned to maintain my desert routine of early morning starts. But that didn’t happen because it was a very chilly morning. Instead I lay cocooned in my quilt as the sun slowly started to rise, gradually illuminating the trees around me in gold. When its rays finally reached me I decided to suck it up and get moving. 

Hoppy’s group, which included El Pres, had all walked past me and down to the bridge for breakfast as I’d tried to summon the courage to leave my quilt. As I walked towards them El Pres exclaimed, “We have a proposition for you”. “Hit me,” I responded. She proceeded to try to persuade me to join their group, and summit Mt Whitney with them. I was tempted, but I wasn’t sure I’d have enough food – they’d planned on a different schedule than I had. I promised to think about it. 

I ate breakfast with them as Hoppy boiled water. He’d somehow managed to vacuum seal his bear can. It wasn’t even locked with the little hooks. Happily the hot water worked to break the seal. “Congratulations, you’re not a bear!” shouted El Pres. 

We each set off, one by one, over the bridge and alongside more meadow. It was still totally novel, and incredibly lovely. Wildflowers started to appear in a rainbow of colours. Within only a mile or so we came across one of the PCT crest runners, who did a permit check. She said she’d seen 70 hikers in a single day during the bubble. Not my idea of a good time. Then there was a gradual climb where we all played leapfrog as people stopped for snacks or to grab water from one of the many sources – it felt like luxury only having to carry a litre at a time. 

By lunch I’d ended up in front of the group. I took a long break to rinse out my socks. They either had some leftover desert grit in them, or my new shoes have been rubbing my feet. By the time I was done, and had eaten, there was still no sign of the group. It was too early in the day to stop, so I decided to press on. Another climb brought me to an area filled with awesome boulder piles, and not long afterwards a spectacular view of Owens Valley. 

I flirted a little with dehydration. All the upcoming water sources were off trail, and I was determined to minimise bonus miles. I made it to the shortest detour, just. But once I reached it the tiredness began to set in. My 30 mile goal clearly wasn’t happening. I settled for 27. Yet another climb was required, but the reward was a ridgeline campsite where I arrived just in time to catch the last of the sunset.

Day 40 – 23 June 2026: Beach Day

📍 Mile 752.0 | 🥾 11.49 km | ⛰️ +428m / -155m

I was tired. It took me ages to get up. I kept rolling over and back to sleep, which is unlike me; normally I’m awake but just have to muster the willpower to actually get up. Around 8 I forced myself to stay awake, made breakfast and broke camp as other hikers strolled by. 

I was feeling sluggish as I set off. That’s not unusual for me, at least for the first hour until my coffee kicks in. But today it didn’t get better. I felt like I was dragging all morning. Possibly – probably – the altitude was getting to me. I’d slept above 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). Plus, yesterday’s hike was objectively huge. 

It was obvious I wasn’t going to be able to make my original plan by covering 23 miles today. So I decided to accept El Pres’s offer and hang out with the group for this stretch. I knew they were aiming for Chicken Spring Lake today, so that became my goal. 

I arrived around noon, and sat on a big rock by the shore to eat lunch. Then I tested the water. Chilly! I wasn’t brave enough to get all the way in. But I did get in up to my knees when submerging my inflatable to try and identify the pinhole. No luck. 

The afternoon was chill. I spent it reading and watching a very cheeky chipmunk dart close around me, hunting for crumbs. Around 4pm the group arrived – Matt in tow as well – and the energy was high. It was nice to see familiar faces and catch up on each others’ hikes. We split into two groups: those brave enough to try a dip, and the rest of us who were content to make an early dinner and chat. 

As soon as the sun disappeared behind the mountains it grew very chilly, very quickly. I hunted around for a tree to cowboy under, and turned in early. I definitely needed the extra rest. 

Day 41 – 24 June 2026: Base Camp

📍 Mile 768.2 | 🥾 27.89 km | ⛰️ +850m / -1,032m

It was another pretty late start for me, I was the last to break camp, and only started hiking at around 8am. Today’s goal was to make it to Crabtree Meadows, AKA PCT Mt Whitney Base Camp, in time for an afternoon nap. 

Happily, the trail was very chill and undemanding. Flat and then downhill, excellently maintained. It practically flew by. There was a climb in the afternoon, though, so at the bottom of it I stopped for lunch. And ran into a couple of Aussies I hadn’t seen since Idyllwild, so it was fun to catch up with them. 

The uphill was hard work. Harder than usual. I think the altitude was definitely making me shorter of breath than usual. The descent afterwards wasn’t much fun, either. It was super rocky, the kind that requires a million tiny but exhausting decisions. But the views were starting to open up, at least. Jagged mountain peaks ahead and to my left were sufficient reward. 

At the bottom I ran into Matt and we walked the remaining distance to Crabtree together, spotting a deer along the way. When we got to the meadow we picked campsites as close as possible to the Whitney trail to try and minimise any bonus miles. Matt went straight to bed, but I made an early dinner before napping for a few hours. 

When I woke, Analog and Alex had joined us, which was a nice surprise. We chatted for around an hour, mostly about our respective strategies for getting to the summit by sunrise. I also promised to be A Analog’s alarm clock, since he wasn’t sure his old Nokia brick phone even had an alarm setting. Then it was back to bed, squeezing in a few more hours of sleep before a big day tomorrow. 

Day 42 – 25 June 2026: High Places 

📍 Mile 775.9 | 🥾 42.64 km | ⛰️ +1,926m / -1,827m

My alarm went off at midnight. I rolled over to see if Analog was awake. Thankfully I could see the red light of his head torch illuminating his tarp. I didn’t need to leave the warmth of my quilt yet. I ate breakfast quickly, then packed and stashed most of my stuff underneath a nearby tree so I could slack pack to the summit of the tallest peak in the lower 48. Then it was time to hit the trail, just after 12.30am. 

It was a lovely night, not too windy, the moon lending a little light to the landscape. I could make out the outlines of towering mountains around me. I tried not to think about how I’d soon be climbing even higher than them. 

It was a pretty long walk. It was odd not to be able to look around at the landscape, and it felt wrong to bust out the headphones. Instead I climbed in silence. I spotted the pinpricks of a few head torches well ahead of me, but tried not to look at them too often, lest they become demoralising. 

After a couple of hours the switchbacks began. The real climb had started. Now it was actually nice not to be able to see how much further I had to go. All I could do was focus on the next step, the next corner. 

At the junction with Whitney Portal Matt and Tot, a hiker I’d last seen at the Aqueduct, caught up to me. We shared a quick snack break but didn’t linger too long in the cold. They raced ahead of me but soon had to stop to ask if I had a spare head torch: Matt’s had run out of juice. I didn’t, but offered to walk in a line with them, Matt sandwiched between Tot and me so he could see. It seemed to work, especially when we started to get a bit of first light. 

We arrived at the summit at the perfect time. Just enough time and the perfect light to snap photos and then head over to where a bunch of other hikers including El Pres and Hoppy’s group, Analog and Alex, were sitting to watch the sunrise. Everyone was bundled in their quilts to help keep the cold air at bay. 

The sunrise was surprisingly quick, over in a matter of minutes. Everyone was cold, so there wasn’t much lingering once the sun was above the horizon. There was a stone shelter on the summit, but it was missing a door and had snow inside. That didn’t stop a decent group of hikers from deciding to hot box in there, ostensibly to warm up. I decided to descend instead. 

The descent took me just as long as the ascent had. The scenery, in the early morning glow, was mesmerising. Jagged mountains, sapphire lakes, gleaming grassy meadows, and marmots galore. I stopped for photos far too often. 

When I finally arrived back at Crabtree I pulled out my foam mat and sank straight to sleep for a couple of hours, totally exhausted. But the day wasn’t over. With only one day of food left, I had no choice but to hike further along the PCT, so I could make it to town tomorrow afternoon. 

The 8 miles I covered would’ve been easy on a normal day, but today they were tough. I was feeling the lactic in my legs a lot, and was still pretty short of breath. The miles took me an hour longer than they normally would have. At my planned campsite I ran into El Pres’s group; they were going to push on another 2.5 miles. They asked me to join, but I just didn’t have it in me. Instead I set up cowboy camp, made dinner, and was asleep before the sun had really started to set.