Ah, a zero day at the KOA by the pool! Sweet serenity! And then... What's that? Smoke? Hikers started congregating and pointing at what without question was a wildfire, right where we had come from. We quickly learned that at 3:30pm, a fire broke out on the PCT just after Walker Pass on the section between us and Kennedy Meadows. We learned this not through a news outlet, but by word of mouth. Dozens of fire trucks and ambulances zoomed past, and hikers from the trail trickled in. Capi, a friend that we had hiked with for a few weeks, had been taking a rest on the trail and woke up .2 miles away from a blazing fire. His friend Little Tree was just behind him and had to make the choice to hike toward the fire in order to fill up his water for the 15 mile hike back out. A photo of Little Tree got pretty popular:
They showed up at the KOA and shared their horror stories with us, which only concerned us further. We had friends who were just ahead of them, and we feared that they could have been trapped by the blazing fire, which had already consumed 1,000 acres by nightfall. Genie and I decided to contact Fire Ant's family to inform them that she was in proximity of the fire. My worry for the hikers and sadness for the life forms being burned before our eyes made it impossible to socialize and enjoy the extensive dinner that Dayhike was preparing on the grill. I retired alone to the tent.
[Little Tree running from the fire, Fey dreamed she adopted a pitbull then saw this guy in a car, another pitbull at the KOA, Genie and Fey at the KOA, resupply time, Hardway hanging out]
The next morning, news was trickling in via rumors, radio, and Twitter. We were uncertain what our options were for hiking, and other groups of hikers elected to hitch rides to our next stop. But everyone in our group agreed that we wanted to walk into Kennedy Meadows. Kennedy Meadows is significant because it marks the end of the desert section and the gateway to the Sierra. It's a famous mile marker on the PCT: mile 702.
Dayhike, Woodstock, and Boom broke out the topo maps and started studying alternates. The entire day was spent marking miles, researching trail conditions, and scoping out water sources. That evening, Dayhike presented his findings and we all agreed to take our chances and hike it. He even managed to convince a few others, and soon we had a group of eleven committed to the alternate plan.
The following morning we woke up, packed up, and got ourselves into the next town: Lake Isabella. Most people caught the bus, but Boom, Hardway, and I were lagging behind, so we caught a hitch with two Swiss ladies in an RV.
[Fey shopping, Fey trying on pants at the post office, Fey eating, Boom in Lake Isabella, Fey so happy to have coffee, Hardway celebrates National Donut Day]
The rest enjoyed a sit-down breakfast, but we three grabbed a Starbucks coffee at the grocery and then had donuts and the local shop, run by an Asian man who did not accept credit or debit and was willing to sell you just about anything in the shop. On National Donut Day, no less!
We then hopped on the bus to the next town, Kernville, where we would all convene. We went straight to the ranger station, where the phone was ringing off the hook. Firefighters were walking in and out, and we waited quite a while for someone to answer our questions. It was worth the wait, though, because it was all good news; they affirmed our alternate route and assured us that water was flowing well.
