The first swim in the Sierra: the walk

There is no doubt that we are now in the mountains! This morning I reorganized my backpack. Again. I think it might take a little trial and error to figure out the best way for everything to fit together. On previous trips I put my bear can in my backpack, but I’ll try to keep it empty on top and a bag of food inside during the day.

I weighed my backpack loaded with all the added snow gear, 6 days worth of food, and 1 liter of water. The scale says my backpack weighs approximately 34 pounds. I expected it to be worse, so I’m happy with this weight.

At the beginning of the hike we got wide views of the most impressive meadow. And there is water everywhere. It is a luxury not to have to worry about carrying liters and liters of water. Jug, Straight Up, Rascal and I kept stopping to take in the views. As a California native, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the Sierras, but every time I’m here I’m amazed. And I know this is just beginning.

We walked to the south fork of the Kern at Monache Meadow. The sun was shining and the campsites are beautiful, so even though it was early we decided to stop and enjoy. There may be a lot of this in our future.

Tonight there is a huge group of people at the camp. It’s fun to travel in a large group. We swam in the river, talked over dinner, and sang ukulele songs with Turtle. And tonight’s sunset was unreal. I got to my tent pretty early, but I had to stick my head out to enjoy the view. I loved the desert but the mountains are magical. I am very happy to be here.

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