We start at the south fork of the Kern River where Cow Canyon and Beck Meadows trails intersect the PCT.
It’s a chilly, beautiful morning. The sky is blue with little puffs of clouds traveling above the mountains. In the distance a grouping of dark clouds mingle.
We bask in the beauty of the Sierras, as we eat our breakfast, in no hurry to get moving. Today’s breakfast is a packaged meal of breakfast skillet, containing eggs and sausage and hash browns. The potatoes are not fully cooked, and are firm against my teeth.
Lupine heads to the bridge to fill up on water. I finish packing and using the bathroom (too much magnesium has made me regular) then join her. TMI, I know, but this is life on the trail.
Sriracha passes us as we fill our bottles at the river, and several other hikers pass by. Before we follow suit, I admire a Blue Jay perched on the bank of the river.
As we hike along the trail we slowly rise above the valley. In no hurry I frequently stop to enjoy the view, and stretch. My back is doing pretty good but I think it’s important to warm up and stretch as I begin. I also have been wearing a back brace as an extra precaution. It’s helping me keep good posture, but rubbing on my skin. Lupine helps me tape the problem spots on my torso and it seems to cure the problem.
We continue hiking, winding into a mature forest, fawning over the foliage. We leapfrog with some other hikers as we stop for snacks. We notice the clouds turn dark overhead. The forecast for today and the next two days is afternoon thunderstorms. Several miles in we stop for more water, then pick up our pace hoping to outrun any potential storms. We have about 2,300 ft to climb, and have only gotten started.
At about 1,000 ft done, we stop for snacks under some trees. As we snack, it begins to hail and snow. We hear thunder in the distance and decide to pitch up our tent, to wait out the storm. As we pitch our tent the intensity of hail increases. We crawl into our tent as the temperature drops, sudden refugees from the elements. We pull out our sleeping bags and inflate our pads, then cozy in to wait out the storm. Lupine opens a bag of turkey jerky and the smell fills the tent.
The gentle tap of snow pelts our tent as we watch it accumulate outside. The frequency of taps grows as we hear thunder begin to strike, shaking our chest and nerves. Our little tent becomes a trampoline for hail drops, as they rapidly bounce off, accumulating at the side of the tent.
Then the flash of lightening, and before we can count to 1, thunder echoes through the valley. “That’s close” I say to Lupine. She’s covered in her sleeping bag, just her head sticking out. She shakes her head “yeah” and then another flash and thunder, as she squeezes her eyes shut. The thunderstorm is passing right over us. It’s not the first thunderstorm in the Sierras we’ve had to wait out. When hiking the Big SEKI loop in 2018 we got pinned down, and shaken in the midst of summer. But this time there’s no rain. Just snow, tapping along our tent, stacking up outside.
Boom! The storm is so close, it shakes us and I laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of our situation. Each strike feels closer. I imagine it striking the trees outside our tent. KrakakaBOOM! The loudest one yet.
And then the tapping begins to lighten on our tent. A thunderclap, but this one we get to two seconds. “I think it’s passed over” I say to Lupine. We sit still listening and waiting for more thunder. But they become more distant, then dissapear. I peak outside the tent. The forest floor is completely white. Snow is still falling but it’s slowed.
We hop out of the tent, laughing at the site. Our little tent surrounded by snow. We debate what to do next, eying the clouds, still with hints of darkness. Who knows what they still hold?
Finally around 3pm we decide to pack up and keep walking. The sky is a pallid grey. Bits of snow fall from the sky as we hike up to our high point of the day. In our haste to get up and over the 10,500ft topout, we forget to filter water.
Low on water with no good source for the next 8 miles, we are forced to hike all the way to Death Canyon, arriving at 8pm. Lupine spots Sriracha and Chef’s tents. “Hi guys” she says. “You made it!” They exclaim.
Physically and emotionally exhausted from the day, Lupine and I skip dinner, snacking on just enough to quiet our stomachs, before crawling into the tent for the evening. Today was a hard day. We hope tomorrow is better.
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