Day 41-June 18
Kennedy Meadows General Store
Zero day
Today is our second zero day on the trail. Zero miles hiked. The general store allows camping in their back forest for free. Showers and laundry are four dollars each so I just wash my clothes in the shower since we just did actual laundry in Ridgecrest. We work to get our errands done. Showers, laundry, getting a bear can, sorting food, buying enough to get to Lone Pine.
The atmosphere of Kennedy Meadows is interesting. The three businesses that operate here don’t always seem to get along and various things are needed from each spot so it can be tricky to navigate the shops that are a couple miles apart. There is a shuttle but yesterday they decided to not run since a hiker had brought in outside beer to an unlicensed area at a business. This could of course cost the business their liquor license and it was an international hiker who had no idea but wasn’t the first person to do this so everything blew up. So we just did our best to respect each business well and not take advantage.
We camped at the general store and did showers there but rented the bear cans and did resupply at Triple Crown Outfitters then got lunch at Grumpy’s and took their shuttle back to the general store. TCO has the best deal for renting a bear can. There is a deposit and charge but at North Kennedy Meadows we can drop off the can and never have to pay to ship or buy the awkward things which would cost more than the $50 to rent. Plus where we live you don’t need a hard sided bear can so there was no reason for us to buy the bigger size when we have the smaller ones.
The rest day felt great. It was fun to sit on the porch and eat meals with fellow hikers and meet some new faces that had been hiking with others we knew.
Kevin also had an appointment with the physical therapist who has been treating hikers. His foot started hurting him a couple days ago and it has been concerning. She didn’t think it was broken which is a plus and gave him some things to do to help. It is awesome the resources becoming available to thru hikers which really helps the hiker become more manageable and successful.
ashleyisoutside 