START POINT

Fox Mill Spring, mile 684.3

END POINT

698.1

MILES HIKED

13.8

WILDERNESS AREA

Domeland Wilderness

Chimney Peak Wilderness

THE DAY ON TRAIL

It’s a shorter day. We want to roll into Kennedy Meadows South (KMS) tomorrow, together, so we camped only a couple miles from the road to KMS.

Fox Mill Spring was a great campsite. It wasn’t too cold, I didn’t get too much condensation, and I got to sleep in a bit. It was a really quiet campsite. I tried to photograph the Milky Way, but misjudged the time to catch it and missed it. Boo.

Sinead got to my campsite around 9am and we caught up a bit. I love a slow morning, and was able to take a couple photos of the ruins. There just wasn’t much that was interesting to me though.

We headed out, together, at an easy pace.

The desert was really alive out here. All the creeks, springs, and streams gave it so much life.

It really wasn’t a difficult day of hiking. The terrain was kind without extreme climbs or descents. I was interested in these rocks that were in cube shaped formations.

And we started to get our first glimpses of the Sierra!

The desert always has surprises though. Even if you’re transitioning from it to high mountains, the desert will surprise you. Intellectually I knew we were still in rattlesnake territory. I knew this. But I didn’t expect to see anymore of them because we were just so close to terrain that isn’t hospitable to them. But really it’s like 30 trail miles before they wouldn’t be able to survive, and they’re not hikers. They’re snakes doing their snake stuff. And I almost stepped on this one.

She gave me her warning, I jumped back, and she went off into a bush well off trail. We had an understanding, I think. It was one of the more copacetic rattler encounters I’ve had.

We stopped at a creek crossing to filter water. Layla and Primo’s crew was there. A young lady named Pudding came by soon. We recognized each other and couldn’t figure out how we knew each other. I ended up seeing a Trail Correspondents sticker on her phone case and we figured it out: we’re on the same podcast! She’s also friends with Wheelz and Nacho, who came in right behind her. It was a whole reunion! We all caught up and a guy named Beat came in, too. He was extremely worried about the weather.

Getting back to transition, you can see the landscape changing.

And I found these beautiful iridescent green beetles on this flower.

We turned a corner and suddenly the change became even more apparent, along with a thunderstorm rolling in.

Soon we all got caught in that thunderstorm. I kept going and passed Sinead, Primo, Beat, and a few others taking shelter under a rock outcropping. Further on I passed Pudding, Nacho, and Wheelz under a tree. I stopped to chat with them and we pressed on together. They were working to complete their first 30 mile day and soon sped on way ahead of me.

I got to the campsite by a stream and set up. Sinead got in about 10 minutes after me. We sat down on some rocks and caught up. We talked about how excited we were to finish the official stretch of the desert together. We talked about getting to Kennedy Meadows together and getting applause from the other hikers. We took an end-of-the-desert selfie and started dinner.

It was still intermittently stormy, so we ate quickly and went to bed. It was a wonderful day and I can’t wait to start the next chapter of this hike.