July 29

Horseshoe Meadows to Rock Creek – 13.6 Miles

Permit in hand, we drove to the trailhead, and Kathy saw me off at precisely 10:24 am. The trek was happening! What a blessing that Kathy drove me to the trail. It was special to me that my greatest supporter was there with me, and it simplified the logistics for me, but she had a 7 hour drive home. I’d planned a relatively short day given the high elevation. I had a general idea of destination, but went by feel, and decided to end the first day at Rock Creek where I ended up camping close to a dad and son from my hometown in Santa Rosa. They were doing a shorter trip exiting out at Whitney Portal.

I knew to take it steady and to expect to feel slower at the high altitude, and felt pretty good, and was elated to be on the move. The trail took me over Cottonwood Pass where it joined the Pacific Crest Trail, and then through bristlecone pine forests to the boundary of Kings Canyon NP past Chicken Spring Lake and views of Siberian Outpost to the west, then onward to Rock Creek where I camped streamside, saving the first big stream crossing for the next morning. One of few NOBO hikers I met who was going at my pace, Jason Hollingsworth, started just before me this day. We hiked together a bit during the day, but he opted to push on further. Cautious about acclimation, I held back the miles for a moderate day and bid him farewell, not knowing then that we’d meet again 6 days later some 90 miles further up the trail.