The joy of chia seeds

We made it to Kennedy Meadows! KM is of tremendous importance to thru hikers because it symbolizes the end of the desert portion of the trail and the start of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. That being said, there's not much here: a dusty general store with a big porch, a campground, and a few houses. As Justin and I walked up to the store yesterday, dirty and tired as all hell, we got greeted by a rousing round of applause from the hikers on the porch. The same happened as other hikers trickled in throughout the evening. We made it! We got through the desert without dehydration, heat stroke, or rattlesnake bite! Yes.

The last 8 days or so have been big ones! We hit the 200-mile mark and feel like we got our hiker legs under us. We've even done a few days with mileage over 20 miles. One day, we did 21 miles and 3000 vertical feet. There's no way I could have done that, even a month ago. Pretty cool. Though they'll be some days in the Sierra with 6000+ vertical feet, so there's still a ways to go.

We have come to expect the unexpected from the PCT. One expression we find ourselves saying repeatedly is "only one way to find out." As in:

-I wonder where the trail goes from here? ...Only one way to find out.

-Why does it look like the trail goes down to the valley floor when I thought we were supposed to be climbing that mountain? ...Only one way to find out.

-Will there be water at the water cache at highway 178? Or will have the hikers in front of us polished it off? ...Only one way to find out.

Another frequent saying we have is "The PCT giveth, the PCT taketh away." Not sure when Justin and I started saying this, but it's relevant at least once a day. Examples:

-great lunch at a campground with a water cache and friendly people passing through (the PCT giveth), followed by an afternoon of the worst wind I've ever experienced - justin and I couldn't talk for 4 hours because it was so loud (the PCT taketh away).

-Arrived at Kennedy Meadows early evening despite having to hike 21 miles to get here (the pct giveth), learned that we just missed the closing of the grill and that there's a waitlist for showers and laundry (the pct taketh away).

The phrase helps us keep our attitudes in check - otherwise it might be too easy to ride the highs and lows of the trail. We know that just because something awesome happened doesn't mean that the challenges for the day are over, and likewise, when things feel kind of bleak, we know something great will be right around the corner.

Trail vocabulary. We've been learning lots of new words on the trail. For example, cache, seep, cistern, trough, and spring are all code words for water. We pay attention to those words carefully - as in the desert, there are frequently 20-30 mile stretches with no water. There are thru hikers (Mexico to Canada) and section hikers (picking off one section of the trail at a time). Technically I'm a section hiker, since I'm only doing 1700 of the 2650 miles of the trail. But it's a pretty long section. Yesterday, we learned the term "slackpacking," which we're still not totally clear on, but I think it involves having a support person with a car who shuttles your stuff around for you so you can walk with a super light pack. I'm not sure what's in it for the person in the car, but it sounds awesome for the hiker.

We've met a ton of fellow hikers in the past week, and are starting to build up a little community of folks who we recognize and who recognize us. Most people adopt trail names out here (we are still working on ours), hence the weird names you are about to read. We were glad to be leapfrogging with Snake Charmer on the windy night. It felt a little scary out there, so it was great that we kept tabs on each other. Half-Step is typically a few hours ahead of us and writes the best comments about his hunger in the trail registers. When we met String Cheese for the first time, she had a huge smile on her face and exclaimed "you must be Jen and Justin! I've been following you guys for days!" Because everyone signs in at the trail registers (notebooks every half day or so), you've always got a good sense of who is around you. It's an awesome little community of folks.

But, as the PCT giveth (new friends!), she taketh away (injuries). We've been lucky to not have anything debilitating yet, but our bodies are definitely suffering a bit. Justin's IT band is acting up, and I've got some blisters. One in particular. It started as a little bubble on the bottom of my foot. Then, the constant pressure of walking forced it up between my toes. Then this bubble of fluid just got a mind of its own. It is now sitting on top of my foot and sprawling like a city in Texas. I'm popping it today (since we have showers!), since I fear it was coming for my face next. I would post a picture but a) there's not enough bandwidth at this place to post pictures and b) You would be horrified.

Last but not least: FOOD. Hiker hunger finally kicked in and we are eating our faces off. It's awesome. All the dehydrating I did last semester totally paid off, as ramen is way, way more delicious with dried poblano peppers and corn from Reading Terminal Market. Ginny and Emily taught me about chia seeds, and those have been the discovery of the week. They are a superfood, though I have no idea what super powers they confer upon the eater. All I know is that 4 spoonfuls of chia seeds, Gatorade powder, and a liter of water make an AMAZING drink that tastes like something you shouldn't be able to make out here. I call it my milkshake, but it's more like bubble tea.

Animal updates for dad: three deer, squirrel, ducks (in the Kern River, biggest body of water yet - saw it yesterday!!). Safety updates for mom: we are being so, so safe.