June 1st
Neither of us slept very well, with gusty wind and bright moonshine all night. In the morning we enjoyed more goodies from “Computer” – danish, chips, orange, apple, banana and soda.
We tried not to linger too long so that we could get the big climb out of Bird Pass done before the heat of the day hit. From the high point of the ridge there were views of several high Sierra peaks, their normal draping of snow nearly gone, leaving the granite naked to the sun.
We arrived at McGiver cabin and along with many of the same hikers we had been seeing these last several days. Because we were planning on meeting our friend Jersey Jim at Walker Pass we only took a very brief break. Another hot day had most everyone else planning on a long lunch break at soaking up the springs and sitting in the shade of the cabin.
Much of the country between the Cabin and Walker Pass was badly burned several years ago. This winter brought many dead trees down across the trail, slowing us down somewhat. The Carrot saw another rattlesnake. And we came across several deer, tough grazing in the burn area.
We arrived at Walker Pass to find Jim’s cooler of beer and some food. He had left to give a ride to Kennedy Meadows to some hikers. So we waited and ran into several trail angels, Meadow Mary who is supporting her husband Billy Goat on his hike, Spirit who is assisting “Steady” and Gordon and Sue.
When Jersey Jim arrived we took off for some “R&R” in Lone Pine. Radar joined us so that he could try to recuperate from his illness. Checked into one of our old favorite haunts on the east side of the Sierra, the Dow Villa motel, for an evening of pizza, beer and rest.
