High Sierra Trail - Day 4

Day 4 - Big Arroyo to Kern Hot Springs

July 24, 2017

The trail out of Big Arroyo, though an incline, was glorious compared to black rock pass. We passed a few backpackers; I never exactly knew why they were headed the opposite direction. From here until we collided with the JMT, we'd see the same people, exchanging help and advice regarding creek crossing, the hell we'd endure, critter encounters, and good camping spaces. After the incline, there was an amazing flattish few miles. Rain threatened, reminding M & I of a hike in Yellowstone in which we gave each other "Nemo" names. Remember "Sharkbait oo ah ah"? I was "Bear Cloud", M was "Sunshine Moose" and we named K, "Wolf Lily".  Mosquitos were very little. I enjoyed this part of the hike.

Crossing creeks (with shoes)

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Oo ah ah

Nearly missed the trail

Enter "log vahalla".  This is apparently where logs go to die, and there was no way around it - trust me - we looked. A graveyard of fallen logs lay before us. As a vertically challenged person, these presented quite a difficult task with a top heavy pack on. That group of bathing folk passed us here, playing "Love Shack" and some Donna Summers on their phones. {Tall people, pffft.} Some of the logs were burnt, leaving our butts blackened, adding to the sap already splattered on our behinds. (At one point, M pulled a chunk of pineneedles stuck to my butt because it was "driving her crazy looking at it.") Log vahalla behind us, we came upon a meadow. I was hellbent on making up lost time this day, so as lead hiker I missed the trail junction. I noticed our "Love Shack" fellows on the other side of the meadow and stopped. We backtracked, thankfully only a short ways, to the trail split.


We finally came upon the Kern river valley - a poster child of a U-shaped valley, and began our descent to the Kern river. The trail dabbles in the Funston Creek, eventually causing us to cross it, twice. (dammit, more creek crossings). Finally the skies began to weep. I knew if I put my rain gear on, it would stop. Had I not, it would pour incessantly for hours. Sure enough, it stopped, and we spent some valuable time covering packs and swapping out waterproofs. Still thankful it was downhill, we reached the Kern River  and the gate to the wilderness. No, really, it was a gate to the wilderness. The sign said "Close this gate to protect wilderness", and it was latched. Any critter could have gone under or around it - there was no fence attached to this gate. We laughed hysterically at this, but diligently closed the gate the wilderness, just in case...

The gate to the wilderness (photo courtesy of M)

Enter rattlesnake territory and "trail under water". Remember I stated that sharing sandals would not prove to be a very good idea? Well when you have to trek through 1/4 of a mile of water, sharing sandals is not an option. M took one for the team and hiked through barefoot while K took point. M was petrified of snakes, one of which we encountered immediately upon entering the Kern river valley. The trail meandered in water then on the west side of the valley, up and down steadily, with only one more snake encounter. This was a juvenile rattlesnake. K tried to get it to move off the trail more; eventually we had to run by it like our lives depended on it, which they literally did. A bridge to cross the Kern came into view. At least someone, somewhere, had the good sense not to allow hikers to traverse the Kern river, should there be more drownings and deaths attributed to the backcountry and lack of hiker sense.

Rattlers still a threat, but the Kern now to the left of us, we weren't out of the woods yet, literally and metaphorically speaking. Another creek crossing and a final one (possibly Rock Creek?). I had thought this would be the easier part of the day's hike. Instead, this part would take the longest with all the obstacles.

Hot springs privacy; Kern to the right

Glamping. Kern Hot Springs was, by comparison, glamping. Pit toilet. Flat campsites. Multiple bear storage lockers. Mosquitos, oddly, not an issue. A fire pit, which we utilized to dry M's shoes out. A HOT SPRING. A glorious, 150 degree, spring. Oh we were on it - we pitched tent and divvied up the campsite tasks in record time, and worked out a 2 girls at a time rotation at the hot spring. The hot springs were supposed to operate in a fill up/drain sort of way, but the plumbing and plugs were a little worse for wear. We made due; that bucket for cold water was rusted and super leaky. I didn't care - 150 degrees was tolerable and I got in, all the way. I cannot express the feeling of a four days of layers of sweat, deet, dirt, and sunscreen on the body, despite sponge baths, and the euphoria of hot water on said layers of nastiness, followed by a warm fire and dinner. This was truly a special place - the halfway mark a day late (but not a dollar short).

Useless bucket

View from the hot spring bath

This was a peaceful evening. I had a dream, though, one that would seem so real, I questioned reality the next morning. I dreamt of the next morning. We clearly had three days to exit the wilderness, either way, so not moving forward was not an option. In the dream, I had lost touch with reality. While we were still in the Kern River valley, I believed myself to be at home. K & M would ask me where I was, and I'd say I was in the bedroom, or in the living room. They kept saying they didn't know what to do. They kept telling me I was in the Kern river valley, on the High Sierra Trail, and I kept arguing that all I could see was the house. They'd point to a rock; I'd say it was the couch. They tried to shake my psuedo-reality, but it would not work.

When I woke, I was clearly in the Kern River Valley, with some major creek crossings on the radar for the day.


Miles:  12.5
Elevation start: 9520

Elevation end: 6880
Elevation gain/loss: +1030/-3670
Campsites: LOVELY
Water: Creek very near by
Toilet: Y
Bear storage lockers: Y
Privacy: Definitely

Hashtags for the day:

#sunshinemoose
#bearcloud
#wolflily
#logvahalla
#sappants
#pineneedleass
#straddletheblacklog
#loveshackbaby
#closethisgatetoprotectwilderness
#rattlesnakeswamp
#machetetrail
#perfectcampsite
#kernglamping
#hotspringbath