May 29, day 61, km 909
Distance to Kennedy Meadows, gateway to the Sierra: 221 km
In the morning, Gary and Patricia – whose birthday it was – said their goodbyes and drove home to San Diego. We carried on with breakfast – scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes with fresh fruit – then took our time packing our stuff and had a bath before Ron and Carol drove us to Tehachapi. At the PO we sent our hard drives to Marylou in New York and Zarah in Stuttgart. We plan to acquire a new data transfer system that doesn't require a computer or post office! More on that later ....
After our visit to the PO, Ron and Carol took us back to the trail, accompanying us for the first 15 minutes. Then it was time to say goodbye. We're very grateful we got to know them! Saying goodbye was especially hard after such a wonderful encounter. We find we struggle especially with leaving the towns. Every time we long to stay a bit longer. Ditto Pat and Gary, a Vietnam veteran, who recounted the deaths of several soldiers, how grateful he is to have survived.... Around 3:45 pm we were back on the trail. Hiked another 10 km, passing hundreds of wind turbines. Cowboy camped near Highway 58. As agreed, we took a break at 8 pm, uncorked our little bottle of red wine and toasted Pat on her birthday, along with all our new acquaintances. Ron and Carol did the same in their house in Lakeview, Tehachapi. Shortly after, Pat texted us from her birthday dinner in San Diego.
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