Hello! It's been a hot minute since I've updated.....that's partially because I've been busy, but also, I really haven't had a lot of time to talk to K'lena. She's been in poor service areas and that has limited our communication. We've texted here and there, but not enough to get a good update. In this update it will seem like there is a lot more, and that's true because she sent me an update last week and then another update recently! We had a little bit of an issue with the update coming thru and photos so I'm trying my best to match up based on a quick video she sent of how these photos go with the update so we'll give it a try. Because there is barely any service and the limited WiFi it makes it hard for the updates and photos to come thru properly. Then by the time I do get them I can't ask K'lena questions because she's on the trail. We're winging it!
The last update said they were at mile 400.....what mile do you think they are at now?!
May 30, 2025
We probably covered some of this already, but they were hiking throughout the night so the days/nights are kind of running together at this point. It was also really hot during these stretches....they were feeling the heat and becoming grumpy! They finally made it to the water source (a stream) and it was CHAOS! There were hikers all congregated there because it was the only water source and a little bit of shade. They weren't able to get much sleep during the day because it was really buggy and very HOT! K'lena also fell and hurt her elbow. She initially thought she broke it because it hurt so bad.
June 1, 2025
The group didn't sleep well the night before because of WIND. Johannes and Jenna's tents both collapsed on them during the night. But they began their day at 6am as they had a big climb ahead of them. K'lena was still fighting elbow pain and couldn't put pressure on her arm with her trekking pole, so she hiked with 1 pole this day. They were able to make it into town this day and ate a fresh salad.
June 2, 2025
Barbara's Hiker Hut- this is where they were staying and it was an old barn that they used to make cider and apple pies for the orchard! It's now a kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area for hikers. Barbara also has bikes for hikers to ride into town.
This morning they made pancakes & eggs for breakfast while enjoying a slow morning catching up with Phillip. Phillip is a French guy that they have seen throughout the trail.
For lunch they ate with another German, "Shredded", at a German bakery. "Shredded has such a calming presence & an amazing outlook on the trail. I'm so glad we ran into him & invited him to lunch. Afterwards, he insisted on a picture. "
June 3, 2025
"I didn't know if the post office would accept my package (since they ended their contract with UPS). Some post offices along the trail will accept UPS packages for hikers and some won't. I desperately needed new shoes, so I didn't want to take the chance. I ordered another pair to a ship center that accepts UPS in Tehachapi. Because of the late delivery time, I had to stay behind in Tehachapi in the morning to return those shoes (I ordered a pair of socks too). The group left earlier in the morning & I was to meet them at camp that night."
"My first day on the trail "by myself"! I was nervous, but also excited to see how I'd do. Would I stay motivated to keep hiking after breaks? Would I feel unmotivated to get up? Would I feel unmotivated to get up? Would I stop early and plan to meet them the next day? Would I get lonely?" All these questions were circling K'lena's mind. She stayed motivated & actually ran into "Uncle Dave" (a section hiker that Jenna & K'lena met up with previously on the trail. They hiked together and caught up for about 4 miles then he continued while K'lena took a break. Eventually she caught back up with the crew at the water source.
June 4, 2025
Another HOT day which makes it hard to keep going! Like a lot of the sections in the desert, they have to hike all day to get to the next water source (about 20 miles or so). They were not looking forward to the upcoming 35 mile stretch of NO WATER!
June 5, 2025
They had a slow start to the morning, but eventually got going. Today was a gorgeous sight....forest full of old, big trees. They were aware of the trail magic that was ahead at the first water cache so they were looking forward to that! "He was providing some snacks and shade (something we knew would be scarce the upcoming days). Boy was I happy to see Gramps and his shade!" While they stopped for water and shade they ended up camping in a pretty beautiful spot that saw a spectacular sunset. "A little mouse tortured us in the night though. He didn't do significant damage to anything- just took some bites out of Nohemy's towel & some bites from my trekking pole handles." (they were cowboy camping AGAIN.....you'd think she would have learned from the first mouse incident ha ha!)
June 6, 2025- DAY 50!
They are on Day 2 of the NO WATER stretch. (I'm a little confused on this because of the above water cache so I'm not sure what she meant by Day 2 of no water? Maybe just longer water stretches?) It was HOT by 8am and they had some climbing to do and K'lena was dreading the sun! They were going about 26 miles to the next reliable water source. Jenna was determined to get to that water source and K'lena was glad to have Jenna there to push her to it! Johannes & Nohemy decided to cap their days at 20 miles. They arrived at the top of the mountain around 2:30pm and by 3:30pm Jenna was ready to go again. Jenna took off while K'lena waited another hour. K'lena arrived to camp around 8:30pm which was about 45 minutes behind Jenna. "It was a rough last 5 miles, I was a walking zombie. Dinner tasted like I had gone to heaven. It was delicious!"
"An example of a water cache. Trail Angels have been replenishing these for years, we've been told. Thank you for taking care of us hikers! If they didn't provide these caches, I would had have to carry 9-10 liters of water! That's 22 pounds of water!"
June 7, 2025- Getting into Ridgecrest!
Jenna and K'lena slept in a little, after all they hiked 26 miles yesterday! They had about 8 more miles to the highway. K'lena was most looking forward to laying in a a bed in an air conditioned room! (Probably how a lot of us felt if you were outside this weekend 6/20-6/22 in Nebraska! It was so hot!). They were met with more Trail Angels doing Trail Magic where they got a lot of food and drinks.
June 8, 2025- ZERO in Ridgecrest
To do list:
- Sleep in
- Lounge around
- Chores (bathtub laundry)
While they lounged they planned their strategy for the Sierras! Resupplying in the Sierras is more complicated than in the Desert. The trail in the desert intersects with most towns, while the sierras it does not. They would have to exit the trail and hike an additional 20-30 miles then hitch into town. So this could add a whole extra day into their trip. Yosemite National Park also provides pretty remote areas with little resupply options so they have to be prepared and send themselves additional resupply boxes along the way.
Unfortunately the photo didn't come thru that she was talking about here. "Here's us laying out our food for 12 days of resupply (5 days for one box & 7 days for another). I'm embarrassed to show how much junk food I eat! Don't worry, there's some trail mix, banana chips, & pistachios mixed in there!"
Question: Why not have Katie send these boxes?
Answer: "Well to be honest, it's just a lot of work! This took pretty much an entire afternoon! Also, as the trail goes on, my appetite changes...and drastically sometimes. It's just easier for these boxes for me to visually see my food & make my decisions without having to send to Katie out on a goose chase!"
My input: I don't mind sending the boxes....yes sometimes it is stressful because K'lena sends a list and then the store might not have the exact one she's looking for, could be smaller (then this affects her calorie count so then I have to figure if she needs 2 of this item or 1 and add an additional item, could be a different flavor (which can be hard because if she doesn't like that flavor or was really looking forward to that specific one) but then have to be weight conscious too). I tend to send the things that maybe she doesn't have access to:
- Contacts, KT tape, Toothpaste, etc.
- Compressed towels
- Big Texas Cinnamon Rolls or mini donuts (buy in bulk and then send throughout her trip so she's not constantly repeating herself)
- Misc. Tuna or Chicken packets that maybe they don't have out there (specific flavors)
- Things that have to be purchased on Amazon: Olive oil packets, specific Knorr sides or other suppers
- Things that my kids can pack and write notes on- candy. Share a photo of themselves or color a photo, etc. Maybe a snack that my kids are really liking at the time. (Fruit by the foot or gushers have gone in the boxes)
- Mayo packets (thanks to everyone who has secured these from random places!)
I just want to make sure to get everything on the list as I don't know if K'lena can get to a store after she gets her box and she's already prepared for that food. So we tend to try to communicate right before sending the next package. The first one I think was 9 pounds, then 11 pounds, then 14 pounds. I'm getting ready to send one this week. It will actually be a real small package that includes: contacts, compressed towels, and 1 dinner meal. She had originally requested toothpaste, but sounds like she doesn't need that now. I will prepare that package tonight and get that sent out tomorrow morning.
June 9, 2025
100 degree weather, 20 pounds of food, and additional steps to get to the post office, a bus ride, and get back to the trail head to start their day!
What's in the boxes?
Package for 5 days of food: 9 pounds
Package for 7 days of food: 12 pounds
*Remember she will be carrying a 2 pound bear can in these sections....WE ARE IN BEAR COUNTRY!
"I decided to make some swaps!
#1 I was carrying the glasses case that came with my glasses & it was obnoxiously long, didn't do much for protection & heavy! So I purchased a plastic one.
#2 I am sending home my kindle! Since doing longer mileage days, I honestly haven't had time to read. I haven't touched my kindle in weeks, time for it to go home! Also, my library card was expired and I couldn't check out books on Libby (an app to check out e-books)
#3 Since sending home the kindle, that's one less thing to charge. I started the trail with a 3 port charging block (thank you to my parents for this wonderful Christmas present!), but I really wasn't utilizing all 3 ports that much & now with one less electronic, its not necessary. Goodbye heavier block & hello to a lighter one!
#4 I finally fixed my tent! Thank you to Big Agnes (tent company) for working with me & sending me a replacement pole segment AND replacement cordage for FREE! I've repaired many tents (for my job at the UNO Outdoor Venture Center & RMYC), but never my own personal tent.
Goodbye duct tape janky pole that would randomly snap in the middle of the night & make me have a heart attack! Hello clean, fresh cordage & a beautiful, shiny pole segment! I'll be sleeping in style.
While these differences don't seem like much, I sent home just over 1 pound of stuff!" (that will make a difference in her backpack)
Back to June 9th: They hiked about 13 miles this day and it was just Jenna & K'lena. Nohemy left earlier in the day & Johannes stayed behind for another ZERO day. "I typically struggle the most on days out of town. I've noticed I've gotten more homesick. I miss my family! I miss my cat! (it's our brothers cat, but since he moved away it really only likes her and my parents.....it's really not a nice cat!) I miss my friends! So, today was a hard day. I struggled through it, stopping often, calling Jaedon (her boyfriend) & crying. Which made me feel better, but I was still sad! Some days on the trail, I don't want to be here. That's okay! I'm still grateful for this experience & the beauty, but that doesn't mean part of the experience is wishing I was home sometimes! I get mentally low wishing I could provide the same support to my friends and family as they are lending me. I'm forever grateful for them, for always supporting me on my big goals. I can only hope I can ferociously love and support them when I'm back. I hope tomorrow is better."
Please continue to pray for K'lena to give her the strength to continue on in her journey and help her on those hard days!
Celebrating the last section to Kennedy Meadows (the start of the Sierras) with balloons. Jenna is also doing the "Bobos challenge"
The Bobos Challenge"
"Upon hearing that another hiker exclusively eats Bobos (you know those oat bars?), our group was astonished! Jenna & Johannes decided to create the "Bobos Challenge" which started as a joke, then became reality. They were to exclusively eat Bobos from Ridgecrest to Kennedy Meadows, a 50 mile stretch. We'll see how they do!" (I never did see an update on this- maybe it's in her next bit of information so stayed tuned! Would you want to do the Bobos Challenge?)
June 10, 2025: Happy Birthday Jaedon!
"I slept not that well! We cowboy'd (again! We've been so lazy about setting up our tents) but the bugs were pretty insistent & it was HOT! So we crawled into our tents without setting them up. If we weren't hiker trash before, we definitely are now!" K'lena had another hard day.....she thought about giving up. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I knew my why's would be questioned at some point in this trail. It makes sense that it's happening at the end of the long desert section, in the heat, just barely to the sierras."
I'm going to be honest- I would have already given up! I'm so proud of K'lena for her determination to keep going on this journey!
June 11, 2025: Kennedy Meadows!
Kennedy Meadows here we come! But it's still 20 miles away..... they are TIRED, no energy, HUNGRY, no will to walk! One FINAL climb was all they needed to do..... and it was ALL WORTH IT once they got to the top and saw the beautiful Sierras! "Relieved" was probably the word of the day!
"A big thing about making it to Kennedy Meadows & getting to the general store. Everyone starts clapping for you & whistling. It's such a fun experience! You did it! You completed the desert & you get a round of applause! Johannes was waiting for us (he got a ride) & already got us burgers & cold drinks!"
WAY TO GO K'LENA!!! YOU MADE IT 700 MILES!
WE ARE ALL SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
June 12, 2025: CHORES!
"We have a lot of chores to do & a LONG line to wait for everything! There's 2 places to stay: Grumpy' s & the General Store. Both places have limited bathrooms, showers, & washers. We didn't have the intentions of zeroing, but it might be what happens!"
The above is a photo of "Grasshopper". This is K'lena's ice axe that will protect her in the sierras. - hopefully more information to come below!
June 13, 2025
"Aaaaaand we're off to the Sierras!" - K'lena has been looking forward to the Sierras for a while now! However that means hardly any communication, if any, at all! They have very heavy packs as they have to carry food for 7.5 days.
"This morning, I got to play with this lovely cat! We chased bottle caps & this sunglasses cord! She decided to come & hang while I repacked my bag. I'm grateful that there's been many animals to pet along the trail! I miss my cat, Momo at home. She's a senior cat, so I get worried that she'll be gone by the time I get home sometimes (though we joke that cat is immortal out of spite)."
June 17, 2025- A Day of Projects!
More friendly people...
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