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Living that #VanLife
February, 2022 - Issue #207

Long before it became a hashtag and aspirational lifestyle, April and I lived the van life. We spent a summer driving across the US in our VW Vanagon - two months, 30 states and 10,000 miles.
Now, some two decades and four kids later, we've traded #vanlife for #minivan life. But we still manage to sneak away for a small dose of exploration once in a while, now in a Ford Econoline converted into our adventuremobile.
Our most recent foray took us up Highway 395 into the southern end of the Sierra Nevada before winter snow closed mountain roads and campgrounds.
Our destination was Kennedy Meadows. Situated at 6,200 feet, the area is an iconic stopover for Pacific Crest Trail hikers traversing the 2,650-mile Mexico-to-Canada route. The Kennedy Meadows General Store sits at the 700-mile mark and holds boxes of provisions hikers mail to themselves in advance, so it is a major resupply point.
"Overhead, the view was stunning. The Milky Way streaked down toward the HORIZON where the sun had disappeared."
It is a destination for non-hikers, too. Locals gather on the front porch to sip beer and trade gossip. Inside, visitors can find maps, packaged food, outdoor supplies, t-shirts, stickers and a wood-fired stove. Pay-by-the-hour wi-fi is available there, too.
Kennedy Meadows Campground sits about 3 miles further up the road with 37 sites spread among juniper and pinion. Already winterized, it was a little more primitive than we expected. Water spigots were dry and the bathrooms were boarded shut.
After finding a fairly-level site, we parked the van and headed out for a late afternoon hike. We followed the Pacific Crest Trail north out of the campground. The trail rolled along the bank of the South Fork of the Kern River, fairly flat, with a few brief climbs. The willows glowed in fall gold and the sun slanted through the trees casting burned snags - remnants of some long-ago blaze - in a dramatic light. A steady breeze breathed through the pine trees.
After two miles or so, we paused at the footbridge arcing over the river to take pictures and admire the view. A look at my watch, and the sun heading down below the far ridgeline, told us it was time to retrace our steps back to camp.
We boiled water for our dehydrated dinners in the fading light as the first stars showed themselves. It was pitch black around us shortly after 7pm. Overhead, the view was stunning. The Milky Way streaked down toward the horizon where the sun had disappeared. The cold chased us into the van and its welcome pile of sleeping bags and blankets.
After a welcome pot of French press coffee the next morning, we drove west along Sherman Pass Road, parking at a trailhead that would lead us to Hooker Meadow. We followed the dry drainage of Jackass Creek, gaining about 900 feet of elevation over three miles. Although the climb was gradual, we felt the effects of the elevation in our lungs.
Pines ring the meadow, a wide-open alpine expanse that is surely green in spring, but whose now-brown grass awaited a blanket of winter snow. The last entry on the trail log was made some two weeks prior, so we shared the hike only with a thumping woodpecker and squawking jays.
We finished around lunchtime and we were hungry for something more substantial than what we had packed. Grumpy Bears Retreat - Kennedy Meadows' other business - was on our way out, so we stopped to check it out.
It was worth the visit. Sitting on the outside deck overlooking the valley, we enjoyed savory, two-handed burgers paired with fries and tots and washed down with cold draft beer.
It was a short trip, but long enough to remind us how rewarding #vanlife can be.
Eric Harnish parks his van in Castaic.

Do It!
Kennedy Meadows General Store kennedymeadowsgeneralstore.com

Kennedy Meadows Campground insidescv.com/kennedymeadows
Grumpy Bears Retreat grumpybearsretreat.com
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