After a few days of rafting it was back to Walker Pass, where I left off. In order to make sure I got back on trail, my group left after dinner and didn’t get back to the trail until around 10 pm. There weren’t any campsites for a while so I ended up walking a few miles and gaining over a thousand feet of elevation in the dark. Once I finally got to a camp, I passed out without even setting up the tent. The next morning Harry and I said goodbye to our dutch friends and hiked on toward our next stop, Kennedy Meadows. It was only about fifty miles from where we got off to KM but I tried to enjoy every one of them because this was my last stretch in the desert. I had walked over 650 miles and even though there were brief moments in the snow and trees the majority was in the desert. That would soon be behind me though.
The last fifty miles flew by with my thoughts on all the amazing things I’ve seen so far and how the trail would only get better. The next section would be the high sierra’s, a complete opposite of what I had come from. I would leave the sandy deserts behind and move on to snowy mountains. As I walked my mind raced through all these thoughts. I was so deep in thought actually, that as I was walked down the trail, my eyes on the ground, I almost didn’t notice a bear right on the trail in front of me. It wasn’t until I was about 20 feet away from it that I looked up and froze in my tracks. I never expected to see a bear this far south and it took me by complete surprise. The bear didn’t seem to mind me though and after a few seconds, he slowly walked the other way.
After that incident nothing exciting happened, and the next day I reached Kennedy Meadows. From this point on the trail would be completely different. It was goodbye desert, hello snow. -Noel Nelson (pct mile 702)
At mile 655 the trail crosses a highway. Food wise, I was good until the next town but the idea of hitching in for a burger was irresistible. So my buddy and I put out our thumbs and waited. After about thirty minutes a truck pulled over and we hopped in. Inside was a couple from San Francisco. After talking a little bit, they offered us a place to stay in town at their campsite and we accepted. Once in town, they paid for our dinner and introduced us to everyone else in their group. Their group was different from your average campers. They are white water rafters and the campsite was right on the Kern river. Our new friends invited us to go rafting with them and of course we accepted again. The next day we got our wet suits and life jackets and about fifteen of us loaded into a van pulling a trailer with three rafts. We drove up the river and after getting situated, pushed off down some class 3 rapids. 
For these experienced rafters it was no big deal but for me it was unlike anything I had ever done. Working as a team, we navigated down the river and eventually back to the campsite. When I started the PCT I never thought I would go white water rafting but when you are open to try new things, opportunities will arise. -Noel Nelson (pct mile 658)
After an amazing week in San Francisco it was time to get back on the trail. The section right after Tehachapi, where we took off, is not an easy one and just four miles after getting back on the trail I was curled up under a joshua tree trying conserve the little water I had left. In this section of trail water is scarce and direct sunlight is your companion all day long.
Right outside of the town of Wrightwood lays Mount Baden Powel, a mountain named after the founder of Boy Scouts. While in town a snowstorm passed over, but it left its mark. 
As I ascended the mountain small patches of snow grew into large massive blankets of snow. Miles were spent following nothing but the footprints of those who have gone before me. It took a full twenty mile day to escape the snow, but eventually I was able to set up camp on dry ground. These early encounters with snow are hopefully preparing me for the snow covered Sierras I will go through in a few weeks. -Noel Nelson