Day 52: Alpacas

Kennedy Meadows - cowboy camp in burned forest near Beck Meadow
Mile 702 - 712
Total 10 miles

With three extra T-shirts from the hiker box, I was warm and slept very comfortably in the campground between pine trees behind Kennedy Meadows store. After sunrise first hikers started getting up; some making breakfast, others shaking down their backpacks to reduce their pack weight. I found some canisters with little bit of gas in the hiker box, cooked hot green tea, and shared the tea and bagels and jam with Fallen, Suds and other early bird hikers.

Today is Sunday, it's God's day and at 10 AM there is an outdoor worship service. Six human beings and three dogs join the worship as we loudly sing "Blessed Assurance" and "Amazing Grace".

Ann, one of the locals, invites me to visit her friend's place and see the animals. Donna, Tom and Steve have a farm with alpacas. The alpaca species comes originally from South America an is related to llamas and camels. They were raised since old times by the Incas. Alpacas are very intelligent animals and friendly to people. On Donna and Steve's farm live 24 alpacas, both girls and boys.

Many of the boys have biblical names: Samson, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah. Samson has very long dark hair.

Once a year Donna and Steve give each of the alpacas a haircut. The hair cutting machine is about 3 times as big as machines used by barber. Cleaned, carded and twisted, the hair makes very firm, almost unbreakable ropes and the fleece is really comfortable and much better than sheep wool. Steve shows me the table where they cut the alpacas, the carding machine, and how to run the spinning wheel. It takes lots of good practice to make an evenly thick strain.

One of the alpacas has been sheared just a few days ago. She looks almost like naked.
The fleece is sold to factories to make warm and comfortable hats and socks. Donna gives me one pair of the alpaca socks. These will definitely keep my feet warmer in the freezing Sierra nights!

The whole village of Kennedy Meadows is off the grid, people make their own electricity from wind and solar power. Here are the batteries for storing energy from the solar panels - the biggest batteries I've ever seen.

In the afternoon it's time to pack up and head back on trail! The trail goes through sagebrush meadows and along the cold and swift Kern river. I go a little bit off trail, find a hidden spot, and plunge naked into the refreshingly cold river water.

Then I hike a few more miles through forest, rocks, along a little stream and across an area of burned forest. I have entered the South Sierra Wilderness in Sequoia National Forest.

Mighty Sierra, please be kind to us tiny PCT hikers as we approach your very heart!