Panda Andy trying to fatten up with cinnamon rolls.
 

I was feeling bad about all the stuff we organized and packed that now I have to tear appart and figure out what to do with. Instead, I'm feeling awesome that we put 100% effort into everything we do. So be it that boxes need diassembling. When we decide to do something, we jump in with both feet!
 

The hitch wasn't as hard as we thought. We're off into the wild. We won't have cell but will continue to update via sat phone. It's not on our itinerary, but our next stop will be Mammoth Lakes.
 

We're waiting for the bus to take us back to Independence so we can pick up our mail drop. Andy got some nice new trail running shoes, we bought cheap sunglasses and just came from lunch where I quite possibly consumed two sticks of butter with three pieces of bread. We optimistically thought we would be back on the trail this afternoon, but one more night in a bed sounds too good for either of us to pass up.
 

I'm sending this message from the back of a pick up truck on the way to Bishop. The post office won't be open until Monday so we're taking the time to go to a bigger town to get Andy new shoes. We have some great pics and video to upload. We saw our first bears this morning!
 

We've been hiking a lot with Big John since Hiker Heaven in Agua Dulce. He's a great guy who also happens to have designed one of the most unique and cool backpacks I've seen, the Moonbow.
 
Check it out at www.moonbowgear.com if you get a chance.
 

My first attempt at hitching without my secret weapon Cindigo went remarkably well. I stepped off of the trail at Walker Pass and in about 5 seaconds an amazing guy named Rocky pulled over.
 
Rocky has hiked the John Muir something like six times and had lots of great stories to tell. He dropped me off at the seediest hotel on the trail so far in Lake Isabella.
 
In a really brilliant move right before climbing into the Sierras, I left my hiking poles in Rocky's truck! Amazingly, Rocky drove all of the way back here to bring me my poles and have breakfast with a bunch of hikers. He was also able to bring Scorpian Eater, who's come down with a mystery illness, back to Bakersfield so he can get home.
 
People like that make this trail the incredible experience that it is.
 

This is the most aggresive horny toad I've seen, and I've seen a lot of them!
 
It's hard to tell from the picture, but he was actually lunging at the camera.