The Kern River… Starts in the Sequoia National Park near the base of Mount Whitney & naturally ends in the cesspool we know as Bakersfield. Where it is dammed & diverted to the surrounding counties. Just before that is the stretch of river known as the lower Kern River, where it meets Lake Isabella & upper Kern River. You can find first come first serve campgrounds, markets, restaurants, lodging & of course some decent fishing… you can also find people… trash… & trash people.
Yes, it sounds like I'm shitting on this place. I kinda am… but only a very small part of it. I'm only sharing this with you because I don't want you to visit in the peak of summer & be shocked by the experience. Now it's not always like that, once you get past the overpopulated sections… That's where the magic starts.
Honestly forgot how we came up with the idea to backpack past the Johnsondale Bridge. At this point we have camped a lot of the Kern River so we were familiar with conditions & terrain. But there is no information on the conditions, terrain & even if it's possible to backpack past the bridge. Not to mention the fact that there is no cellphone reception anywhere in that region… we are going in blind. At this point in our lives we have absolutely no experience with the concept of backpacking. You hike in… with only gear you can carry on your backs… & survive for a couple days. To most folks these days, this seems unheard of. We set a date & we were locked in… kinda. Now we just need the required gear.
With a visit to our local outdoor recreational store & Walmart… we gathered the gear & food we needed… at least the stuff we thought we needed. Overpacked on stuff & going in with absolutely no plan. We had an idea of hitting the road by 12pm. As we all know most things don’t go according to plan. With weekend jobs and the gathering of last-minute supplies, we were on the road by 6pm.
With the limited budget and knowledge, my loadout is as follows: A twenty-five dollar Amazon backpack roughly 42L, your basic freeze-dried meals, a cheap LifeStraw, a Stanley V1 Wildfare cook set, standard first aid kit, lures, fishing rod, and other miscellaneous necessities. A twenty dollar Amazon packable hammock, bug net & a Mexican woven blanket would be my sleep system. As for what I was wearing… Northface shade hat, cotton t-shirt, cheap Coleman shorts & a pair of Vans Half Cabs…
Our official start time at the Johnsondale Bridge trailhead was 8:05pm… Much later than what we had hoped. The journey begins with trekking down a set of stairs that leads you directly below the bridge onto the trailhead. Illuminating the darkness in front of us was a Black Diamond Cosmo headlamp I bought the night before. Joel, Dewoe & myself hike into the darkness with the same level of preparedness… During this time in our lives, we prioritized beer & spirits over insulin & mental health… so of course it was fitting to lug in a cooler filled with what we hoped was enough beer for the weekend… it was not.
The hike… in hindsight it was not an easy hike in. Rugged changing terrain & steep drop-offs into the dark abyss with only the sound of the river below letting us know that she is alive, well & ready to claim another soul to add to her collection… that was heavy, sorry… Anyways, all of that was easily overlooked due to the level of excitement between the three of us… we were just so happy to finally be there. But that excitement quickly dissipated when we were reminded that we had to not only find a spot to set up for the night… we also needed to find a spot that had enough trees to support three hammocks… Forgot to mention, we were all sleeping in hammocks that night.
Every step exposed a new part of the terrain… from jagged rocks & boulders, to steep uneven hills with a mix of dirt & jagged rock faces. Also the occasional fallen tree. I took the lead on this hike because even though it was a collective idea, I took the liberty to ‘map’ it out… & by map it out I mean I used the satellite function on Apple Maps as well as the feature shared on AllTrails to get an idea. But there was still limited information. At some points the trail narrowed so tightly that any wrong step could send us tumbling down to the Kern River below. We couldn't gauge the height of the fall, but judging from the fact that our headlamps & high-lumen flashlights couldn't reach the river… we figured it was a ‘gnarly’ one.
The roar of the river was so loud that if one of us went tumbling down, we wouldn't be able to hear the cries for help. So we unintentionally developed a buddy system, every few yards the lead person would look back & check on the following person. Considering that I was in the front & Dewoe was on speaker duty in charge of playing the music… All we really had to worry about was Joel in the back. If I went down everyone would see me take the tumble because I was lead… If Dewoe went down then we would hear the music slowly fade away… No one would hear Joel. These details are probably a little extra, but I don't think you can grasp the challenge of this hike without it. As scary as it may have seemed… There was no fear between us… not sure if it was because of how naive we were at the time… or maybe because we were just too excited to be there. Also we are the type of dudes that love the dangers of the unknown & embrace the elements for what they are. Blizzards, whiteouts, heavy rain & thunderstorms… we figure out ways & reasons to get out there & feel it all, while most stay inside to hide from it. I know we’re not unique in this matter, if you're reading this… I'm sure you're just like us.
What felt like miles turned out to be one. Roughly an hour hike, we found what we coined as ‘base camp one’… On another future excursion, that's where ‘base camp two’ aka ‘home’ was found… but that's a story for another time. This spot was perfect for our current situation. It was a bit of a climb down from the steep hill the trail lived on. Three trees that formed a perfect triangle for hitching hammocks, a rough pre-made fire pit that was built from previous dwellers & we were close enough to the river’s edge to load up on water… also close enough to get the lines wet the second we woke up.
The first thing we did was collect the firewood to get some light in the area. Lucky for us I think the previous campers collected most of what we needed & left it in a small pile by the pit. With the fire going, we got to work on the sleeping arrangements. A pile of rocks that formed a crude table was also conveniently left there by the previous campers. We used that as our dining/gear table. With camp set up & drenched in the sweet summer night sweat… we prepped our freeze-dried slop for a late dinner & sat around the fire to reminisce on the hike in as well as some story sharing from past moments in our lives…
After dinner we tapped into the stash of whiskey we packed in our flasks… sparked a few joints & stargazed. We shared some stories & some laughs. We also got to experience the Milky Way in its full glory… I don't think we’ve ever seen that many shooting stars in our lives… After a while of that we gathered some more water, loaded up on electrolytes & called it a night.
Waking up in a place for the first time, especially if it's your first time experiencing it in the daylight, is truly something magical. You get to fully see the environment around you… trees… rocks… hills… unseen dangers. I hopped out of my hammock & immediately got to making some morning coffee. I don't fully remember the details but I think one of us forgot the coffee maker… so we fashioned a crude pour-over with a red bandana & spare cup… let's just say that red bandana was no longer red. A little red dye hasn't hurt anybody… right?
After coffee, we decided to hit the river for a little fishing before breakfast. We spread out up the river & tried our luck at catching the world-famous Kern River wild trout. People travel from all over the world to catch this rare species of trout. Joel caught two… he was the only lucky one that day. After what felt like days of fishing the river, we tapped into some more of the joints we packed to get in deeper with nature… more than what we already were. The heat rolled in & the cold-ish brews cracked open. We got nice & dehydrated, then took a dip into the ice-cold snowmelt river. Basking in the sun… sunbathing on a boulder we swam to in the middle of the river, music played that fit the moment. Sharing more stories & laughs, praying that Father Time would do us a solid & slow down a bit so we didn't have to go home yet.
At some point, the only speaker we brought died & the brews dried out… Leaving us with the sound of the great river. For a while I think we ran out of things to say… so we sat in that blissful wordless silence. Trying as hard as we can to store those core memories in a place we can never forget in our minds… We’ve been on many trips together before, but this was different. I think it was different because we actually had to work for this. It wasn't just some trip where we drove up to a cabin or hotel… This was a trip that was earned. On long road trips the reward is the destination… But for us the reward was the journey & the destination. All three of us felt that way… that’s what made it differently special.
I thought we were close friends that knew each other for years… but in that moment I realized we were still getting to know each other. Sharing stories from way back when & sharing deep thoughts about life… being outside in the elements with the people you love most strips down the walls. Revealing the true self to one another. When you find those people who are willing to do things that most common folks think are insane… you push through the fear of the unknown… the sweat… the pain… the uncomfortable… you end up breaking down the shell to expose the vulnerable, hidden side of yourself… & the people who are there in those moments get the privilege of witnessing the true self in one another. It's truly hard to see it unless you go through it yourself.
What we learned… honestly, this is probably one of the best places to start your backpacking journey. The terrain can get challenging the further you push up river… but if you’re just getting into it, there are plenty of spots closer to the bridge that let you keep the hike short & manageable. We’ve done this trip six times & counting… usually hiking about two miles in, and the longest we’ve stayed is two nights. We’ve been talking about pushing further out soon to map more of the region. If you’re trying to find it, just look up “Johnsondale Bridge” on your maps & work your way up from there. You can’t park directly at the bridge, so you’ll need to park at the overnight spot before it & hike in. Getting lost out there is almost impossible… just follow the river... you can’t miss it.
As for gear… we made it work with what we had. No fancy setup. If you can’t afford expensive hiking boots, Vans Half Cabs did just fine... we were all wearing Vans. A cheap Amazon backpack got the job done too… wasn’t perfect, but I ran it for five more trips before upgrading. Water wasn’t an issue since the river is right there, but don’t cheap out on your filtration system. My LifeStraw worked, but it got inconvenient at times. Sleep system was simple... hammock, bug net, blanket… even in summer, your backside gets a little cold without insulation. Cook system was basic but solid... I still run the same one today. One thing I’d definitely add? A backpacking chair… worth every extra ounce.
If you're strapped on cash amazon & walmart will get you a very long way. If you have a coupe extra shekels to spare... Altitude Trading Co. also has some gear for you.
At the end of the day, you really don’t need much to get out there… just the basics & a solid group of friends...
-DJB
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