All of the Sierra days caught up to me. To us. We all inched up from Upper Vidette to the Bullfrog Lake trail, a steep thousand or so feet of elevation gain. Navigator spotted a black bear about 80 feet away, and we watched it disappear up a thickly vegetsted slope above us. After the lake trail, a long break. Nobody wanted to start up the next stretch, Kearsarge Pass, which had switchbacks visible from several miles down. Bullfrog Lake and Kearsarge trails are the best option to get to Independence, where most hikers have resupply boxes or hitch to Bishop for food through to Mammoth. Imagine that you've just done 80 miles of trail, then you have to hike 9 miles of steep craziness up to 11,200' just to get out to town. Frustrating. Kearsarge Trail was brutal; at the top, we were informed of trail magic involving grilled cheese at the bottom. Our spirits were elevated somewhat, and we hauled ass down the other side, past lakes and waterfalls chasing the rumor of crunchy calories. Instead, there was very tasty tortilla soup, soda, gatorade and beer, and a small crowd of familiar faces in Uberbitch's trail magic campsite. We took some rest time, ate, then got a ride into Independence. I got a room at the Independence Inn next to Pit Stop and Navigator, and ate tacos de lengua and an asada burrito from the town taco truck. So good. Made it through Sierras Part 1!