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Well, as yucky as the weather was yesterday in Mammoth today the clouds parted. Although let’s not get too carried away, they were certainly dark and lingering as we finally made it back to the trail. Woooo hooo back to writing about things that matter.
I will start with the “tickle” in my throat. I hardly slept a wink last night. Thankfully I was within walking distance to a RiteAid, so I was promptly there at 7am when they opened. I purchased an artillery of meds to combat and ease the misery of a possible sinus problem. They are pretty common for me so I went straight for some Mucinex, lozenges and nasal spray. Adding more weight to the backpack but this was truly necessary.
Back to the hotel I went. Final packing commenced and we all showered one last time and headed over for breakfast at Good Day Cafe. Their freaking Hawaiian Bread French Toast is just awesome! I had to have one more serving before heading back to the trail.
Ben picked us up promptly at 10am. Ben is Heidi’s husband who surprised her with a visit from Georgia. He was nice enough to offer up his rental car as a shuttle for us this morning. So nice of him. He got us as close to trail as he could, which coincidentally was at the Mammoth Mountain Ski lodge. Crazy to see mountain bikers and skiers in the same parking lot, then only to have us stomping through the bunny hill. From the drop point it was a little over 3 miles of a road walk back to the trail. This particular road was closed as it’s still winter time in Mammoth.
Once on the trail we were snow free for quite some time, probably just before 9000ft. As it was nearing midday we expected to posthole and boy, did we. Postholing isn’t any fun. It makes for slow movement and unsafe steps. You never know what’s exactly underneath you when your step in the snow falls beneath the weight of your body.
In anticipation of the postholing, I purchased a pair of snowshoes late last night. I was kicking myself for not sending my pair from home earlier. Justin had purchased a pair as well so we tried them out for a short stint today and they help! But because the snow coverage isn’t 100% it was a bit of a hassle taking them on and off. Ah well, it gave me peace of mind to have them with. And yes, they added 4 more pounds to my pack but I figured I have at least 4 less pounds of food this time so it’s kinda a wash, right?
The scenery today was amazing. Maybe because I was truly ready to get back out here. Maybe it was because the sun was out. Either way, I can’t explain to you how gorgeous it is and the pictures will never do justice. While it looks cold, I wore 2 layers on top, one on bottom and was perfectly comfortable. Except for the wet feet. I still can’t manage that, it seems almost impossible in these Altras and it’s a little late to turn back to boots. I’m gonna try a little harder tomorrow to keep them dry so we shall how that works.
I did have an outing last night with some other hikers tho. The family (Laura, Andrew and Justin) went for a movie and I opted for a nap. When I woke up Seeker told me they were headed over to the brewery so I went to listen to all the stories. Seeker had made it to town with Heidi on Friday and Pacecar, Groover and Nutz had made it to town yesterday morning (Saturday). From their stories–which were all similar to Justin’s-the timing of when they went through the Sierras was not optimal. As Pacecar said, “It never felt like there would be any reprieve.” The weather, lack of sun, difficult mountain passes, self-arrests on high slopes, and even 2 guys falling into an edge of a frozen lake. I gave Pacecar a big hug. So proud of all of them, but so scary to hear their stories. I know of at least 4 other hikers still pushing through so hopefully with the weather finally changing for the better their hike is looking up!
It feels good to be back out. We have 2 passes to cross tomorrow so we should be up early to tackle those. And we are 20 miles from Tuolumne Meadows. Maybe with the early wake up we can make that but I’m not going to hold my breath if the terrain is similar to today.
For now I must sleep. Gotta beat this sinus thing ASAP!
KLubs on a Long Dusty Walk 