Day 58/59 – Friday/Saturday July 21/22

Zero Day – Mammoth Lakes

We woke up in the Westin in Mammoth Lakes and gathered our wretched clothes to do laundry. Walking around the Westin in my rain clothes with a bag of rotten fabric, I was the thing not like the others.

We watched TV while we waited around for the laundry to finish. We managed fit seven hikers in this room and bumped into each other throughout our morning shuffling. Once clothes were dry and bags packed we ventured out into Mammoth Lakes. We found a spot for lunch not far from the hotel and ate. Next stop, post office.

We felt like it was time to rid ourselves of our ice-axes and micro spikes/crampons. We used them to get over Forrester pass and that was it. They probably only weighed three or four pounds but not using them and seeing other hikers not carrying them made them seem so heavy. Our mountaineering gear is now conveniently in the mountains of western North Carolina should my Dad's driveway become icy.

After post office duties were accomplished, we continued our trek to Vons to re-supply for the next section. We only needed to get to Yosemite Valley and we still had food from our last stretch, so we didn't need much. From Vons we stopped at a gear store for more fuel – we've started going through much more fuel than we did in the desert. It's mostly because we are using our stove for coffee in the morning as well as our dinner, but the increased altitude plays a small factor too.

As we sat outside the gear store and I had time to woefully stare at my feet, we decided another night in Mammoth Lakes would be helpful for their recovery. We got in touch with our hiker-friends who had already secured an Air BnB and invited us over. Later we got a ride back to Vons and bought all sorts of food for dinner and breakfast.

Feasting and hanging out with Caboose, Papa Beat, and Papa Bear's friend George was a blast. We ended up going to bed a bit later than we should have and may have even made it to 10 p.m.

JULY 22
Still not feeling like hiking, Kelly and I spent a good amount of time in Starbucks trying to figure out what to do. I considered getting off the trail.

Ultimately, we decided to stay in mammoth for another night. The next morning, Kelly would get back on the trail and I would stay in Mammoth. After that I'd take the YART bus (Yosemite Area Regional Transit) and meet her in Yosemite Valley.

With friend and former Dartmouth quarterback Brian Mann, who happened to be in Mammoth the same day we were.