Day 73-75: Red’s Meadow

June 16-18; Mile 893-920

Day 73

After hours of climbing the day before, I enjoyed the flat trail as it wound past the outlet of Duck Lake and down past mile 900. Juniper and I paused for some pictures before hiking on through a burned area. I ran into two hikers that I hadn’t seen since the Whitewater Reserve – almost 700 miles ago! But I didn’t stop for long; it was only 13 miles to Red’s Meadow and real food for lunch.

I arrived to a horde of hikers sitting at the picnic benches beside the store. The road into Mammoth Lakes wouldn’t open until tomorrow, and I had a feeling most everyone would be trying to take the first shuttle into town the next morning. I ordered a burger and bought an ice cream and root beer to go with it – my new routine upon reaching civilization. The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of tasks – shower, laundry, phone calls – so that Juniper and I would have fewer things to do in Mammoth Lakes on our zero day.

Day 74

Juniper and I bought breakfast from the store at Red’s Meadow and watched the long line of hikers queuing up for the first shuttle of the season. It was a cold, overcast day, and I ate my breakfast burrito while wearing all my layers. Finja arrived soon after, and we caught up after being apart during the last section. She was planning to take an extra day off in Mammoth Lakes, so I would hike on without her for now.

Juniper and I took the next shuttle and each got a row of seats to ourselves – much better than the standing room only option on the last shuttle. We arrived at the ski resort area, and everyone was confused about where to go next. But eventually we all boarded the bike shuttle into town and made our way to the Motel 6. The price for one night in Mammoth Lakes? Almost $180. Ridiculous. Still, it was way nicer than the cockroach motel in Bishop.

I bought groceries and then headed to the post office to mail off my broken tent for fixing and to pick up the tent that Dov had sent me. I had used his 1 person tent two years ago when I first started doing longer solo trips, and so I was glad that it got to join me for a section of this epic backpacking trip.

That evening I headed to the movies once more, this time for “Jurassic World.” It had been a long day, and it was hard to believe I was headed back on trail in the morning. But the thing that pulled me forward was the promise of reaching Sonora Pass in just a few days.

Day 75

I took my time getting ready in the morning before taking the combination of trolley, shuttle, and bus to reach Red’s Meadow. While it had been cold down in Mammoth Lakes, apparently it had snowed on my friends who were camped up in the mountains. I started hiking around noon through a flat section of trail that was vibrant with greenery. The trail passed through a trailhead for Agnew Meadows, and it was disorienting to walk past cars after almost 200 miles of trail in the High Sierras devoid of road crossings.

The trail passed Minaret Falls and the turn-off for Devil’s Postpile. I was surprised to see so many day hikers out on trail, and then I remembered that it was a weekend. I ran into Petra while filtering water, and the two of us leapfrogged up the trail as it left the forest and traversed wide-open grassy slopes with snow-capped peaks across the valley and puffy clouds gathering above.

When I reached camp, I immediately set up my tent and crawled inside. It was only 7, but the air was freezing and promised to be a cold night. Hopefully the cold snap would kill off some of the mosquitos.