It's been 3 days since we hiked. Shadow's Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bob picked us up at Tuolumne Meadows and spoiled us. Home cooked meals, afternoon matinees in their living room with snacks, and great conversations. Nancy's main goal was to fatten Shadow up. He has lost 25lbs so far and does not have any more to lose. I on the other hand seem to be losing inches, but not pounds.
Waiting for us was also a care package from my parents full of homemade marsh mellows, fruit roll ups, and jerky. Two friends of ours also sent a box of jerky and good protein powder. Thanks Warbler and Karyn!
Our last day off we played 9-holes of golf and had dinner at the country club to celebrate Nancy's birthday. Uncle Bob is recovering from knee surgery and I think he enjoyed the company.
Today they dropped us at the local bus stop that goes to Yosemite. Instead of waiting for our connector to Tuolumne Meadows we hitched a ride and made it back to the trail earlier than planned. The trail was easy and we were able to hike 10 miles before dark. Dinner was BBQ sandwiches and pecan squares for dessert. The trail followed Lyell River to the canyon's end. The river alternated between a turquoise lazy river ride to a granite water slide.
Just a reminder about what's going on here. Shadow and I are hiking 1/4 of the PCT SouthBound. We made it just passed Mt. Whitney when a late season snow storm took us off the trail. We decided to take a bus to Chester, CA (The PCT's halfway point) and walk SoBo to give the snow time to melt. Once we get back to Mt. Whitney, we will take that same bus back to Chester and finish the second 1/2 of the trail North bound. Where the trail leaves Tuolumne Meadows Southbound it joins the John Muir Trail for 175miles. Shadow and I are very excited about hiking this amazing section. Lots of good photos coming soon.
Around 1am I got up to go to the bathroom. The moon was dark and every star was out. It was amazing.
We climbed out of Lyell Canyon and over Donahue Pass, 11,000feet. The trail and surroundings turned magical. Pink flowers and green grass lined the granite path. Clear pools of snow run off ran downhill. Marmots, Pikas, and chipmunks played around us as we walked by. I felt like we were in a Snow White cartoon. We passed towering mountains and Caribbean blue lakes with trout. Like New Zealand's black flys, the Mosquitos keep you from lingering too long. We are camped just shy of Shadow Lake. We liked the name.
We made the 10 miles this morning to Reds Meadow. A pack station in the mountains outside of Mammoth, Ca. We had time to grab a drink at the store before the bus arrived to take us into town. Mammoth has great bus service all around town. No need for a car here. That's definitely something we are looking for in a town to call home. Our stop in Mammoth is to restock our food bags for the next 9-10 days in the Sierras.
1 comment:
The JMT!!! Wish we could join you!
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