Day 45: Back At It!

June 24th, 2021

Mile Marker: 929.3

Miles Hiked Today: 20

We were able to sleep in a bit this morning since we had a ride lined up for us at 8:30. Last night Starstruck and Journey were out in the hot tub talking to some locals and asked them if they could give us a ride the follow morning. Lucky us, they said they would!

It was a young guy and his girlfriend who took us back to trail. I rode with the woman and she told us she moved out randomly to Mammoth over a year prior. She was a snowboarder and skateboarder and seemed to have found a niche in Mammoth. She was incredibly sweet and when we arrived, denied any money we tried to give her. The generosity we receive will never get old.

We started the morning taking a side trail to view the Devils Post Pile National Monument. These rocks are formed by the quick combination of fire and ice. Pretty wonky looking.

We then came to a junction where we could take the JMT route or the PCT route for 14 miles to the next junction. We had been told that the JMT route was prettier so we decided why not.

The first part was through the forest but then eventually opened up to some gorgeous lakes.

It turned out to be such a scenic route.

The plan today was to try for 22 miles. We planned for 5 days of 22 to the next town of Kennedy Meadows North.

We ended up making it about 20ish miles right before Donohue pass. The camping was slim going up and down the pass so we decided to cut it a little bit short and cover those miles tomorrow.

We got to camp around 6:30 and were so excited for it. Being at camp early is always so nice and leaves so much time to relax.

We couldn’t see the full sunset but were able to see the sky change to beautiful colors.

Today was good. My pack was freshly heavy with a restock of supplies but my body felt rested after a couple days. I feel giddy laying in my sleeping bag right now with excitement for what’s to come.

It’s cold tonight and I’m hoping for some good sleep and that my sleeping pad holds up! Fingers crossed!

Iz and Oz