Friday, December 11, 2009

Day 17. Monday, July 6, 2009. Mileage: 897 – 908 (11 miles)


My watch was broken but I think I woke up at 5:30 am to Dangermouse’s horror. We walked 11 miles by 11 am. Oh, town legs, how you carry me. Towards the end of the day, we entered a stark and kind of jarring burnt section. Post-lightning fire, the thousands of remaining trees were now all halved and jagged, their tops severed and still smelling of burn on the ground. The heat and the desolation of this section was unsettling; here were the severe remnants of a space where something spectacular and intense had clearly happened.

By the time we reached a modest sign that read “Café / Store / Bus”, I was nearly spinning off the planet with hyperactivity (there is a funny video of this that Jess filmed at our arrival at the sign). Following the sign took us to Red’s Meadow where we saw thru hikers Buddy and Strider. If we had planned to resupply at Red’s, we both would have been fine with the food available. But we were gunning for Mammoth Lakes for a zero day, so a quick bus ride with a gratingly talkative driver and a hitch dropped us at a Motel 6 in town. Laundry, a shower, Mammoth Brewing Company, ice cream, bed.


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