Day 17: The speedy hike to Red's Meadow

I have no idea what happened this morning. Replay's morning routine of pulling off all her extra layers including hats, gloves, fleece and cracking her knuckles woke me up around 5:45. I of course quickly stopped the final knuckle crack and insisted that we sleep at least another 30 minutes. My idea of an extra bit of sleep was not meant to be. When the clock struck 6:00 there was no stopping Replay's desire to get into town. Usually breakfast and packing up takes about an hour, but not today. Replay left camp by 6:52 and I followed behind her at 7:04. I even have a picture to prove it!

Running behind Replay's wake of dust and speed I somehow managed to keep up with my short little legs. I have to admit that my treking poles are a big part of the reason why I can move so fast on days like this. I'm not sure about the physics of the process, but my center of balance is actually centered and I can extend my stride. Amazing! Even though I couldn't see Replay up ahead on the trail I knew how far behind I was because about every 15 minutes a group of JMT Whitney bound hikers would pass and mention my speedy friend. Everyone was impressed by our distance and honestly we were as well.

At 9:00 ,we arrived at Deer Creek. We had just walked 6 miles in 2 hours! Our usual pace is somewhere around 2 mph. I suppose we've both got a little bit of the town leg phenomena going on today. The idea of food, a clean bed, a hot shower, and clean laundry looked better and better as the mile markers ticked closer to zero. The other reason why we were moving so quickly today was that the trail was almost all downhill. After what seemed like an hour of switchbacks we found ourselves in the middle of a burn zone.

The trees that remained standing were more like toothpicks rather than Redwoods. The ground was covered in prickly brush that pulled at our socks and dug into our ankles as we passed. The ash from the fallen trees stained my legs with dark black marks.

I kinda lost myself during this 2 mile stretch. The destruction of the land was a little too much to handle especially after spending so many hours enjoying the splendor of mother nature. To think that a single lightening strike could destroy such beauty brought sadness into my heart.

This feeling didn't last too long because around 11:15 I found Replay sitting next to a sign "FOOD, CAFE, BUS." I actually argued with her for 5 minutes denying that we could be so close to our destination so early in the morning. About 1/2 mile up the trial however,we found Red's Meadows Resort and two friends we'd met our first night on the trail. Strider and Buddy offered their congrats and big welcome to civilzation hugs. They directed us to the cheapest motel in Mammouth Lakes and suggested a couple of restuarants that fit nicely into our penury budgets. Strider mentioned that the Motel 6 didn't have a fridge, but cable was the best part of his zero day. A zero day is a hiker term reserved for a no hiking, no walking, just relaxing day. Most hikers use it to restock, wait for packages at the post office, and tend to their battered bodies. Replay and I were incredibly excited for a day off the trail. Not sleeping in a bed or showering for the last 9 nights really puts the benefits of the modern world into perspective.

With another hug goodbye, we jumped on the bus and left Buddy and Strider to the PCT. While enjoying the motorized ride out of the National Park, we met a lovely couple who offered to give us a ride down to the town of Mammonth. The bus dropped everyone off at the ski resort and it was another hike down to town. Not wanting to refuse the kindess of strangers we jumped in, smelling worst than I could even desribe, and enjoyed the 20 minute wheeled ride into town. Best of all, the couple not only dropped us off at Motel 6, a destination they had no idea existed, but they waited until we had secured a room before they drove away wishing us lots of luck during the remainder of our hike. I must find a way to repay all of those indivdiuals who have helped us thest last 17 days.