July 5, 2017
Just past Reds Meadow to Mammoth Lakes
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike: Day 62
Taking a pseudo zero today in Mammoth! Road walked starting on 1.6 of the 7 miles at six in the morning. It was a road walk, like many road walks before it. Slow, fuck boring, swarming with mosquitos, can’t use trekking poles to propel you forward so you just drag your ass along the pavement.
Then, a Reds Meadow employee picked us up just after we hit the uphill section of the road walk. He left us at the ski resort, and then a man named Dean picked us up on the main road and drove us into town to a great coffee shop where we had breakfast. Then we went to the visitors center. The lady told us we couldn’t leave our packs there but grilled me for about 20 minutes on current trail conditions, especially creek crossings. She said it was fucked up that in such an intensely bad year there was so little intel. I think information just makes it scarier. The only thing it does is determine if you’re going forward or staying behind.
Mammoth has been wonderful, we ate our faces off, tricked Zpizza into delivering to the main lodge of the ski resort, and get to stay at a cabin with Vice, Boathouse and Tofu! Vice’s family friends have a cabin here in Mammoth and let him pick up the key to stay for a night! It is luxurious.
We got two growlers from Mammoth Brewing Co, at half price! Everyone here treats us like celebrities for doing the PCT. One kid yelled “HITCHHIKERS!” And his parents corrected him to say “backpackers!”
We sat with Murphy’s Law at the brewery. He’s been in an Osprey aircraft before!
At Vice’s family cabin we played trivial pursuit (taproom version) and Pictionary (one person drawing at a time version). It was so much fun and such a perfect way to end a day off. We even saw Sam on the trolley heading out of town this morning, and barely got a wave in. But we did!
We have again what feels like a monstrous amount of food heading out tomorrow, wondering how to fit it all in our packs, postponing that question until the morning. As for the section coming up, we’ve heard scary reports, and also heard very mild reports. I think the only thing to do is take it as it comes.
Tranquil mosquito swamp on the road walk from Red's Meadow into Mammoth