mammoth lakes, ca

made it into town last night - boy did that make me happy.

despite the strong undercurrent of fear and unrest that seems to be permeating thru-hikers right now (with regards to weather), myself and the hikers i've been around actually up in the high sierras have been enjoying the trail, and for the most part, have had pretty decent weather. the sun has come out almost every day, we've enjoyed long, leisurely lunch breaks and dried out our gear (mostly wet from condensation, not precipitation), and have had great views from the tops of the snow-covered passes. while still deliberating whether or not to leave town last week, i said i wanted to enjoy the sierras, not endure them. and i feel like that's what i've done so far.

except for yesterday.

let me set the scene for you (warning - bodily functions may be described):

sidenote: a couple weeks ago, in a conversation about "natural materials" only hikers would have, tomato told me of the benefits to be had using snow to clean oneself off with in lieu of toilet paper. the relevance of this will soon become apparent.

as i passed a trail junction (cascade valley, for those who care) i took note that i was about 13 miles from my intended campsite for the evening, and had also done the majority of my climbing for the day. i also noticed that it was only 11:30 and red's meadow with it's diner and town shuttle was only a further 6 miles beyond that. i began the familiar game of "it's not that much farther" and when i caught up with tomato eating lunch, asked him if he was interested in going into town that night instead of in the morning. citing reasons of money and soreness (he'd taken a hard fall in a stream crossing the day before) he declined. i told him i was going to eat lunch and then "see what happens." this translates into "i will do whatever it takes, up to and including permanent injury, for a giant cheese pizza this evening." i also mentioned to him that i'd been having hunger cramps in my stomach and felt i may need to carry more food in the future. we ate lunch.

when i packed up to leave at 12:30, we both knew i was going to take a shot at it, the only question being that red's closed by 7:00 and i still had 18.5 ish miles to go, over some high lakes with probable snow cover. it was go time.

i flew up the first 1000' climb, feeling pretty good, but still having some "hunger pains" which seemed odd, since i'd just eaten lunch. coming down the other side of lake victoria there was indeed some heavy snow cover, and i got a little turned around, but eventually sorted it out and found the trail. tick... tock... then, just before arriving at purple lake, i needed to go. right now. this is when i discovered it wasn't hunger pains. apparently not every drip, drop, trickle and flow of water in the high sierras is clean and pure.

in my quest to only bring exactly what i need with me, i often run out of things - food, sunblock, body glide, and yes, occasionally, tp. i had been pleased with my timing since i was so close to town, but this time my plan backfired. enter the convo with tomato.

my frustration with all the snow and how much more difficult it was making the hiking soon turned to me frantically looking for a patch of snow around every corner. i ended up having to make eleven stops before finally arriving at red's meadow moments before the 6:45 shuttle left for mammoth lakes. eleven. in three and a half hours. and don't be fooled - just because snow is able to function as a cleanser, does not mean it is a pleasant experience. especially for the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh... time in an afternoon.

and as if this wasn't enough, i had to walk through rain, hail, and snow. snowing hard enough it was beginning to make following the trail difficult after only half an hour. and my hands were numb and locked frozen around my trekking pole handles. this didn't make scooping snow and using it in a delicate manner a simple task either.

but i did make it. and the off-duty bus driver went out of his way to take me to the part of town i needed. and i got a hotel room with a warm shower (and unlimited toilet paper). and i bought a giant cheese pizza, which i ate with much enjoyment and not a little trepidation.

all of which led to my standing in a supermarket aisle, on the phone, discussing the merits of various diaper rash ointments with my sister back home.

thru-hiking. it's the best.