After loading up on Ibuprofen and Aleve before heading to bed, I felt pretty decent in the morning. My knee felt tight but hopefully it would loosen up and be okay for the day. Today's hike would be mostly downhill into Reds Meadow Resort where I would be picking up my first resupply.
I woke up around 7am and the view of our campsite was beautiful. I had to take a picture. So I did, then minutes later the sun started to rise on Banner Peak over the lake. Even more beautiful!
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| First picture of my campsite at Garnet Lake |
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| Second and way more awesome picture of campsite! |
We started on our way to the other side of Garnet Lake then up a ridge and down into the Shadow Creek area. Here we passed both Shadow Lake and Rosalie Lake. These lakes were looked like they both would have been great campsites.
I find myself repeatedly sing the same song in my head over and over for some reason, "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electronic Light Orchestra. I think the ridiculously blue skies made this song resonate even more in my head. I occasionally found myself singing it out loud, my singing voice isn't great but who was around to hear it anyways?
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| Looking over Garnet Lake |
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| Crossing Garnet Lake outlet to the East. |
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| Erica said fuck the bridge! |
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| Shadow Lake |
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| Jeff hanging out at Shadow Lake |
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| Erica looking out over Shadow Lake |
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| What could have been an awesome campsite at Rosalie Lake |
We stopped to fill up our water at Shadow land and at this point Jeff made the goal to make it to Reds Meadow by 3PM that day. It was only another 7 miles and all downhill for the most part. We set off and quickly become separated, I tried to keep up with Jeff but he seemed to be on a mission. I kept looking back and would see Erica a few hundred yards behind me, so I knew we were all on a good pace to make it to Reds Meadow by the early afternoon.
Today was a great day to hike alone, it wasn't too hot and I was walking in the shade most of the day. Along this easy cruise downhill I met a few Northbound JMTers who had started at Mt. Whitney. We chatted for a bit and continued on our way. A little bit further down the trail I passed a man who was hiking barefoot! Ouch, I thought to myself, but he seemed to have no problems. Meanwhile, "Mr. Blue Sky" is still jamming out it my head.
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| Now entering Devils Postpile |
I was cruising down the trail when I got to the Devil's Postpile National Monument junction. I knew this area was tricky to navigate, a few different trails meet at the same point. The JMT continued South and West of Devil's Postpile but I was unsure how it connected and got to Reds Meadow Resort. I knew going through Devil's Postpile would get me closer to the resort, so I chose that route.
Devils Postpile is a rock formation that forms in hexagonal "posts". It was a really cool thing to see and I was unaware at how big it would be! The posts seemed to tower over the trail. I stopped and gazed at them for a while before continuing on.
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| Devils Postpile National Monument |
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| More Devils Postpile |
I continued on the trail and it dumped me out on a two lane road with no signs. A bit panicked, I turned and walked north up the road and found a sign for Red's Meadow Campground. I didn't want to go to the campground, I wanted to go to the resort! I pulled out my maps trying to pinpoint where I was when a large bus pulled up. I'll admit, it was a bit weird to see a car since I haven't seen one in a almost a week. The bus driver picked me up and took my south down the road to the resort free of charege. Slight trail magic I suppose?
I found Jeff relaxing in a chair outside the general store, and was already enjoying a tall Sierra Nevada IPA. I walked into the store to pick up my resupply of food bought a beer to join Jeff. I sorted through my food outside the shop and chatted with a few other hikers who had been strolling in. Unfortunately, the restaurant at the resort closed at 2:30pm and wouldn't open back up until the morning. This came as a big disappointment, I was really looking forward to a nice burger and fries.
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| Reds Meadow General Store |
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| Various hiker's packs at Reds Meadow |
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| Mulehouse Cafe at Reds Meadow |
Jeff managed to get us a night in the Backpackers Bunk Room which was great! That gave us access to showers and laundry services at the resort. A shower was much needed and felt amazing! Like so so amazing! Laundry was obviously needed too.
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| Self explanatory |
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| Jeff and my bunk house for the evening. |
Erica showed up about an hour later and we got settled and started some laundry. Jeff and I drank a few beers and hung out in the bunk house for a bit. Erica then came up with the idea to go down into Mammoth Lakes and get some real food. So we got on the last bus for the night and headed on down to Mammoth Lakes.
Day Summary:
Miles Hiked: 13.7 mi
Total Miles on JMT: 58.7 mi
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