Such a great couple days. We got into Reds Meadow around noon after a 15 mile hike. There were lots of day hikers and JMT’ers and a whole crew of PCT hikers were gathered enjoying the selection of beer and burgers. The great thing about this site - it has a shuttle bus that takes you directly into the town of Mammoth. So after a couple beers and a burger, we loaded up for Mammoth.

Tiber rented a bnb for us and we all navigated the trolley to get to our place. It was an old vintage cabin with bark siding and very dated appliances that added a level of charm. Pizza and beer were our next steps to our town day and then showers all around. There was a jazz festival happening in downtown mammoth so after our fill of food and beer, we hopped back on the trolley to check out the scene. It was packed and we all clearly stood out in our hiker outfits.

After the jazz festival ended, we headed to a bar for more drinks and dancing. We all had our fair share and stumbled back to the trolley that we luckily ran into around 11:30 that night. Then, some much needed sleep.

This morning, we took the trolley back to town to grab our resupply items and load up on some sandwiches from Schats Bakkery. I grabbed a replacement buckle for the one on my pack that broke and then we loaded up on the shuttle back to Reds Meadow. Not having to walk eight plus miles to get back to trail is such a luxury.

We’re now all enjoying some burgers, beers, and the hot spring that’s close by. We’re camped next to the cafe and are hoping to have some breakfast in the morning.

Happy dreams…

We woke up last night to a group near us screaming at a bear. We figured they must be JMT’ers as they seemed to be in a bit of a panic having just started their hike. We all heard the commotion and rolled over heading back to sleep.

We got to sleep in a bit as breakfast wasn’t until 8AM. Pancakes, coffee, eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns. A perfect meal. As our tent was drying from the morning dew, we wandered a bit around and got all of our gear in order. It wasn’t until about 11 that we got moving. Just a fifteen mile day so not too much of a time crunch.

We decided to do the JMT portion of this section as the PCT trail didn’t have many views and we heard of some awesome views of the surrounding mountains with lakes. After a quick stop at Devils Postpile, a basalt rock formation we made it to the JMT. The rumors were true… the first couple miles were a bit tough as our packs are full and we were walking up hill. But then we reached the series of lakes. The snowmelt gives the water the bluest color and without wind, offers a wonderful reflection of the mountains beyond.

We had a slow hike stopping every so often to eat or rest and made it to a portion of the trail with very little mosquitoes so we decided to have dinner. I unfortunately left my stove at the campground bear box so I had to wait my turn. Marmots joined us for dinner, roughly five of them. Their curiosity brought them within five feet of us and gave us some entertainment.

We hiked the additional three miles down to our campsite at Thousand Island Lake. One of the prettiest campsites on trail so far.

Happy trails…