Day 66

Maria lake to VVR - 15.3 miles (some off trail miles)

Total - 880 miles

Woke up with one thing on my mind…VVR (vermillion valley resort) and everything that I can eat. We planned to get up later, relax in our tents and then head out to hit VVR in early afternoon. I, of course, got up earlier for one to poop and two bc I can never sleep in anymore. After the morning poop, I decided to map out our next couple of days after mammoth which we will hit in two days. We plan to take a zero and then head out but that’s gives us 7ish days for 110 miles which is pushing it especially with altitude and passes even if it does get easier from here. I was stressing and needed to take a chill pill so we decided to decide in VVR or in mammoth. We got packed up and had some hot Cocoa before heading out. We were flying knowing it was mostly downhill. There was one big river crossing we were worried about but everyone was fear mongering and it was easy as pie. We did about 5 more river crossings with only one more requiring us to take shoes and socks off. Felt real good on the toesies. We climbed a bit after all the downhill which sucked but it reminded me of Utah hiking amount all the aspens and yellow flowers whose names I can’t remember. It was a Rocky straight up hill which is very classic utah. Felt like I was connected back there for a second which made me happy. The climb wasn’t too bad but I was sweatyyyyy after. Of course I smelled like I always do. We then took the side trail down the VVR. Mosquitos were bad as always. The FarOut comments also mentioned it being not a fun trail and again fear mongering lol but it was a great lil trail that was partly dry and real rocky which quickly turned into a swamp. Caleb and I talked the entire way down. Earlier in the day we had talked about the pan-American highway and initially I was like hell naw I wouldn’t bike it but after talking to him, I might actually consider it. Or at least a section. It would take at least 5 years of prep. If he begs a lil more I would consider it 20% more. He just wants someone to do it with, he don’t care who. The main topic of discussion was everything I was craving. And boy it was a long ass list. I would eat pate liver like Mummi does with herring on rye crisps. That’s how hungry I was for anything. We finally made it to the trail head before a 2.3 mile road walk. I had promised everyone we would get a hitch for sure. Marc got to the trailhead first and said not one car has passed, dampening our spirits. We needed some nutrients first and as we are sitting that’s when the miracle happened. Two older guys pulled up and I quickly stood and stuck my thumb out. They rolled their windows down asking where we were going which was VVR. They had just come from there so they said give us a minute while we finish whatever the fuck they were doing and think about it. 5 minutes later they said hop in. Both older men were hilarious, cracking jokes and getting to know us as dad, me, Caleb, and Marc were crammed into the back seat. We pulled up to VVR with smiles on our faces as we didn’t have to walk the last 2 miles. Little peaks immediately called us out which was fair as I would too if I saw someone cheesin like we were. All jokes though. We were informed that lunch closed in 15 minutes so we quickly ordered food. Burgers all around. VVR has tabs so my mini resupply, my meals and a couple other things are all on a tab that I will have to close out when I leave on the ferry aka pontoon boat back to trail. The trick they get you is that they will ask you to tip on your entire tab. BULLSHIT. I WONT DO IT. It’s also hella expensive here. After lunch and becoming fat and happy we went for a swim in the lake. It was very low so it was more of a flop to stand sorta swim. Refreshing until you started to smell a lil fishy. Laid in the sun protected to dry off before doing the mini resupply. Only got candy and snacks. No complaints. VVR also gives hikers a free drink so I got a hard cider. Always delicious. After finishing the one chore, I bought two hours of wifi. Dad called mom so after scrolling and catching up for only a lil bit I gave the phone to the guys to scroll for themselves. They needed a lil taste while I talked to mom. We even got offered to play ping pong which I turned down for the soul reason of scrolling. Joking…it was mostly to catch up with everyone😉. They started a fire which warmed us up as the shade was so chillllyyyyyy. Talk to mom some more and then the glorious sound of the dinner bell rang. It was BBQ, baked beans, mash potatoes (poor choice as I already eat a lot of that), corn bread (bad), chicken, baked Mac and cheese , and three slices of green peppers with poorly chopped red onions. It was so good and a fat portion. I was happy as a clam. We then decided to teach Caleb and Marc sevens. Who knew cards was Marc’s weakness. The man willingly chose to calculate elaborate math equations to see how much air would be lost from the cold of the air. But a lil ole card game took him out. He actually did great and understood it after the second round but it was funny to see him stress over it. Respectfully. Caleb was dealt horrible hand after horrible hand, and as a sore loser, he was furious. It made my day. I am also a sore loser but I came in second after dad and I’m okay with that. Last round took all and boy did I sweep the floor with those losers. If you know how to play, you will understand this, I had all the 8s, one seven, and one 6 (more cards obviously but you get the gist). I told each of them to take that fucking bonte while I played the next round of cards. So I won it all technically. We then tried to plan the next days realizing we might have to either push big days for dad to make it to Sonora pass or skip some miles, or get picked up earlier. We still haven’t decided. Will keep you guys updated. Sat by the fire after, talked a lil, smoked a lil, and then headed to bed. Ferry in the morning at 10:30. Ready for a zero soon.

Didn’t take any photos today. I am also so burnt on my face. Need to focus on sunscreen.