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Day 72 – 02 Jun 19. The Short Day into Mammoth

Today 12.5 km (7.8mi) of which 3.5 km/2.2 mi is on trail, Total Distance 1453.7 km (903.3 mi). 3 hours 20 minutes (0720-1040)

I had a good night sleep and was happy that it was a nice warm 3 degrees C when I woke up so I could pack up without loosing feeling in my fingers like normal.

I was ready quickly, knowing I was heading into town today was good motivation. I only had a short stretch of a couple of miles to get to the trail junction and then 3-4 miles to the carpark.

The trail started with a slight uphill then it was downhill all the way. I was in a clear patch beside the stream for a while before crossing over and entering the trees.

There was no signpost at the junction but a solitary set of tracks continued on the trail and the snow shoe tracks turned off heading exactly where I wanted to go.

There were three options for trail to Horseshoe Lake and the one I wanted climbed up a hill, went along the hill and then dropped slightly before joining with the other trails for the final climb up to Mammoth Pass before dropping down to Horseshoe Lake.

The snow was mixed but mainly ok to walk on and I made good time. My balance seemed improved and my energy was good. My knee also seemed much better.

Just before the pass I saw a couple of PCT hikers slightly off the trail I was on. It was the first people I have seen for 7 1/2 days so I was excited. I went down to them as another couple turned up. It was Little Skittle, Jade, Nick and unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the other guy. They had been a couple of days ahead of me for the last section but occasionally I would see their tracks. They had just had a couple of days off in Mammoth and were now setting off for the next section to Sonora Pass. It was nice to catch up with them and have a quick exchange on what their last section was like.

I pushed on, now in their tracks over the gentle pass and down past McLeod Lake to the Horse Shoe Lake Campground where there were signs of civilisation. It was heavily under snow still which looked funny with sort road signs and toilet block half buried.

I now joined the road and walked on the snow covered road for two miles to get to clear road and cars. There were heaps of walkers, skiers and snow shoe day walkers on the road and I chatted to a few of them.

As I was talking to one nice couple another PCT hiker appeared. He had done a longer stretch than me having started at Horseshoe Meadow on the other side of Forester Pass. Conversation was very stilted and I was walking faster than him so took off after a few minutes. It seemed a long couple of miles but finally I reached the carpark and cleared roads.

It was a Sunday and the carparks were full. I tried hitching and was not successful but saw a couple of ladies walking to the carpark and asked for a ride which they said yes. The other PCT hiker had arrived and he also jumped in the car. By coincidence one of the ladies was from New Zealand originally. The two ladies were on a girls weekend.

They dropped me at The Village in Mammoth. A lady walking towards me recognised that I was a PCT hiker and said something about being surprised I had been up there as they had cleared PCT hikers off the trail. She was a local so I asked for recommendation for food and she pointed me to a nearby place called Burgers.

There I ordered a burger and it was huge with a very generous helping of fries. I researched accommodation and the lovely friendly waitress helped out with recommendations.

Once finished with lunch I went to a shop to buy some snacks and then walked to the Sierra Lodge.

I had not been able to pay online so had an issue that I had no physical credit card. The guy at reception was lovely and accepted a photo of the card, though I had to wait for mum to finish with what she was doing to read my messages to be able to send me a photo. The guy at reception let me check in and go up to my room while waiting so I could shower and change. When the photo came through I showed the guy but the card was not working as it had not been activated. Now I had to ask Mum too go to an ATM and use the card which activated it. She has been so helpful with all my urgent demands after having lost my documents and credit card.

Finally the card worked and the payment went through. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and started the massive job of editing 10 days worth of videos and trying to upload them with the really slow internet.

For dinner I went to the pizza restaurant across the road and there was Iron, Poweroouse and Two Stroke (appologies if I have the names wrong). I have been bumping into these three regularly since just before Bigg Bear so it was great to catch up. Then had just come off trail and I gave them the recommendation for my Motel as I was happy with it. They came acrooss and checked in. I then continued editing videos late into the night.

Visits: 1457

10 thoughts on “Day 72 – 02 Jun 19. The Short Day into Mammoth”

  1. I hope you reached Sonora Pass safely! I was worried about the stream crossings after watching Little Skittles’ video. I hope you teamed up with others for the crossings.

    1. I was alone for the whole section, including stream crossings, but safely navigated them

  2. WOW I hitched my wagon to your YouTube videos and have been watching your progress. I said to myself that this person is going all the way even in a very heavy snow year!!!

    I’ve been on many of the trails you have trekked but NOT in snow. So good on ya.

    Good luck!

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