Day 62 - Reds Meadow

(Originally written Sunday, July 5)

Tonight I have cell service for the first time since just outside of Tehachapi--nearly 300 trail miles earlier! When I finally arrived at Reds Meadow (close to Mammoth Mountain) this evening after racing to get here before the cafe closed, I turned on my phone and...surprise! I've got a lot of emails to sift through...most of it junk, unfortunately.

After bushwhacking our way through the darkness last night in search of a hot springs that allegedly existed, we finally got to a suitable camp well into the night. This morning we slept in--by hiker's standards that means after 8--and were awakened by one of the guys in our group letting us know that he found the springs. So after a good, long soak, I was ready to hit the trail. I only made it about 12 miles to Reds Meadow, but I couldn't resist staying where I could get a hot meal and a free hot shower from more hot springs! So here I am and I've even got cell service (although this likely won't get posted until later because I'm trying to do this chronologically).

After downing an overpriced double cheeseburger at the restaurant, I had peach pie a la mode as well. I'm planning to grab a substantial breakfast tomorrow before heading out to Tuolumne Meadows--a two-day journey.

It's hard to believe that I'm at Mile 906.6 and more than a third done with the trail! The miles, in a very strange way, seem to be really flying by--as much as they can at 2.5 mph, anyway.

So it is definitely nice to be back in civilization for the time being. And although I don't expect it to last all that long, I do expect the coverage to be better than it has been. After all, it's not that hard to improve upon that which didn't exist!