July 2016 – Own Less. Do More.

I’m an idiot, I can’t read a map, I parked at the wrong resort, and I now humbly apologize for all the people-hating I did in this post, because several people saved my ass today by helping me find the trail when I thought I was lost, and one of those groups also gave me a ride back to that wrong resort where I’d parked the BFT.

Sigh.

Y’all enjoy these photos I took along the Twenty Lakes Loop. Only two have captions, because I’m out of adjectives for hiking in the Eastern Sierra.

I’ll just be sitting here for a few more hours, popping ibuprofen and sipping electrolyte-infused beverages.

FullSizeRender 12 FullSizeRender 9 FullSizeRender 4 FullSizeRender 3 FullSizeRender 6 FullSizeRender 18

FullSizeRender 5 FullSizeRender 17 FullSizeRender 7 FullSizeRender 10 FullSizeRender 14

I knew the water taxi was a mileage-saving option (1.5 each way). I did not use it to get out to the trail head, nor did I buy a ticket for my return. Which is why, as I limped down to the dock after completing the loop, I had to ask the hottie boat driver, "Um? Do you give pity rides to overzealous hikers?" Affirmative. He let me buy my ticket after I got off at the other end of the lake. Worth. Every. Penny. — I knew the water taxi was a mileage-saving option (1.5 each way).
I did not use it to get out to the trail head, nor did I buy a ticket for my return.
Which is why, as I limped down to the dock after completing the loop, I had to ask the hottie boat driver, “Um? Do you give pity rides to overzealous hikers?”
Affirmative. He let me buy my ticket after I got off at the other end of the lake. Worth. Every. Penny.

The boys are back on the John Muir Trail, to complete the approximately 150-mile portion from Mammoth Pass south to Mount Whitney. (Last week, they hiked the approximately 60-mile portion from Mammoth Pass north to Happy Isles, and I picked them up in holy-shit-is-this-place-crowded Yosemite.)

So while they’re backpacking, I’m day-hiking, but on trails that are designated “popular,” “easy to follow,” “heavily trafficked,” or any combination thereof. I’ve not been blessed with a very accurate sense of direction, so when I’m hiking solo, I do what it takes to keep myself safe and un-lost.

ranger station — Today I put in 5-6 miles, hiking from the Ranger Station (6) to Devil’s Postpile to Rainbow Falls (You Are Here) to the Lower Falls (bottom center), and back up to Red’s Meadow (10).

Since I was in the Ansel Adams Wilderness for most of my time on the trail, I took the liberty of using black & white filters on some of my photos as an homage. They’re nice, but definitely not of the same caliber as Mr. Adams’ artwork.