This was the first day we gave the new “Frank strategy” a try. Rather than get up with the sun and start the day at a leisurely hour, we set the alarm for 5:30am and began what would become our regular routine of eating breakfast by headlamp, breaking camp at first light and being on the trail by 6:30.
The day was hot, the trail was an awful combination of dust, loose dirt, and way too much horse shit from all the mule trains and guided trips in the area. We dropped out of the alpine, past Devil’s Postpile National Monument (we didn’t take the side trail to get the up-close view – the view from across the river was just fine for us), and down to the edge of Mammoth where we took a mid-afternoon break at Reds Meadow Resort. Some JMT hikers pick up their first resupply packages at this camp, but our first resupply was still a few days away at Vermillion Valley Resort. Though we didn’t have any food to pick up, we were pretty happy to raid the small grocery store and get some cold Gatorade and popsicles before heading back out into the afternoon heat. The next stretch beyond Red’s had burned a few years past, so there was no shade, but it was tolerable thanks to our long break and as we got back into the shade and climbed the 1300’ to Mammoth Crest we felt surprisingly good with our slow and steady pace. By the time we dropped our packs for the night at Duck Creek, we’d covered almost 22 miles. Frank’s method for covering a lot of ground was a good one!
Around 10pm we heard someone walking by, then about a half-hour later we heard the noise again…someone was rolling in way after dark and was setting up camp near us. He was quiet and we didn’t mind having a neighbor, but it seemed a little odd for someone to be hiking so late.
Becky cooling off at Red’s Meadow Resort
A hot hike through the old burn to Mammoth Crest
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