To Mammoth Lakes

Just About Done Hiking for the Day

Up and at'em early to get to Mammoth Lakes for lunch if we can, only about 6 miles to the shuttle. Elena has a quick dip before we start off, and we see heaps of NOBO hikers coming by early, including one with a dog that barks every time I move. We see that someone has camped on the other side of the small lake and he's packing up at the same time we are.

We have a bit of a climb up to 9300' outa the lake area, then a coast downhill towards Devils Postpile, we roll along quickly with the thought of cold beer and hot food keeping us going, and light packs to ease the burden.

We come to a rather large stream, there's no footbridge and a bunch of young women are putting their shoes (and clothes too it appears) back on, it's definitely a wade to get across so off come the shoes. Elena is first across and starts talking excitedly to someone down the trail, can't quite see who it is yet for all the trees.

About the Part Company with Justin and Patty 

It's Justin and Patty, OMG I'm wondering how they got ahead of us, turns out they skipped by in the afternoon yesterday at Gladys Lake, we exchange greetings and tell us the group of young women were swimming naked in the stream.

It's now only a short hop down to Devils Postpile, we're not quite sure what it is and we need to navigate to the Shuttle, the signs are less than clear, Justin and Patty are gonna continue to Red's Meadow to get their resupply so we say a sad goodbye and continue on the side trail.

From the map it looks like a short hop to the bus stop, maybe .3, it's further than we think and there's no sign that specifically guides you to the bus, the signs all say the Ranger Station and we ask someone for directions and they inform that the Ranger Station is the way to go.

There are lotsa day hikers along the deep dusty trail, it's a hot afternoon and we're feeling dry, a nice river by the trail lightens the atmosphere a bit. As we approach the Ranger Station we see a bus parked there and make a run for it, they only run every 20 minutes, a rather brusque driver tells us this isn't the bus we want, it's going to Red's Meadow, not Mammoth Lakes, the bus will arrive shortly and it does indeed.

We strike up a conversation with some other hikers on the bus, including a woman who has lived in Mammoth Lakes, and find out there's a brew pub near the bus stop, it'll then be a short walk down the hill to the motel, not bad.

It was a bit hard to work out exactly how the shuttle worked from afar, and it is indeed more complex. The first shuttle climbs it's way outa the valley along a twisting mountain road to the ski resort, which is now a mountain bike mecca, with a chair lift up Mammoth Mountain thrown in for good measure. The shuttle ends at the ski resort and now we gotta take another bus run by the resort into town, there's no charge but hikers are second class riders, mountain bikers get preference because that's essentially what this bus is, a bikers shuttle. It arrives in about 20 minutes.

No problem, it's the middle of the day and not so many mountain bikers around at this time, we roll into "the Village", a cutesy little place that reminds a little of Whistler Olympic Village outa Vancouver, maybe not quite as cute as Whistler. The brew pub is right on the corner so we hightail it over there, it's a bit of a delay for thirsty throats though, they seem to be having some trouble with the taps and can only get mountains of froth for the moment, they assure it'll be fixed soon and we can do nothing but go order food from the attached food service place.

In Mammoth Lakes, the Dogs May Wash Themselves

The taps are finally up and running, joy is back and we sip the frothy libation, and the food is really good, there are few spots of rain on an otherwise hot afternoon, it doesn't bother us and doesn't seem to bother anyone else either, including a family tossing horseshoes off to the side. A second beer goes down almost as well.

We pick up our packs and head off down the side of the road to the motel, there's a third shuttle that the town runs that we could take but hardly seems worth it, it takes us about 15 minutes to get there. The motel is very basic, a bit dirty and cheap looking but adequate for us, we get changed and head off to check out the town, it's very small and looks more like a winter destination, I pop into an outfitter to buy a T-shirt to wear while we do our laundry, there's a camping/fishing store just down the street and we need to buy another fuel canister, but a very friendly Asian man tells us they don't sell them, he tells us with a big smile where he buys his.

We walk back up the street to look for somewhere for dinner, there's a fancy looking and expensive place that might work for tomorrow night, there's a pub style place further along that has a lot of working class locals with outdoor seating that will work for a light dinner and beers.