Day 53 - Saturday, June 19

At the Motel 6 in Mammoth Lakes, CA (left trail at mile 906.6).  Walked 19.2 miles today.

Our first topic of discussion through our tent walls this morning can be summarized as follows: We're disgusting people.  We stink, our clothes are absolutely filthy, and we think we can each count the number of showers we've had in the past month on one hand.

The first mile of trail was an easy downhill, but quickly became a very steep uphill climb which we did not expect.  The mosquitoes were still bad through this section, but the scenery was nice.

I hiked ahead of Frank and passed Virginia Lake.

I stopped for a rest and met a couple of southbound section hikers who seemed amazed that I had been out on the trail for more than 50 days.  Frank caught up to me and all she said was "Come on Bill, we're jumping in Purple Lake".  I grabbed my pack and we hiked down the trail.  She had had a moment earlier: she felt disgusting and there were flies and mosquitoes all around so she decided she was going swimming.

Got down to Purple Lake and Frank jumped in and then did a little laundry in it before changing into her town shirt.  I didn't feeling like swimming, Soni just put my feet in and washed them off a bit.  After the lake, we had another bigger-sized climb before hitting a stretch that took us downhill for the rest of the day.

As we hiked, we passed several day hikers and encountered one of the strangest phenomena I have experienced on this trail.  As the hikers passed by a few feet away, we could very clearly smell their shampoo and laundry detergent on their clothes.  It's bizarre.  From here, we hiked fast and made good time.  In the early afternoon, we passed the 900 mole mark.

We passed someone doing trail maintenance and thanked them for their work.  It's because of these people that we even have a trail to hike on.  After passing through a forest of really big trees and an old burn area, we arrived at Red's Meadow.

Notice the mandatory showers sign...we completely understand...

Here we got hitch from DJ and Zero, the dog she's dogsitting.  After a 40-mjnute ride to town, we went to Rite Aid to get some stuff and then to Starbucks to use their Wi-Fi because the cell service sucks in this town.  After reserving a hotel room, we did a couple more errands and then checked in to the Motel 6.  We showered and relaxed for a bit before meeting Microbe, Narrator, Kiwi, and Magnet for dinner and drinks at the brewpub across the street.  While ordering, someone came up behind me and gave me a hug.  It was Popcorn!  I hadn't seen her for over 700 miles (since shortly after Idyllwild).  We caught up for a bit.  She's been doing well and sounds like she's hiking with a good group.  After we all ate, we went to the gas station down the street because we were craving ice cream.  Went back to the room, ate our ice cream, and watched TV before turning in.