Mile 906 to 887

Back in the Wilderness

I wake at the normal 5:00am, which is a little early given the bus will not pick us up until 7:30-ish. At least that is the story I got yesterday from one of the trolley drivers. The normal busses do not start until 9:00, but an out-of-service bus heading up to Mammoth Resort will pickup anyone who looks like a backpacker. I am pretty sure I can pull that part off. At least so far I have not been mistaken for a clean room scientist or a runway model.

For breakfast I eat leftover pizza, minus the ants, with orange juice and a banana. At 7:00 BLT arrives. He did not make it back to the trail yesterday and is willing to test the out-of-service magic bus theory. We wish DC a quick recovery and trail rejoin.

A bus does pass at about 7:30, but the driver goes way out of his way not to make eye contact. I am more aggressive with the next one, stepping into the street waving my trekking pole. This driver stops and takes us to the resort where we immediately jump on the other bus to Reds Meadows. BLT hangs around Reds to eat and drink some more. I get on the trail by 9:00. Today is pretty much up hill all day towards Silver Pass.

This section is 120 miles (more if you count the long exit at Kearsarge Pass) with no cell service, no road crossing and no resupply. It is again like being on the far side of the moon.

Marmot

Every day I miss Terri. I miss her when I wake and she is not here. I miss her when I have a meal alone. I miss her when I see a marmot, a pika, or a fawn and I can’t share it with her. But I really miss her on long service-less sections like this where I can’t text or call her. I remember when we said our vows: “I do.” Then I remember when she came to the trail with Advil. When she hugged me, I said “I smell” and she said “Yes, you do.” I am hoping there is similar love in the “You do” as in the “I do”, because it’s all I got.  [Terri’s editor’s note to self: more unspoken thoughts]

BLT catches me at about 2:00. We target a camp just short of our daily 20 mile goal. It seems reasonable given our late start. After setting up, out of nowhere Loran appears. Well actually he just walked south on the trail and into our camp, but it seemed like from nowhere. Unfortunately the mosquitoes are so bad that we hide in our tents and there is very little visiting.

Lake