July 6, 2017
Mammoth Lakes to Reds Meadow
Reds Meadow to Mile 917.5
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike: Day 63

Started the day at Vice’s cabin with a pan-reheated pizza (extra crispy crust), cupcake, and fresh berries for breakfast. Talked to mom and dad on the phone, it was really great to hear from both of them. Dad went to 4th of July parades on his scooter, wearing his KOA shirt that I made him—YAH!

The road walk back to Reds Meadow was 9 miles and pretty much sucked balls, hot and mosquitoey, but we managed to bang the whole thing out without taking a break.

Had a BLT at Reds Meadow for 9 friggin dollars—their prices are CRIMINAL! But no different than any other National Park cafe so far, so we set a budget for $10 total for any on-trail cafe.

Our packs are heavy but I think better than when we left Bishop. Once we left Reds we quickly did a detour for Devils Postpile which, while it was a cool rock formation in its own right, paled in comparison to Devils Tower. We crossed a few refreshing creeks (very hot out today), dealt with an overload of mosquitos, and finally made it to the top of a ridge with phenomenal views of two mountain ranges.

Our campsite is up on a ridge of rocks and we had a campfire in the shadow of an evergreen tree that looks more like an oak tree than an evergreen. Vice, Tofu, and Boathouse went to mile 919 to camp.

We bought my dad the National Geographic PCT map for an early birthday present, then he texted me to tell me he bought it for himself! Oh well, I guess he’ll have two then.

I’m really happy and having a lot of fun, even though it’s really difficult hiking. Also, used our soy sauce today in dinner and it was clutch. Tomorrow we’re going to try making bananas foster oatmeal for breakfast.