6am to 10:45am. Deer Lakes to Reds Meadow Resort. 9.1 miles

Expectations are everything. We expected any easy stroll on trail into Reds Meadow and the cafe there. We talked about what we would order. We ran into a few hiccups.

Cell service. Time for phone calls.

Strolling along the Mammoth Crest

The trail down to Mammoth Pass was a steep pumice field. It was slip sliding all the way. We lost the trail in a bunch of blow downs but then found an intersecting trail and took that. We started running downhill until we came to a sign that didn’t make sense. Oops! Wrong trail. Wired led us cross country with her gps 1500 ft to the correct trail. We crossed lots more blowdowns. And then we took a “shortcut” that was more bushwhacking. But we did make it to Reds. Breakfast cutoff time was 11. Rockin and I quickly ordered eggs, potatoes and bacon. Then we went to “clean up.” Wired wanted a burger so got her wish also.

We took the shuttle into Mammoth Lakes and spent the rest of the day doing town stuff. The first shower in a week always feels so amazing.

Lunch at Food Cache... potato, kale, mushrooms, avocado, yogurt. Delicious.