Summer Boot Camp Day 7

(click on any photo to enlarge) I got up before the alarm and fired up the coffee. We were packed and walking by 5:15am. It was an incredible morning and we felt we had the mountains to ourselves. We crested Silver Pass by 5:30am and were cruising down the other side as the sun started to rise. I shot my favorite photo of the entire trip just on the North side of the pass.

After navigating some rotten snow that had frozen overnight, we strolled by Squaw Lake. I wish we could have made it here last night but it was just a little too far and as it was we set up camp in the dark. We knew today would challenge both of us, so we didn't linger too long and made good time down to Tully Hole. We then climbed 1000ft up to Virginia Lake, down 500ft to Purple Lake then back up to the Duck Lake Trail. Whew! Around Noon we were at the 15 mile mark with still 12 to go. We stopped and ate the last of our snacks, filled our bladders up for the last time and settled into a 4mph pace to try to get to Reds Meadows before 4pm. The rest of our day was a lot of sandy, energy zapping trail.

We did have some great views of Ritter and Banner with about 4 miles to go. The last mile was the longest of the trip. Finally we saw the store and all the people hanging around waiting for the shuttle to the Mammoth Mtn Ski Area. We went in to get a cold drink. After taking the shuttle down into Mammoth, we scrubbed off the trail patina and walked across the street to Miguel's to have Mexican food and beer. Another trip comes to an end. Boy - After a week of Christi mileage, I'm glad to be done!