June 6, 2007

It snowed last night and my tent was coated with a layer of fluffy white powder which looked like Dippin Dots ice cream.  Underneath my rain fly I could see the crystal white ground covering.  The temperature was in the teens.  Brrrr!  I really was in no rush to get moving this morning.  I collected some snow from outside my tent and boiled some water.  This was much easier than getting out of my snug sleeping bag and walking to the creek which was 100 yards away.  I cooked instant mashed potatoes for breakfast and was hoping to drink water from my bladder.  My bladder was frozen though so I just ate and planned to drink when my bladder thawed.  I put on my trailrunners before exiting my tent.  My feet were freezing because my shoes were frozen solid!  I took down my tent and packed up some of my gear with frozen fingers and rock-hard frozen feet. 

I decided to take a short walk to try to defrost my shoes and feet.  I visited 30-30 inside his tent and he suggested I wear two pairs of socks and my Crocs.  I followed his advice and borrowed one pair of his men's size socks. I added my Yak Traks to my Crocs and had the perfect pair of hiking shoes.  Fireball added an ice cube to his morning cereal which seemed sort of funny.  Clara and Patrick were not going into Independence, CA so I gave them my extra food and two canisters of fuel which they very much appreciated.  30-30 carried out their garbage.  I gave Clara a huge hug before I began my morning hike somewhere around 8:00 a.m.

Fireball, 30-30 and I hiked up to Kearsarge Pass (an elevation of 10,710 feet) which was breezy but amazingly beautiful.  Going down I made a little snowman and used rocks for the eyes and nose and twigs for the arms.  I pitched some snowballs to 30-30 for his shot at some snow baseball as Fireball looked on.  30-30 used his hiking poles as a bat.

We hiked to the trailhead where Hot Chocolate was waiting for us.  She drove us to Independence where 30-30 and I checked into the Courthouse Motel.  I cleaned my face with a white washcloth which turned brown and we all went to Subway for a sandwich.  I picked up my food box and bounce pail at the post office.  After which I shopped for some drinks and bubble bath.  I soaked for a very long time in Mr. Bubble...ahhhhh!

30-30 and I did a pre-rinse of our laundry and 30-30 used his hiking poles to mix and stir the murky bath water.  We repeated the process several times and threw all of our rinsed laundry into a bag.  30-30 and I hitched a ride 15 miles away to Lone Pine to eat at the Merry-Go-Round Restaurant where I dined on a filet mignon.  Geek showed up which was great fun.  We all walked across the street to the grocery store where I purchased eight boxes and bags of Jelly Belly jelly beans.  30-30 and I hitched back to Independence with a young Russian.  I tried to update my journals but fell asleep immediately.  My past week of hiking has been exhausting, but so rewarding.