JMT Rest Day #3 (Trail Day #8): Mammoth Lakes Hospital. August 12, 2014

Sage's cough persisted even after two days of rest at Reds Meadow Resort, so I thought it best to have her checked out by a doctor before continuing as planned.  From Reds, we took a shuttle into Mammoth Lakes, where we then took a bus that dropped us off right in front of the hospital.  The entire commute, including waiting time, took about an hour and a half.

We entered the ER and Sage's vitals were checked.  Her oxygen saturation was 90%, which was troubling to me since we'd been at low altitude for two days...what had been her saturation level three days ago, while we were up high, when she was having trouble breathing...?  The doctor ordered x-rays, which showed healthy lungs.  He then stated that she may or may not have been experiencing the onset of HAPE three days ago -- regardless, she did not have HAPE now.  Her x-rays cleared her of bronchitis and pneumonia...so her cough was probably due to a virus.  He advised another day of rest, then, after another oxygen check at the hospital first thing the next morning, Sage could continue on the JMT if her oxygen saturation was high enough and if she felt willing and able.

Another day of rest made complete sense, and I was more than happy to follow that advice.  However, we had reservations at Vermilion Valley Resort and Muir Trail Ranch, and therefore we had a schedule I wanted to keep, if keeping it was at all possible.  Thankfully, the doctor who treated Sage was also an avid hiker.  I showed him my map and he explained how we could get back on the JMT without going back up to Reds.  In the morning, assuming Sage was well, we could take a cab to Mosquito Flats (half an hour south of Mammoth Lakes) and take the Mono Creek Trail west, over Mono Pass, until it intersected with the JMT 2.8 miles from Lake Thomas Edison.  Yes, this would mean trading a day and a half's hike on the JMT for a day's hike on Mono Creek Trail, but we'd end up where we'd want to be exactly on schedule, AND Sage would get her extra day of rest.  Though the girls and I are purists at heart, this plan sounded just fine given the circumstances.  I checked into a nearby hotel, bought the girls a million liters of their favorite drinks, and joined them in an afternoon of vegging in front of the television.

Sage was indeed a thousand times better the next morning, and we did take the good doctor's advice and hike over Mono Pass.  In fact, we made it all the way to Lake Edison and slept next to Vermilion Valley Resort's ferry landing the very next evening.  I'll describe that day in my next post.

If anyone has to take a day off in Mammoth Lakes and needs to quickly catch up on the JMT so they can be where they're supposed to be for the purposes of keeping paid-for reservations, then Mono Pass/Mono Creek Trail is the way to do it.  I'll describe the route -- which is GORGEOUS -- in my next post, which will hopefully be up by late Friday evening.