JMT Rest Days #4 and #5 (Trail Days #10 and #11 ). Vermilion Valley Resort. August 14 and 15, 2014

Had we stuck with our original schedule, we would have arrived at the lake's ferry landing this evening instead of the previous night.  We now found ourselves in the wonderful position of having two days of rest ahead of us instead of one.  This was fortuitous, since it gave Sage even more time to get over her cold/virus.  She now looked and acted 100% normal, but every once in a while she'd let loose with a 200 decibel cough.  Extra rest time couldn't hurt, given her situation.

We woke early and took our things to the ferry landing which, due to the drought, was in the middle of the lake bed.

In past years, Vermilion Valley Resort used an actual ferryboat to transport JMT/PCT hikers across the lake.  Now, unfortunately, there isn't enough water in the lake to support a large boat, so the good people at VVR use a small motorboat instead.

There's room for four or five people in the boat.  We shared our ride with two gentlemen who had camped at the intersection with the JMT (instead of on the lake bed).  They'd had an interesting evening...two bears roam the campground by that intersection, and one had tried to intimidate the fellows out of their dinner.  One of the fellows threw a rock at the bruin. The rock missed its mark, but Yogi got the message and left.

The boat ride was fun -- Alex and Sage took a million pictures and enjoyed themselves immensely.

An eagle flew overhead (my photo's terrible, sorry) --

A helicopter kept flying to the lake, dipping its giant bucket into the water, and flying off again.  Apparently, there was a fire nearby...

The water no longer reaches the resort.  The boat therefore takes you as far as it can, then the driver puts you into a white van.  You sit on milk crates and hold onto whatever you're able as the van bumps and rocks over the lake bed toward VVR.  The girls thought this was even more fun than the boat ride.

We arrived at the resort in fine spirits.

Front of VVR

VVR's hang-out space, close to the hiker buckets

Outside eating area

Display by the front door

The girls and I looked through the hiker buckets.  We took toilet paper and various hard candies, and I donated a bottle of sunblock.

I went inside and met the owner, Jim, while the girls hung about outside and indulged in the sweets.  Though we were about five hours early, Jim had our reserved room ready.

Our room, which cost about the same as the room we'd had at Reds Meadow Resort, was lovely.  It was much cleaner and cozier than what we'd had at Reds.

Outside, we had our own patio, grill, and fire ring.  We were extremely happy with these accommodations!

The lake used to extend all the way to the resort -- check out the dry lake bed in the photos below.

The normal ferry boat rests where the water used to be.

The girls and I spent our two days at VVR resting, eating the DELICIOUS homemade, home-grown food (the meals are seriously wonderful!!), and playing various board games.  Sage's cough diminished, but never fully went away.  We'd be hanging out, having fun, when she'd suddenly erupt into a cough and frighten everyone around her.  Other that that, she seemed happy and healthy.

Sage builds structures out of dominoes.

Alex writes in her journal.

The highlight of Sage's time at VVR was her discovery of that old game, Risk.  We spent four hours playing one afternoon.  Sage absolutely relished her attempts at world domination.

Sage discovers her inner Napoleon.

Blood ties be damned, Sage is taking over the world.

Fortunately for Alex and me, Sage's strategy of attacking everyone no matter what, even with a tiny army, didn't pay off.  She kept trying to take over well-armed territories with minimal troops, so she quickly lost most of her battles.  She loved fighting everyone anyway, and she asked for this game for Christmas.

By the time we left, Sage was 99% better (she still had that occasional cough), and we'd met some new-to-us thru-hikers and touched base with a few folks we'd already met.  By the time the morning of the 16th rolled around, we felt completely rejuvenated and ready to get back on the trail.

Next entry -- JMT Hiking Day #7, VVR to Sallie Keyes Lakes, -- will be posted within five or six days.  Wish I could crank out all these entries at once, but the girls and I are swamped with homeschooling responsibilities and obligations.  Also, Alex and I will hopefully finish the Trailwrights hiking list soon (weather permitting).

I'll post another gear review entry late tomorrow evening.

JMT Hiking Day #6 (Trail Day #9): Mosquito Flats (Mammoth Lakes) to VVR Ferry Landing at Lake Edison. August 13, 2014

Mosquito Flats (trailhead south of Mammoth Lakes, CA) to VVR Ferry Landing (Lake Edison).
About 19 miles with roughly 2000 feet of elevation gain.

We awoke early the next morning with a solid couple of plans in hand.  Plan A -- If Sage's oxygen saturation was high, and if she showed no signs of impending demise, then we would hike up and over Mono Pass (the route suggested by the doctor) and head toward Lake Edison.  This plan would put us very high very fast, since the trailhead rests at 10,000 feet and Mono Pass is at 12,045 feet.  However, the high altitude hiking occurs only in the first 3.5 miles, and the rest of the day is a descent to 7700 feet.  If Sage did well, but showed signs of weakness later in the day, well...we'd be descending at that point anyway, and we'd be heading toward Vermilion Valley Resort.  Plan B -- If Sage's oxygen saturation was low, or if we began the hike and she looked/felt awful at high altitude, then we'd spend another day in Mammoth Lakes.

Few people were at the hospital when we arrived at 6am.

The kind ER folks let us in and checked Sage's oxygen saturation.  98%.  That, plus her cheery disposition and general health, tipped the scales in favor of us getting back on the trail.

I called a cab and we waited in the empty hospital...

The cab ride was half an hour long and cost about $55 -- again, if any of you folks need to visit Mammoth Lakes, and you need to get back on the trail quickly, then this is the way to do it.  It's not for the purists -- you will skip a bit of the official JMT.  However, if you find yourself in the same position we were in -- needing time off, but also needing to stay on schedule because of paid-for, nonrefundable reservations -- then this is the route to take.  Read on...

The taxi dropped us off at Mosquito Flats (near Rock Creek, south of Mammoth Lakes) and we began our ascent.  Sage seemed fine, though her cough persisted a bit.  There were no other symptoms, however, and she looked and felt good.  Up we went.

Mono Creek Trail ascends past beautiful Ruby Lake...

...and then continues up switchbacks toward the pass.  I made sure we stopped often to drink plenty of water. Both girls seemed fine.  Sage acted like she was back in tip-top hiking shape (though she did cough every once in a while).

We reached the top of the pass...and felt like we were on the moon.  It was so peaceful...and quiet!

The path ahead looked very different from the path we had just traveled.  As you can see in the photo below, the color green showed up...our descent would take us into the valley's forest, and we'd continue to hike down through that forest for the rest of the day.

Feelin' fine.

We walked at a steady pace down, down, down, toward the intersection with the JMT, toward Lake Edison.  Most of the path looked like the scene in the photo above.  Every once in a while, we'd come across a massive tree...

We reached the intersection with the JMT around 5pm -- Sage felt great, and we were thrilled to be back on the official trail.

Once on the John Muir Trail, we found ourselves within a bubble of thru-hikers who were planning on staying at a nearby camping area.  These folks weren't visiting Vermilion Valley Resort, so there was no reason for them to hike the 1.4 additional miles to the lake.  The girls and I decided to continue onward and camp close to the ferry landing, so we could get to VVR first thing the following morning.  We'd then be almost a full day ahead of schedule, thanks to our 19-mile day on the Mono Creek Trail.  We'd then have two days to rest at VVR (where we had reservations) before heading back out on the JMT.

(I heard later that two bears roam that camping area at the JMT/Lake Edison intersection...one tried to intimidate some hikers into giving it food...so backpackers, beware).

The California drought is so bad that the lake now looks like this...here's where the ferry landing used to be...

Hikers now need to walk across the dry lake bed for what feels like a mile or so.  We finally found water and the American flag that marks the pick-up point.  We picked a flat-ish section of sand on the lake bed, not too far from the pick-up spot, and set up the tent.

Here's the view from our campsite, toward what's left of the lake...

It had been a long day, but both girls felt strong and Sage showed no signs of imminent demise.  We ate, got ready for bed, watched the sunset, and retired for the evening.

Next post -- Vermilion Valley Resort.