goodbye, Mammoth

Day 56 ~ miles 906.8 - 917

Everyone awoke fairly early and cleared out of our campsite, scattering in various directions for breakfast, coffee, or to find a ride out of town.  We knew we could get part of the way back to the trail via the public transportation system in Mammoth, which didn't start running until 9.  We got coffee as we watched the minutes slowly tick by and our uneasy feeling grew.  Maybe we were so anxious because of the uncertainty of the future our hike?  Maybe we were just antsy to get out of town?

We took a series of 2 buses to arrive at the Mammoth ski resort, where we promptly stuck our thumbs out.  Within 15 or so minutes, we were in a car with a nice French couple, who kindly went out of their way to drive us all the way to Red's Meadow, where we'd gotten off the trail.  What a relief, though I still had a strange uneasy feeling.

One more indulgence before we got on the trail, we had ice cream, chips, and soda.  I strapped my big, heavy boot onto my pack and we headed back to the trail.  There were so many poorly marked trail junctions that it took us nearly an hour to get on the right track.

We hiked slow, as our morale was low, but luckily the terrain was gentle.  Since the trail was fairly smooth, I decided to try hiking with my boot on.  It worked out surprisingly well, and I ended up hiking about 6 miles in it.  We are camped alone, and I think our  collective mental state has improved slightly.  Tomorrow is a new day!