Mammoth Lakes to Tuolumne Meadows

DAY 75 (July 15)
To Tentsite Mile 920
13.5 miles

Spent some time catching up on emails using the store's WiFi and chatted with fellow hikers passing through the camp. I didn't hit the trail until around 11 a.m.

During the day, the heat became quite intense, making the hike quite challenging.

The trail took me through a forest that, to be honest, wasn't the most exciting, and the relentless mosquitos made it even less enjoyable.

However, I stumbled upon a cozy tent site with some delightful views of a nearby mountain range, which made the day's journey worthwhile.

DAY 76 (July 16)
To mile 936 (Vogelsang Junction)
16 miles

In the morning it was just the birds and me, no one packing, snoring or heading out of camp early. Stayed in my sleeping bag for quite a while although I was awake.

Walking was more interesting and enjoyable than yesterday. My first stop was 1000 Island Lake for a short break, another crystal-clear lake with snow-covered mountains in the background.

I hardly noticed Island Pass which I passed shortly after, rather a saddle than a pass.

Lunch break at Donahue Pass (which required some steep climbs and passing some snow but nothing unexpected). Lovely sunshine and beautiful views at the top, perfect place for a little nap.

There were quite a few marmots around and a very curious even tried to get into my pack which was leaning against a rock just 0.5 metres away from me. 

Once I was down walked through a meadow. I love walking through Meadows late afternoon. Felt like I was the only one; all so peaceful and dipped into a nice soft light.

At some point, I put down my backpack to drink and suddenly saw a female deer very close. About 5 metres away. It continued grazing and slowly stepped further away without really looking at me. After staring for a while I turned around to put my pack back on when I saw a stag sitting at the other side of the river just in front of me! It seemed young still but had a beautiful antler already. It was lying there, looking at me and munching something, with no intention to move at all.

Camped a bit later by a river at the end of the meadow about 5 miles from Tuolumne Meadows.

DAY 77 (July 17)
To Tuolumne Meadows
P.O5 miles

I should have known that camping beside a river results in being cold in a damp sleeping bag in the morning. I had breakfast inside my tent and then packed as fast as possible to start moving. It was a nice morning despite the cold; the meadow was still covered with frost.

It took me 2.5 hours to walk the 5 miles to Tuolumne Meadows. I had to stop quite a few times to look at all the birds and chipmunks hopping around on the trail.

The small store and restaurant were busy as it was a Sunday. Meet Bubble Boy who successfully exchanged his broken Osprey pack for a brand-new one Mammoth.

After talking to a PCT hiker who had been to Yosemite Valley and some weekend hikers, I decided to do a day trip to the valley tomorrow.

DAY 78 (July 18)
Day trip to Yosemite Valley
0 miles

Had a quick breakfast before heading to the store to forward my box to South Lake Tahoe. The guy at the post office said that they were just about to return the box and that it would be better to call in case of delay. Guess it would be a good idea to do that with my box (last one) at Sierra City. If only I had reception!

Took the bus at 10h15 to the valley which was a 1h45 ride. There were a lot of cars and people already once the bus arrived in the valley but still OK. I was so hungry again that I first had to go to the diner to get something to eat. All quite pricey but found an affordable Danish. Regular boring sandwiches were 6.50 dollars, so real tourist prices. 

Took the shuttle to the waterfalls from where there is also a beautiful view of the Half Dome. Taking the second shuttle passing El Capitan was not as good as expected as there was not such a good view from the bus and I did not have time to get off the bus really. Should have rather walked from the lodge over the swinging bridge and then back to the visitor center which was much closer than it looked on the map. Still a nice trip though to get an overview and definitely worth coming back for some hiking. Walking up to the very top of the waterfall and seeing the water flowing over the edge must be breathtaking.

Coming back to the campground, a German family from Dresden had set up their tent just beside mine. They were on a trip through California and were about to do a short 3-day hike before heading over to San Francisco. We talked for a while and they invited me for a nice (camping) family dinner including dessert. Really nice!