June 17, Day 59: 866.0-874.5
Miles Hiked: 8.5 PCT miles, 8.5 miles to VVR
Gratitude of the Day: I’m thankful for tiny oasis’s that cater to specific groups. Vermilion Valley Resort is just that place.
This morning I didn’t want to get out of my tent, everyone else was packing up and I could see the swarm of mosquitoes outside the tent. So I packed as much as I could in my tent and then took the plunge. This morning was another beautiful morning but the cloud of blood suckers that followed me down trail made it near impossible to enjoy and stop to “smell the roses”. At mid morning I had to cross another larger stream, Baewatch, Col. Sanders and Catch all did the “rock hop method”, I chose to just take the shoes and socks off and wade across barefoot so my shoes and socks wouldn’t get soaked.
The rest of the morning was kind of a blur as I did my best to out run the cloud of blood suckers. Even with Deet and a bug shirt they were so obnoxious, like a psychological torture test with their incessant buzzing. Finally after 8.5 miles I reached the cut off to Vermilion Valley Resort, this trail too was 8.5 mile… only half done with the day but my legs were so tired from all the past days passes. At 2pm I finally reached VVR, the lake that usually had a ferry to whisk thru hikers to the resort wasn’t running and it was evident why, the lake is basically nonexistent, its so low.
Once I arrived, it was a free beer, I ordered a burger and enjoyed the company of the other hikers. Then it was shower and laundry time which was absolutely amazing. The staff at VVR are amazing and so accommodating to hikers. The rest of the day consisted of just hanging out with Knee Deep, Bang, Motorcycle Momma, and Anchor. Then it’s a “late” night to bed at 11:30. The Salty Butt Bandits are all streaming in and tomorrow morning everyone should be here. Then it’ll be some rest for everyone before we head back up the mountains to Red Meadows and Mammoth.
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