Day 175: mile 925.9-942.5 (Tuolumne Meadows/Mammoth Lakes)
This morning was my first on-trail meltdown. …2400 miles in, thats pretty good I’d say. I don’t think I would’ve been full on crying if it wasn’t so damn cold. Although I could list about 10 things that went wrong this morning. Everything just seemed to all come together on this one day and push me over the edge. Everyone has a breaking point, I guess mine is freezing cold with a chance of diarrhea. Oh, I should mention my water filter froze and my back up Aqua Mira leaked, hence the possibility of diarrhea. I think what bothered me most is I feared this is how cold it would be for the remaining 230 miles and I wasn’t prepared for that. The thought of anything stopping me at this point definitely had me extremely upset as you can imagine.
I finally calmed myself down enough to pack up and get moving. I decided I would haul it as fast as I could to Tuolumne Meadows and hope for a ride into town. Lee Vinning and Mammoth Lakes weren’t too far from the trail. The only question at this point, is the road back open? I know it was closed due to the snow. Add it to my list of worries, yay!
I made it to a bit of sunshine and service where I called my Mom and sister and started crying again telling them all about my ordeal. Which was honestly a mistake, it didn’t help me at all and it worried them. These are not the times you call family, these are the times you call someone who gets it and will tell you it’s just a bad day.
While I had service I discovered it had been about 5 degrees last night. This actually made me feel so much better, maybe the 15 degrees it’s supposed to warm up to in a few days is doable. Meanwhile, it’s only going to be around 7 tonight, so I gotta get to this damn highway if I don’t want a repeat of last night/this morning.
The top of Donahue Pass was cold and windy, so I didn’t sit and enjoy like I usually do, but it was beautiful. No doubt, I’ll be back to this spot to fill it with some warmer memories in the future.
On my way down my bear can took a fall off the top of my pack, which I had been fearing ever since I moved it from inside. Luckily I wasn’t on the side of a cliff or anything, so it didn’t go too far. Can you imagine if that had happened today on top of everything else?
The sunshine stayed out for most of the day, fully defrosting me, and the idea of a warm hotel room motivated me to move faster than I had in a while (it was also pretty flat in this section). Yet, somehow the closer I got to the highway the more I questioned my need to stop into town. The miles (and sunshine) made me forget just how absolutely miserable I woke up this morning. I knew better though. I knew the Green Light freezing in her tent tonight in 7 degree weather would want to smack me right now for passing up the opportunity to sleep in a warm bed. Plus I needed to buy gloves and a new filter.
I made it to the highway and stuck out my thumb. No problem, had a ride within 10 minutes. The road was open and busy-ish. This wonderful couple will probably never know just how thankful I am that they picked me up on one of the most emotionally challenging days on the trail. They gave me the best pear I’ve ever eaten and were kind enough to drop me at a hotel in Mammoth Lakes.
I opened the door to the room with a smile on my face from ear-to-ear and knew I had 100% made the right decision. I took a hot shower and ordered enough food for 2 people. So happy right now!
Goodnight!
XOXO Green Light