Day 4 : Deer Creek Crossing

Wednesday July 2, 2014
15.3 Miles Today
82 Total Miles

I was hiking by six this morning. There is something grace filled about the early morning. The sacred silence of the morning. The sun is still behind the ridge but all nature knows of it's impending appearance. It's as if the world is holding its breath. The birds await in silent anticipation of the new day. I walk through the tunnel of green the pine needles virtually silent beneath my tread. The sun rises it's gaze above the distant peak and the earth breaks forth in song. It is a holy time, precious and for the most part unrecognized for the glorious event that occurs every morning. Thank you God for this new day. Help me to live it in anticipation of your glorious return.

There is no one right way to backpack but there is a whole lot of wrong ways. I have made many mistakes and learned what not to do. I have also learned from others mistakes. It's a lot less painful to learn from the mistakes of others. Although the knowledge I have gained from my own seems to be more precious, more dearly bought. I guess perhaps it's because the price was so much higher. Every hiker is at a different place on there journey. Granted we might be physically at the same spot, but the baggage they are carrying is different from my own burden. The art of love is helping people to let go of their stuff without telling them stuff they may not be ready to hear. That probably has application for life too.

Made it to Red's Meadow by 9:30 am. Found the fabled vortex between the cafe and the store. A host of PCT hikers loitering about chatting and enjoying the morning. Apparently they get trapped in these things spinning around and around without making any forward progress. 

I shipped my microspikes home since I am tired of carrying them without any real need or opportunity to use them. I got my resupply food loaded into my pack. Then I had lunch at Schat's Bakery, fresh turkey on a Ciabatta roll, wow! I got a whole sandwich and had half of it wrapped to go. I ate the second half waiting for the trolley back to the Mammoth Mountain lodge. At the lodge I stopped at the Starbucks and got an iced venti vanilla latte. 

On one of the three busses I had to take to get back to Red's Meadow I met White Jeep and Seminole. White Jeep is the software engineer behind the Half Mile App that I have installed on iPhone. It was cool to listen to his stories of how he supported his wife, Seminole, on both her AT thru-hike and her PCT thru-hike. That was the fasted bus ride of the whole day. 

I asked Seminole if she is planning on doing the CDT. My impression was that she is considering it. Completing that thru-hike would earn her the prestigious and coveted Triple Crown. I hope she makes the decision and does it. That will give White Jeep a lot more high altitude miles on his tandem bike.

The whole resupply process was completed by 1:30 pm. I got off the shuttle at the Devil's Postpile stop and did the Postpile walk too. What's a couple of extra miles when you are walking over two hundred? I hiked to Deer Creek Crossing to see if I could meet up with Suzanne and Dennis. 

They are a couple about my age that are hiking the JMT in three weeks instead of the two weeks I have alloted myself. I met them on the trail on my way down to Red's Meadow. This is Suzanne's first time on the trail so she's a newbie like me. Dennis did the trail in thirteen days which is faster than I am doing it, so this is his second JMT trip. I met them about one mile from the place we have both decided to camp. 

Deer Creek Crossing is aptly named

My shoes after four days on the trail