July 12th, 2019
Distance: 11 Miles
Start: Trinity Lakes, Mile 54
Camp: Deer Creek, Mile 65
We started our fourth day on trail with a hot breakfast inside our tent to avoid the mosquitoes. I have never in my life met mosquitoes as persistent and honestly terrifying as the ones we got acquainted with in the Sierras. The spot we had camped at the night before was one of the most mosquito infested, we would put tons of bug spray and Sawyer Picaridin lotion on any exposed skin and then pack up our stuff as fast as humanly possible. We were both happy to get on the trail and we took off with a mileage goal of at least 12 miles in mind.
We were aiming for an afternoon stop at Reds Meadow, our first resupply. I spent the first half of the day fantasizing about a shower (washing your hair is a serious privilege). I had been experiencing some nagging pain in my hips and Achilles, which graduated from annoying to downright gnarly as the day wore on. As we passed Devil’s Postpile, I was limping and starting to get a little nervous that this was something that might not go away, but after a little break and ibuprofen, it was a lot more manageable.
We arrived in Red’s Meadow mid day. It was a hub of activity, busses unloading tourists, hikers pawing through resupply buckets, kids running around hollering. First thing we did was buy a cold can of Coke and pick up our own resupply. It was our first one, and I distinctly remember being so stoked at the amount of peanut M&Ms we had stashed in the bucket.
We struck up some conversation with a few guys from Mexico on their own NOBO journey on the trail. They told some harrowing tales about the amount of snow waiting for us in the southern mountains, and showed us some pictures of their Forester ascent. I thought back on how daunting Donahue was a few days earlier and felt a little embarrassed, and also nervous.
We wrapped up our time at Red’s with a few phone calls, a hot shower, and laundry. We visited with some other folks (one dude proudly showed us a video of a black bear running off with his summer sausage, from further south on the trail), and then hit the trail. Our packs were considerably heavier, but the combo of treats, showers and socializing made our feet feel a lot lighter.
We camped at our favorite campsite of the whole trip that night, Deer Creek, after our first 12 mile day. It was a great day, and best of all, no mosquitoes to attack us as we ate our dinner.
