Day 22: To Red's Meadow

July 31, 2009

The temperature got down to 50F overnight. Wonderful! Was it really 105F a few days ago? At 6:30 AM I went to the hot spring for an early morning soak. 5 people were already there. I suspect they slept in their cars.

Early morning telephoto view from Crowley hot spring. The balloon was miles away.

I got on the road at 8:15. First I took a short detour to Hilltop hot spring because it's close to Benton Crossing road. There are many hot springs in the Long Valley Caldera, but the others are less convenient and usually too hot.

Hilltop hot spring. The water was so hot I could only stay in for a short time.

Benton Crossing road returning to US 395.

Mammoth Mountain. The ski slopes are on the opposite (north) side. In the center is a hazy view of the Minarets.

A few miles north on US 395 I turned west on the big road to the town of Mammoth Lakes. Everybody calls it simply "Mammoth". 50 years ago it wasn't even a town, but now it has a year round population of 8000. Much more in the winter because it's California's largest ski resort. I stocked up on groceries and had lunch at an Italian cafe. Then I continued west through town. Uphill all the way.

Mammoth was unusually crowded because this weekend is a big blues/microbrew festival, and also a separate art festival. Camping near Mammoth would be impossible, but I didn't plan to camp there anyway. Hopefully the festival crowds won't spill over to Red's Meadow. I stopped at the National Forest visitor center and the ranger suggested that I get to Red's Meadow as quickly as possible to make sure I get a campsite. He said even the hiker/biker site fills up.

New development in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California's largest ski resort.

The Mammoth exit is at 7200 feet elevation. The road climbs continuously from there. The middle of town is 7600 feet elevation. The main ski lift is 8600 feet elevation. During the summer the Mammoth ski area is a mountain bike park. While climbing to the ski lift I was passed by many buses towing an open trailer that holds 40 bikes.

Earthquake fissure. The Mammoth area is in the geologically active Long Valley Caldera.

After the ski lift the road climbs very steeply for a mile to 9100-foot Minaret pass. At the summit I took the spur road farther up to the Minarets overlook. At 9265 feet elevation it's the highest I went on the bike during this tour. The sun angle was poor for pictures of the Minarets, so I'll take a picture on my way back to Mammoth.

Wooly Mammoth sculpture and Mammoth's main ski lift.

Beyond the summit the road is closed during winter and has restricted access during summer. Day visitors must ride a shuttle bus from the ski lift parking lot to Red's Meadow and Devil's Postpile. People camping in the area are permitted to drive there. Bikes are permitted any time. The road is restricted because the first 3 miles of the descent is only 1 lane. I'm now west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada, where the water flows west towards the Pacific ocean. It looks different from the east side. The trees are tall and dense.

Road to Red's Meadow. It's definitely not the eastern Sierra.

The forested descent to Red's Meadow took me past several forest service campgrounds, but I wanted to go to the end of the road to Red's Meadow because it's near the trails to Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls. Plus, the Red's Meadow campground has a hiker site, free hot spring showers, and a store and restaurant 1/4 mile away. The campground is 7400 feet elevation.

I arrived at 3:30PM. The temperature was only 72F (hot weather is becoming a distant memory). The hiker camp is divided into 3 sites that each cost $20 per night. But they allow multiple hikers at each site. Enough hikers showed up to split the $20 fee 3 ways.

As expected I was the only cyclist. But there were about 10 backpackers. Red's Meadow is on both the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a major resupply point for both trails. I talked to the backpackers and every one of them was hiking the entire length of the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal. Fast hikers can do it in 3 weeks. Most of the hikers were the ultralight type, with packs weighing only 30 pounds. I had long conversations with Paul, a more traditional backpacker who is a retired physicist from Baton Rouge Louisiana. He was the only one with a real tent. The others used tarps. Being on a long expedition myself, I had much in common with the backpackers.

I took advantage of the hot spring showers. There are 6 showers and the place was busy nearly all day and night. There are hundreds of campsites in the area and this is the only shower. People drove there from miles around. I didn't have to go far because the showers are across the road from the hiker campsites.

Hot spring bath house at the Red's Meadow campground.

The shower is rustic, but it's free and the hot water never runs out.

Once again today's distance was short but the climbing was substantial. This morning I woke up in a desert basin east of the Sierra Nevada mountains and tonight I'm camped among tall pines high on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. I plan to stay here two nights and hike tomorrow.

Distance: 32.3 mi (51.7 km)

Climbing: 2881 ft (873 m)

Average speed: 8.0 mph (12.8 km/h)

Max speed: 33 mph (53 km/h)

Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 1,012 miles (1,629 km)

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