Day 56- Zero Day In Bishop

June 27, 2016

Bishop, CA 0 Miles Hiked

I always wish that zero days were more relaxing. After going so long without cell phone service I spent the entire day catching up on blog posts, phone calls, and logistical aspects of this hike. We stayed up way too late last night and everyone agreed to sleep in. Once we woke up we decided to take a zero day. I talked to the owner of the motel about cutting us a deal for a second night. We had brought in a good deal of business for him, so agreed to take $10 off of the room. I was hoping to get him to take $20 off, but in the end we were just happy to save $10. We went across the street to McDonalds for breakfast. It was cheap and greasy and we didn't expect much else out of it. I needed to replace some of my gear that had crapped out over this last stretch so I went to check out the outfitters in town. Bishop is perfectly situated to have a large outdoor community. They have two major outfitters in town. The first, Wilsons Sports, had a large selection of clothing and gear marketed to climbers and hikers. I was able to trade out my Darn Tough socks for a new pair for no charge. Darn Tough has an amazing lifetime guarantee!!! I also bought a new bag for my water filtration system. Sawyer is a great company and I love my Sawyer  Squeeze, but the bags tend to break down after several hundred miles. I definitely feel like I got my monies worth since it lasted over 700 miles. 

Our next stop was a coffee shop. I like to support local small businesses while I'm on the trail. I could have gotten a cheap coffee at McDonalds, but it would have been exactly that, cheap coffee. The Looney Bean was a neat little coffee shop. I had a wake up shake, which was pretty much a smoothie with espresso beans. It was really good. 

Next I checked out the second outfitter, Sage to Summit. It was an amazing store. The owner, Karen, really understands hikers. She carried all kinds of ultralight gear from many of the small cottage industry companies. She had ULA Equipment, Hyperlight Mountain Gear, and a few others. She carried Hammer nutrition products, which is a great company for hydration and nutrition. The store had these amazing trucker style hats done by a local artist. I really wanted to buy one, but I always hike in a Florida Gators hat. It is my good luck charm and no matter how badly I need and want a new hat it seems like bad form to change now. 

Karen of Sage to Summit

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find a computer to use. The library was closed and I really needed a computer to upload a few GoPro videoes and to make some changes to my blog. I finally got the PO box set up to accept care packages and donations. I needed to add a tab to my blog with the updated information. I pretty much went to every business in town and said, hello I'm hiking the pct. I need access to a computer and the library is closed. Can you help me?" The Holiday Inn Express was in the middle of a remodel and their business center was closed. The La Quinta wouldn't let me use their business center. The other motels didn't have guest computers. I finally found one place that gave me twenty minutes of time. Thank you to the Best Weatern Creekside Inn. I was able to get one of my tasks done. You can know find the donations/care packages tab at the top of my blog. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon back at the motel going through my gear and repackaging my food. I also had several blog posts that needed to be written. I was a bad blogger and got behind after our Mt. Whitney trip. By the time I was caught up it was getting late and I still hadn't eaten dinner or watched the Game of Thrones season finale. 

I decided to get dinner at the barbecue restaurant. It was about a half a mile walk, but totally worth it. I got a southern style baked potato, which had a dry rub on it with spicy pulled pork topped with baked macaroni and cheese. My mouth waters just thinking about it again. 

I feel rested and ready to go again. Hopefully Zuul and I will have time tomorrow morning to watch Game of Thrones. A special shoutout to my mom, The General, for putting her world famous brownies into my resupply box. They were delicious and the Wolf Pack enjoyed them immensely. 

Nothing tastes better than The General's brownies before bed 

Breath is the finest gift of nature. Be grateful for this wonderful gift.

Amit Ray