Day 66- Zero Day in Mammoth Lakes

July 07, 2016

Mammoth Lakes, CA 0 Miles 

Mammoth Lakes is a fantastic title resort town. I enjoyed my zero immensely. It was everything that I had hoped VVR would be. I slept in, slightly. Everyone congregated in the kitchen area and Second Dinner, a.k.a Shaka, cooked us breakfast. He made some delicious breakfast burritos. After everyone had their fill we straighten up the condo. 

We all headed out at about the same time to run out town errands. Sprinkles, Homegrown, and I went to do laundry. There was a coffee shop right next door to the laundromat so we hungout there while we waited for the laundry to finish. I worked on my blog and called home. It is always nice to talk to my parents. Once the laundry was done we walked to the outfitters to look at gear we really didn't need. It is like a sick obsession. Every time we get to a new town we always go to the outfitters. They had a great selection and I limited myself to buying Pro Bar Base Bars. They are really expensive for bars, but they taste oh so good. I ran into Juicy, Skippy, and Mixed Tape. They got a fancy air bnb and are taking a double zero. That is a shame because I was looking forward to hiking with them to Touloumne Meadows. 

Giving the friendly bear some lovin 

These bears were everywhere

After the outfitters I went to, Vons grocery store, to resupply. I only needed food for two and a half days, but I bought way more. Vons is a proper grocery store and my next stop will be at a small convenience store. I bought stuff for the next section that I didn't think I would find in the smal store. All of these chores took awhile. I reconnected with Sprinkles and Homegrown for lunch. We found a small Latino market that served food. Places like this always have the best tacos and burritos. I bought four tacos(they were small) and a soda. We ate outside and planned out the rest of our afternoon. 

I wanted to go to the post office to send home my ice axe and microspikes(yay!). Sprinkles and Homegrown needed to stop by the motel 6. Luckily they were next door to one another, so we stuck together. It felt so good to send home the mountaineering equipment. It was almost three pounds out of my pack. I also sent home my desert shirt and a few rocks that I had collected. We hopped on the trolley to go back to the condo. We were about halfway home when I realized that I forgot to put something in the box I mailed home. Doh! Last week I found a lower section for a hiking pole sticking in the ground on the trail. It was exactly the same type of lower section that my hiking pole uses. This is a twenty dollar piece of equipment and Black Diamond, my trekking pole company, is currently out of stock. If I happen to break a pole this could really come in handy. I've been carrying it for the last week with the intention of sending it home with my ice axe because they both need a bigger box than I usually use to ship things home in. Long story short(not exactly lol) I had to get off of the trolley and wait twenty minutes for the next one to arrive to take me back to the post office. The PO was getting ready to close when I arrived. The line was absolutely ridiculous. The postal worker was very friendly and retrieved my box so I could add in the hiking pole. I do like to make things difficult for myself sometimes. 

When I finally got back to the condo I walked into a loud party. There were about twenty hikers drinking and playing Cards Against Humanity. I didn't know most of them. Instead of joining in I decided to go upstairs and finish my town chores. I had to repackage my food and put it into my bear vault, download some new music and podcasts, write a blog post, and sew up a hole in my gaiter. 

I had just finished my chores when Homegrown and Sprinkles invited me to go to the brewery. As we were getting ready to leave we found out that it was closed for the evening. Apparently their sewer line had burst. We boarded the trolley without a specific destination in mind. The trolley driver suggested that we go to a nano brewery instead. It was a great recommendation. Black Doubt Brewery was excellent. It was a small hole in the wall location with great beer. I had a porter and a sour that were both fantastic. 

Sprinkles, Homegrown, Powder, Kristen, and myself 

I hadn't eaten dinner yet and the brewery didn't serve food. The bartender suggested the diner next door and allowed me to bring my dinner back to the bar. I ordered a chicken burrito and enjoyed it with my sour. We had a great night out. 

Dinner

We got back to the condo around ten o'clock. While Homegrown and Sprinkles cooked dinner I researched sleeping bags. Sprinkles has been cold most nights and is in the market for a new sleeping bag. I enjoy looking at gear so I volunteered to do some legwork for her. Eventually it got really late and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I tried to go to bed, but the rest of the crew came home and were being really loud. I put my earplugs in and finally drifted off to sleep. 

I would like to thank a few of my blog followers and new friends. Arlene Williams sent me a dunkin donuts gift card for my birthday later this month. Thank you, Arlene. Chris from Nashville sent me an Amazon gift card. Thanks Chris! I plan on using it to buy some new audiobooks. Wes from Iowa sent me some snacks and a donation. Thanks Wes! You were the first to use my new PO box. I also appreciated the really kind note. Whenever I have a tough day or don't feel like writing a post, Ithink of all of the people who enjoy reading about my adventure. You all make it worthwhile and help to keep me going. I couldn't do it without your support. I enjoy all of the comments and emails that you send me. Keep them coming!!! 

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama