Time to Go -Travel Day

Friday, July 11th, 2014 

Travel Day

Finally after a year of dreaming and planning part one of my adventure is underway. I had an easy flight into Reno from home. Nice and smooth. Flying will hopefully be the scariest part of this entire journey. I did not enjoy it at all! At least no more planes for 21 days.

Now that I am here in Reno I have about two hours before I catch my bus to Lee Vining. I hope that I am waiting in the correct place, I would really hate to miss the bus!  While sitting here waiting for the bus I just saw my first JMT hiker's, recognizable by the yellow Scotland bandannas (from the JMT Hiker's book group) tied to the back of their packs. I made a comment to them about “nice bandannas” then help my pack to show I was a kindred soul. Not sure that they made the connection as they walked into the terminal. By the time the bus arrived I met five backpackers; the two from earlier, Don and Karen from Connecticut, and three others heading to the JMT for a week long outing.  Don was planning to do a yo-yo of the JMT

Arrived into Lee Vining at 5 PM. The ride was not bad. It was nice just to sit back and watch the scenery go by. The first few of Mono Lake was amazing. We came in from the opposite side of the lake that Karen and I came in from on my other trip here, 10 years ago. Unfortunately arriving from this side of the lake I missed the fun roller coaster road, that I had been looking forward to.

It was a short walk from the bus stop to the Murphy’s Motel in Lee Vining, where I had reserved a room for the night.  After getting settled in, my first chore was to find a fuel canister for my stove.  The only gear shop in town had them in stock, though a little pricey, $10.95 for a small canister (side note - the canister are available and cheaper in the valley). On the way back to the hotel I stopped for dinner at Bodie Mike’s Bar-B-Que.  Very tasty!  Had to have a Sierra Nevada on draft, just to celebrate making it here.

Back at the hotel I emptied my duffel bag and re-packed my backpack.  I decided to leave a few items behind, to save weight. I will mail the bag and left gear to Whitney Portal to pick up after the trip. The whole night I had a smile across my face. After over a year of planning, I am finally here!  The only disappointment was that the ice cream store across the street closed earlier than I thought it would, so I missed out on the treat I had been anticipating.