PCT Hike, MM903 to MM942, Reds Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows

Wednesday: (07/25) Breakfast at The Village. I drove down to the Interagency Information Center to check on the status of the trail in that Yosemite was closed due to a fire near Wawona. No problem but smoke likely. We drove up to Mammoth and they dropped me off for the shuttle. I was on trail from Reds Meadow at noon. I hiked the rest of the day about10 miles and camped above Agnew Meadows at MM916. I was within a mile of the shuttle bus stop #1. Reds is stop #10. Once I was away from Reds the scenery improved. I didn’t go to see either Devil’s Postpile nor Rainbow Falls. I’ll see those another time.

Thursday: (07/26) Up at 0530, on trail 0640. Uneventful climb toward Donahue Pass all day. While it was smoky all day yesterday, I awoke to clear skies. In the afternoon came the usual thunderstorm after which the smoke returned only to be driven back by a later storm. I made it over the pass about 1800 and camped just a little way down at MM930. 14 miles hiked.

Friday: (07/27) Up at 0530, on trail at 0630. I completed the rest of the usual rough downhill from the top of the pass and got down into the trees and nice forests again. It was 14 miles down to Tuolumne Meadows Store where I was to meet Lou and Dawn. There were some nice meadows on the way down and a lot of granite steps as well. I had my permit checked by volunteer rangers on the way. When I got to the store, I had an ice cream cone and a soda while I waited. We headed down to Mammoth Lakes to the Mammoth Brewery for a celebration meal and drinks. At home in Bishop, it was nice to get a shower and relax.