June 2nd – Lone Pine
A day of of rest with a few chores. The usual town routine – eating, laundry, internet, grocery shopping and eating, coupled on this day with sitting by the pool in in the shade to escape the 100F heat.
The day’s only casualty was the orange crayon we use to make the walking carrot logo in trailside registers. It was left in a pouch in Jersey Jim’s car and melted into a pool of wax.
Later on we made sure to make time for a jacuzzi soak.
From our poolside vantage we could stare up at Mt Whitney, Corcoran, Le Conte and the rest of the Sierra crest, marveling at the lack of snow.
To confirm our observations we went to the library and used the internet to check the back country automatic snow sensors. Of the 31 stations, all but one were registering ZERO snow, including Tyndall Creek at 11,000 foot and Bishop Pass at almost 13,000 feet. The one sensor with snow was only one tenth of an inch. For the snow melt to be this advanced at this time of year is stunning.
Sure there will be snow on the trail in places such as the north facing slopes of some passes, in crevices or patches that are more or less permanent, but the trail should be basically clear. And, I’m not sure how I feel about that. Part of me is glad that the going will be easier. On the other hand hiking the actual trail instead of random routes across the snow pack seems too regimented and too much like work. And a bit less fun, certainly less adventurous. Well, mother nature is always full of surprises, so we look forward to what we will actually experience.
After a nice steak dinner at the “Merry Go Round” we retired to the pool and jacuzzi for an evening soak under the full moon.
