June 3rd – Back in the Saddle Again
We had already decided to treat today as more or less a second day off. With breakfast and lunch in town (a sandwich from Rutabagas bakery) and plenty of time to lounge by the pool, we were in no hurry to leave. Eventually though Jim did drive us back to the trailhead at Walker Pass campground, where we sat around for awhile beneath the canopy of shade relaxing with other hikers and angels, waiting for the afternoon to cool down.
Around 5:45pm we took off to tackle the climb out of the pass, a long gradual ascent of a couple thousand feet to regain the crest at a series of ridges and passes around Mt Jenkins. With the wind howling, we found shelter among some Piñon Pines on a saddle overlooking Owens Valley, an orange moon rising above the desert dust. Back in the saddle again, after two days of town fun it was very nice to be on the trail.
