I had a very short and easy walk to the trailhead this morning. As always with town days, I was full of excitement to get into town. With my pack almost empty of food, I practically ran the few downhill miles to the carpark. I arrived there about half an hour before the first shuttle bus was scheduled to depart, so I took my time reading the posters at the trailhead. While doing that, a car pulled up behind me and the driver offered me a lift in to Mammoth Lakes. I was stoked to get a ride half an hour earlier than expected, and jumped on the opportunity.

When I got to Mammoth, my first stop was Schatts Bakery. I grabbed a piece of cake and some pastries to eat while I figured out where I was. I had the whole morning free in Mammoth so I visited Black Velvet Coffee and Mammoth Brewing Co for lunch. Mammoth Lakes seems like a really cool place, with good food and drinks, a massive ski field which operates as a bike park in the summer, and free town shuttles all around the place. With Bishop, and the Hostel California just down the road though, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to visit again.

When I arrived in Bishop, I saw another PCT hiker, Hungry Bear, who I first met in Kennedy Meadows South. It’s amazing how we can show up in these towns, and consistently find familiar faces and community. I headed to Mountain Rambler Brewery for dinner, and while there I met another hiker (non PCT) who happened to be a keen disc golf player. We had a couple of beers and organized a round of disc golf the next morning in Mammoth lakes.

The next day, we left Bishop early and drove up to Mammoth Lakes disc golf course, I certainly hadn’t been expecting to get a round in on this trip so it’s a pretty cool bonus. The course in Mammoth Lakes is nice and shady, but that also means lots of tricky shots through the trees. After the game, Robin mapped out a potential off trail route to try as an alternative to the PCT. This route would get me much closer to the Minarets than the normal trail would, and it would also give me a taste of cross country travel on the Sierra High Route. It looks totally doable, and I’m left with an interesting side quest to consider.

After the game, Robin dropped me off close to Mammoth Lakes, and not 5 seconds after getting out of the car, I heard someone yelling my name. Holiday has just arrived in town and is looking for something to do before heading back to Bishop. We head to another local brewery, Distant Brewing, while we wait for the bus to Bishop.

Back in Bishop, the whole gang unexpectedly started showing up. It was getting late by the time they all arrived, but we were set to hang out at the hostel once again. The following night, the hostel had organized a figure drawing evening and we had a great time trying to draw within a tight time limit. Big thanks to Dan at the hostel for running the evening, and to Hungry Bear for being the model.

As usual, time flew at the hostel, and before I knew it, days had passed by, I needed to get back to trail once again. I finally sorted out my resupply and got ready to bus up to Mammoth Lakes, Holiday was at the same stage on trail and also had resupply organized, so we both prepared to get back out there.