Rolled into Independence, my first true town stop, yesterday morning after spending the night at Bullfrog Lake, one of the most scenic spots I have ever seen. It is a hanging lake above the Bubbs Creek valley, perched right on the edge of the canyon wall and giving a “forever pool” effect with views directly across the valley to the snow dressed peaks above.
I thought about pushing on the additional 6 miles to the Onion Valley trailhead, but the climb to the lake – a thousand feet in 1.3 miles – left me played out and ready to call it a day.
I got down to the trailhead early, which is not the best time to hitch, as the day hikers have not yet returned, but got a ride after an hour or so nonetheless.
Independence is a bit more bereft of services than I had thought. I wasn’t surprised that there was no outdoor shop to replace the broken tip on my pole, but worse, there was no liquor shop to replenish my whisky flask.
A trip to Bishop was therefore required. It turned out that a friend of some hikers had met them and had a car and had room and were willing to give me a ride.
They were all in their 20s, and reminded me of how different young folks are today. They all (well not all but many) smoke, like my parents generation and unlike mine, and feel perfectly comfortable ignoring the people next to them in order to concentrate on socializing with distant people via their phones. It feels awkward and rude to me, but I suppose there is no logical reason why proximity should determine social priority. And they are genuinely nicer and more tolerant people than my generation is – we can be pretty mean.
Got the pole tip, got my whiskey, stopped in at the brew pub and headed back to I-town for a night of decadence at the Courthouse Motel: a shower, clean clothes, a bed – and as a bonus- Gone With the Wind was showing uninterrupted on cable TV. Its glorification of slave society is nauseating, but Vivian Leigh’s depiction of a self-actualized but self-defeating woman is superb and mesmerizing. Watching the movie while drinking beer and eating junk food was the apex of slug life.
Back to the trail tomorrow, just a 7 mile/2500 foot climb with a full pack away. I should be in Mammoth in 6 days.