Day 6

July 8, 2012 (Alexandra)Today was a good day! Woke up and we walked 8 miles to Reds Meadows before lunch. The first 6 miles were fine minus mosquito swarms. Once we reached devils postpile my feet began killing me! I was just so tired. I wasn't impressed with Devils postpile, still don't see why its a National monument. We walked to the campground only to find out their thermal showers had been closed last year. No shower = broken heart. So we walked to the "resort" at Red Meadows & their showers had been knocked out by a fallen tree! NO SHOWERS AT ALL! But, they did have a garden hose that they let hikers rinse down with - no privacy at all though. So I rinsed out some clothes, rinsed my eating utensils and washed my hair. All with tourists staring at me like I was homeless. We ate at the diner one at a time so that one of us was always watching our packs and drying "clean" clothes. I sat at the diner counter and had a turkey club on sourdough with fruit and a Dr. Pepper to drink.- Amazing! Even the stool was super cushioned and felt wonderful to sit on as opposed to sitting on the ground or a rock. We saw Fred and the boys arrive on a shuttle bus! What! We walked, and they took a shuttle that we didn't even know existed. They took an easier, shorter trail shortcut and then a shuttle - covering 13 miles in one morning. Unbelievable. They ended thier day at Red Meadow, while we walked another 4 miles in the afternoon. We got to check in with our moms before we left the "resort". My mom is going to be sending me an awesome package at John Muir Trail ranch - I am sooo excited! When we got to our campsite, Jasin and I soaked our feet in a freezing cold creek so ease our aching feet. The water is soo cold that it hurts. Love, Happy Camper

(Jasin)This morning we got up earlier than normal this morning the sun hit our tent sooner and warmed us up. Once we were moving the mosquitoes were horrible. We both agreed that we had never experienced anything so bad as the mosquitoes. It wasn't until Devil's pilepost that they let up. We had a rough patch around Devils Pilepost where Alex was hurting on her hip from the backpack, she had large bruises from the weight. We hiked 8 miles before lunch and thought there would be showers at Red Meadows (sadly there was no such thing). We went to RM Resort where we had a good lunch, I had a cheeseburger and potato salad. I also got to rinse under a hose. We took turns eating and watching our packs, when low and behold who walks up but Fred and the boys! They ended up taking the wrong trail out of Garnet Lake and hiked the much easier River Trail. We talked with them and hung out for awhile until the temperature cooled off and the sun wasn't so intense before starting out on another 4 miles to our campsite at upper crater meadows. Other than the expected wear and tear, we are doing well after 6 days of hiking.