Day 66
Today we'll head down to Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR), so we slept in a little bit. Caitlin and Indigo decided to use the Bear Creek Trail to pick up their food resupply at Mono Hot Springs. The rest of us continued up the trail to Bear Ridge Trail, where we can then hike down to VVR, thus avoiding having to wait for the boat across Lake Thomas Edison. The trail was a bit buggy on this side trail, probably the worst so far. Therefore we moved quickly as there was nothing much to see.
So happy to be near VVR! A favorite stop of mine in the middle of the Sierra.
We then hiked on top of the dam and it was nice to see that the water level was back to normal. When I went through here last year, the water level was very low.
We finally arrived at Vermilion Valley Resort. I was excited to get to this little resort in the wilderness. It was my favorite stop on the JMT last year.
Caitlin has been talking about pies therefore we got one for dessert.
After pitching our tent at their free campground for backpackers, we headed from some real food inside the restaurant. A nice meaty cheeseburger sounds so good! And of course, the free first beer! Soon Indigo and Caitlin arrived.
It was then time to take a shower, put our dirty clothes in the laundry, relax a bit, and then soon, it was dinner. A 14 oz steak for dinner in the middle of the Sierra was definitely worth it. Of course it's a bit pricey, but to be expected in such a remote area. Note I have driven to VVR last year as some in our JMT group rejoined me here so I had to drive them up to pick up their car and I tell ya, it is quite of a drive to get here.
PCT Thru Hikers hanging around VVR