Day 48 - Resupply at Vermillion Valley Resort

Tuesday June 2

I modified my resupply plan, which  means exiting the trail and picking up more food at the Vermillion Valley Resort. As I mentioned yesterday, we planned to follow the Bear Creek trail seven miles and then hike the Edison Lake trail to the road leading to the resort. 

To me, this was a bit scary because we only had a photo of a map. None of our electronic GPS maps could help us should we lose our way. In addition, we knew nothing about the condition of the trail. Would it be overgrown or encumbered with blown-down trees? Truly this was an adventure. 

We broke camp at 6. The trail followed Bear Creek. It was a beautiful hike as the river had multiple waterfalls and crystal clear pools. Along the way there we several old trees growing on what looked like solid rock. 

We assumed that it would take us 2 1/2 hours to reach the trail to Edison Lake. As it turned out, we made it to the trail by 8.

The Edison Lake trail went over a 600 foot ridge and then dropped down to the road leading to the resort. It was almost three miles long. When we got over the ridge, we could see the lake, or at least the lake bed. The prolonged drought has left little water.

Once on the road, we walked another three miles to the resort. 

We got there just in time for breakfast!  The sausage and egg burrito was wonderful! You can't imagine how hungry you get just eating one main meal a day while on the trail. 

We rented a room and washed our clothes. The shower also was delightful. 

I had to set up my tent to dry it out because I had frost on the inside when I broke camp this morning. I also aired out my sleeping bag. 

By noon it was time for lunch. The large hamburger and fries were delightful. 

I bought three days of food to get me to Mammoth, and packaged it up. To celebrate, I also got a six pack of beer. 

The resort handles the bills by keeping a tab on everything that is purchased. That includes the room rental, food, supplies, telephone, and laundry. It is difficult to know just how much has been spent. And most things are expensive because it is many miles to the "real" world. They even have satellite internet. I broke down and bought an hour of wi-fi. I was at least able to post my location on Facebook. It cost $8!

Tomorrow we plan to take the ferry across the lake to save about four miles of hiking around the lake. This is the view of the lake from the resort.  You can see a little blue sliver of the lake.

This has been a nice but expensive break. However, my tummy is very happy tonight!