Day + 258, Monday July 12

Last night was quick between my shuttle, then trolley bus to the Lodge I’m staying at. I did a brief survey of gear, decided it was pointless and instead made a brief visit to an old, favorite brewery – Mammoth Brewing. I love their Highway 395 IPA, brewed with sage and juniper berries, picked just down the road. It smells like the Sierras. My burger was awesome, colossal and I was full until sometime 30 minutes ago. I may have more than a Lara Bar for breakfast after all.

This morning involves repacking my gear, coffee, walking into town, breakfast of sorts and my shuttle into Yosemite. I’m a tad worried about two fires, the River Fire just to the west of the park, and the Dexter Fire, north of Mammoth, but east of where I’ll be based. Both ignited within the past 40 hours, and while I’m not concerned the fire itself will reach Tuolumne Meadows, the smoke may. But that’s not something I have any control over, so I’ll do my best to stay safe and take care of my lungs. Thankfully, I’ll be staying close to Tuolumne as I let me body adapt to 8K feet, and I have full confidence in the park rangers and staff.

I slept OK, waking a few times to blow my nose or drink some water; I forget how dry it is here! But now it’s early Tuesday, I’m up and raring to go! A little nervous about how my body will handle this, but as my good friend Hillary commented, “I love science experiments!”

I nearly fell out of my seat laughing.

So that’s it! Thanks for reading & your support…adventure awaits and I look forward to sharing my journeys when I’m back within cell reception.

Cheers & Mazel!