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| A welcome and unexpected stop a VVR. |
Last night we camped along a river; Sour Cream, Rocky, Sunset and I.
We've acquired Sunset as a recent hiking companion - what a treat! Discussing movies (like Hocus Pocus, Now and Then, My Girl), cartoon shows, things from our childhoods, and even homesickness, the conversation is new, lively and interesting. New faces and characters are a real gem, one of the simple pleasures of the trail. Getting to know everyone (even better) has been one of my favorite parts.
The day began just how it had ended last night - with the four of us in mosquito head nets, full rain gear as bug protection, and DEET, cooking dinner. What a scene! In the right mood and company, the mosquitos can be quite tolerable, however, if you've had a bad day for whatever reason, they can drive you absolutely. mad. not. even. kidding.
Ben and I are trying to go DEET-less - really. We don't want to use the stuff. It's terrifying! We'll see...
Today. The goal - VVR. Vermilion Valley Resort, 18 miles away from where we camped just outside of Muir Trail Ranch.
The elevation profile looked promising, only a pass that was not quite as formidable as the previous passes. This would be our 6th major pass in 5 days and we were tired. So tired. The Sierras are, quite literally, kicking our asses. Every day we've climbed an impressive climb and descended seemingly indefinitely. Seldon Pass was on the agenda and boy did it look "easy"...
And it was! We got climbing rather early, a long, slow, gradual, scenic, winding path through mosquito territory supreme. Stopping and eating a snack was out of the picture, we'd be eaten alive. Even with the mosquito resistant rainwear and head net, we were pestered beyond belief. The sound was deafening (unnerving) and they made their way into every crack where skin could become available (the wrists, ankles, lower back, neck). I moved swiftly, and effortlessly up and over Seldon Pass.
So gorgeous.
Sour Cream had been playing around with going to Vermilion Valley Resort (a 1.5 mile side trip on a trail that takes you to a Ferry Landing Station where you take a 20 minute ferry ride to a remote resort on the other side of Edison Lake) and we were starting to like the idea of spending the night there too. It took a few hours to convince Ben, but ultimately, he secretly wanted to go there as well. So... an unplanned visit to VVR it is! We deserve it.
Mammoth was only a few days away and we sort of felt like it was cheating to go into VVR (showers, hot meal, potential laundry, a money waster). We had to think hard about whether or not we needed/wanted to waste time/money on a surprise "town" stop that was somewhat out of the way. Was it worth it? Worth the shower? We had no concept of what VVR was, how things would be there, whether or not the food would be good, whether or not we'd catch the ferry in time, or what the accommodations would be like. Would we get a room? A cabin? A place to stay for free?
What is VVR??!?!?!?!
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| The VVR "Ferry Station" aka a 4 person boat that comes every hour. |
The ferry is said to run only 2 times a day: once in the morning (around 9) and once in the late afternoon (around 4:30) so if you miss the ferry, you don't go. So we HUSTLED.
And made it down to the Ferry Station at 4:00pm, after a 3 hour, knee breaking descent that must have had 700+ switchbacks (not even sure that is an exaggeration) just in time to wait for 45 minutes. The "Ferry Station" was a flag way out on the edge of the lake, in the middle of a sandy beach that felt a lot like an ocean beach. The wind was turned up to level 10, whipping and whirling the sand all over the place, fixing itself into your hair and skin pores.
Maximum grit and wind. It also felt quite desolate out there, eerie, like another country, even.
We plopped down on our packs and chit-chatted with some local rangers and fishermen, eager to catch the ferry.
Then... we were told the ferry was actually a miniature boat that would be coming to pick up 4 of us at a time. !?!??!? Apparently the lake was too low this year to be able to run the Ferry, so little boat it was! The water level of the lake was dangerously (and strikingly) low, you could tell where the water level should be... shocking.
So we waited. Each trip takes about 45 minutes to an hour and the man who shuttles people to and fro had been at it all day. Hikers continued to show up and we finally caught a ride by 5:30, luckily and were on our way across Lake Edison in no time. I had never been in a boat of that size and was really nervous about it. Tentative boat rider. Sour Cream, Sunset and Rocky loved it!
To be flying across a lake at such a high speed, yet it takes 20 minutes... so cool. It was quite relaxing, actually.
Reached the shore where our boat guy informed us we'd be picked up by a windowless van in no time. I guess there was another leg of this journey to the mysterious VVR? Soon, the windowless van came into sight and watched as it flew towards us over a bumpy road, creating a hurricane of dust behind it in it's wake. Uh...
Jaws dropped, we braced ourselves, and got in the van, ready to be at our final destination. The ride was short enough, and was sort of a special thing this year - usually the lake water is high enough that the van ride would not be necessary - the ferry typically takes you straight to the front of VVR, but due to the low water levels, the van was introduced to assist guests in getting up the dry lake bed.
Crazy.
VVR was a warm, welcoming, and cozy place to take off your pack, eat a meal with friends, catch up with fellow hikers you haven't seen in a while, and drink beers by a fire. We were grateful for the warm shower, free place to camp, and great beer selection (your first beer is free!) !!!! As soon as we left the vehicle, we were greeted with old faces, dirty hugs, sweaty high fives, and smiles. A hiker reunion of sorts! This is what it feels like every time you go into town and hikers are concentrated in a small area. Like family.
It feels wonderful to walk in the door of an establishment and immediately be told, "Go grab a beer, any beer you'd like, the first one is free."
Sweaty, we sat down and hung around in the dining hall an caught up with other hikers, some just strolling in. It had started to get drizzly and wet-ish outside, so the inside of the dining hall (or restaurant, I guess) was humid and the windows fogged. Everyone stuffed, happy and tipsy, we congregated around various campfires, and took it easy. There were no official accommodations (cabins/rooms/trailers/tent cabins) left, so Ben and I had to camp on the front lawn area with about 50 other hikers. It was probably best we saved our money for Mammoth anyway....
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| The trail. |
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| Rocky, Sour Cream, and Sunset enjoying the last quick snack break before the race to catch the VVR Ferry. |
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