We are back in civilization whether they want us here or not. Mammoth Lakes, CA is our new destination of choice. We came into town a few days ago. We are in love. It is a ski town that is about 15miles away from the PCT and right around the corner from Yosemite. They have every outdoor activity in the world available from riding your mointain bike down ski slopes in the summer to some of the best trout fishing on the planet and the food is unreal. I am still recovering from the 36oz Porterhouse that was sacrificed last night. Oh yeah and I didn't even mention the Sierras can be seen from just about anywhere in town. This place is amazing if anyone knows anyone that needs help on Mammoth Mountain just let us know. Other than that I will keep pointing out ever elderly person to Kristi and wagering that they need her help.

Back to hiking now...since Kennedy Meadows we have climbed Whitney and then followed that up with crossing 6 mountain passes (Forester 13200, Glen 11798, Pinchot 12050, Mather 12087, Muir 11976, and Selden 10887) and climbing a total of 33,612 ft in the last 200 miles. My new mantra is, "Look where you want to go, not where you don't want to go." due to the fact that my kryptonite is heights. That probably leaves you wondering what the hell are you doing out there climbing some of the highest mountains around? Trust me when you have as much time to think as we do, I have asked myself the same question many times and the only sensible answer that I can come up with is that climbing the mountains is the only way to get the views so I continue to climb.

This picture is of Mather Pass which as you can see is nothing more than a rock slide that lies in between two valleys. This is the view looking up from about 3/4 of the way up. As you can see there is no visible trail which leads you to ask do I just scramble up these rocks to clear the pass? The answer is of course, yes sometimes that is what you have to do to make it to the next valley.