After a relaxing evening and morning in Mammoth Lakes, we said goodbye to Zach and Mimi and John and I drove up to his house in Myers. We loaded up on food at the Grocery Outlet, in preparation for a big day of football the next day. When we got to John’s house, I helped him bring out his second TV, and we set a schedule for the next day. John was planning an alpine start at 2am to watch the Ryders cup, followed by NFL games at 7am, 10am, 1pm and Sunday Night Football at 5pm. Luckily there would be just enough time between the 1pm game and the Sunday night game for a quick walk around the neighborhood!
I woke up at 10am to find John turning on the second TV. I slept through the riders cup, and the first NFL game, but that was ok since I am not a big fan of golf anyways, and watching three nfl games would be sufficient for me. I don’t remember much about the day other then the niners won, and it felt good to relax and eat a lot of food after a big three weeks in the High Sierra.
I needed to rest up because I still had three peaks planned before my train left Reno in a few days time. The next day John had to go to work, but I walked out the front door and headed for Mt. Tallac. It was a lovely morning amongst newly yellow Aspens and I was treated to beautiful panoramic views. Mt. Tallac is a truly spectacular peak, and the 360 view of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains is a real treat. I feel as though it should be the 16th emblem peak. I traversed along the ridge and soon found myself on Dick’s Peak around midday. Two SPS peaks, what a great start to the day I thought as I enjoyed the views of Lake Aloha and the rest of Desolation Wilderness. I walked out to Echo Bay, and before I knew it I found the hordes of tourists that signified I was fast approaching a paved road.
I stuck out my thumb and got a ride immediately back to the Y. John met me there right as he got off work, and we headed to the driving range to get our evening workout in. I had not been to a driving range since I was five, so I whiffed at the ball repeatedly, much to John’s delight. John consistently drilled balls hundreds of meters down the course. On one lucky shot I managed to drive one 25 feet.
The next morning I said goodbye to John, and promised to practice my golf. I took the bus to the stateline and began hitching towards my next objective: Mt. Rose. I got a hitch from an old hippy and then another from a recent Salvadorian immigrant who prayed for me in Spanish. His prayers must have worked as I got two quick rides up the Mt. Rose Highway and soon was back on foot. I hid my beacon behind a tree to lighten my load a bit and was soon bounding up the trail. After weeks of talus hopping between 10 and 14k feet, I gulped down the thick air and chewed up the smooth trail, soon enough I was on the summit. Clouds rolled in and obscured Reno below, where I would catch my train home the next day. So I hastily retreated off the summit and back to the highway.
After retrieving my bear can from its hiding place, I stuck out my thumb and soon too art students pulled over and drove me to within a few blocks of Ellese’s house. Ellese and her partner Urs very kindly hosted me for dinner, and then drove me to the train station the next morning. The Zephyr rolled up right on time, and soon enough I was crossing over Donner pass, and gliding down the Western Slope of the Sierra Nevada, through the capitol and back to the Bay Area. Satisfied from almost a month in the Sierra Nevada.
Anthony Ottati 