Moments in Dirt and Ink

Inyo National Forest (map link) DAY 1  |  DAY 2 It seems like it should be colder than this in October at 10,000 feet. There is not the slightest sign of frost anywhere. Today, we can day hike up the last of the mountain, then grab the rest of our stuff on the way down and coast the rest of the way out. First, we have to get started and it is quite a late start. Ah, but the sun is upon us as we do. The night warmer than expected does not translate into a very warm day. Red and White Mountain with sun long before it gets to us on the other side of Big McGee Lake. Starting out in the still cool, but now sunny, fall air.

Inyo National Forest Locate the trailhead. DAY 1  |  DAY 2 I have been hearing a vicious rumor that this time of year, one should be heading out to look for fall color, perhaps around Bishop and a few other areas. Then I noticed Red Slate Mountain. Who could resist that? Quite a few people by the summitpost entry which claims many prefer to go for the one peak higher in the Mammoth area, Mt. Ritter. We get a late start thanks to planning around jury duty and hike in a little way under the bright moon for a little dispersed camping before the John Muir Wilderness boundary. There is no sign, so we may not have managed to stop before the boundary, but as it is after midnight, we definitely enter the wilderness on the permit designated day. We can see just enough under the great streetlamp in the sky to be excited about what the morning sun will show. The suggestion of tree tops among light and dark striped mountains. The morning does not disappoint. Bright...