Mammoth Lakes, elevation 7800', is cold today. The high elevation is quite different from the summer temperatures of Death Valley. When I arrived early today I was disheartened to see snow falling after biking through rain and gusty headwinds, but every local I met was ecstatic at the prospect of skiing powder when the ski resort opens in just four days. Their collective exuberance is irresistible and I am excited about the coming winter season even though my skis are a far distance away. With a few hundred miles remaining to Sacramento, the nearest train station servicing Seattle, I may have to make the most of the transportation system and use a bus to get closer to Canada. That is the least preferred option. Another option is to tuck my tail and ride back in the direction I have come, south, seeking warmer weather at lower elevations for the duration of my U.S. stay. Ideally the recent heavy snowfall will melt by Wednesday and I can resume bicycling highway 395 to Lake Tahoe before turning West to descend into central California and the train to Seattle.
Couchsurfing.org has provided no hosts in Mammoth(due to extremely short notice), but while shopping at a local gear shop for socks to wear while doing laundry I met Chris Reid. Chris gave me his number to call him in an emergency and sent me on my way while finishing his shift. After doing laundry I headed uphill to the Davison St. Guest House, a local hostel, with the intention of calling Chris to hang out after I had found my own accomodation to avoid causing any last-minute inconvenience. As I struggled through the snow, Chris, with his girlfriend Courtney, recognized me. Obviously I am the only person bicycling with a trailer and gear in Mammoth Lakes. They walked with me past the hostel and to their nearby home, where I stored my gear before joining them on the walk to Bingo. As old as it sounds, the Bingo crowd was quite young. Within the first few rounds Chris won $50 and in the last round I was so lucky as to win $91. I will admit to having had more fun in my lifetime, but drunken Bingo is quite easy and fun.
When I departed the town of Lone Pine yesterday I had intended to go to Bishop, but when I was unable to find a couchsurfing host I assumed the remaining 40-miles to Mammoth Lakes were reasonable to finish off the day with. I was very, very wrong. From Bishop the highway climbs extensively, ascending to Tom's Place at 7000' from 4140' before climbing higher to Mammoth Lakes. I rode towards Hot Creek, a hot springs that had been closed to bathers, unbeknownst to me and my meager research, for over a year. Upon arrival I made camp less than ten miles from Mammoth Lakes village and collapsed into my tent, falling into a dream-filled sleep.
Lone Pine is adjacent to the aesthetic Alabama hills and was a great place to spend a day of rest. Further west from Lone Pine and Alabama Hills is Mount Whitney, California's highest peak at 14,505'. Mounts Williams and Langley as well as Lone Pine peak made for a great backdrop to my campsite overlooking the townsite. Alabama hills is filled with fascinating geological formations in the form of a multitude of rounded boulders, at some points appearing very jumbled together and at other's looking exquisitely sculpted into eye-catching formations. Alabama hills are claimed to be one of the Earth's oldest surface rock formations.
