This 4th of July weekend served as my return to the wilderness after a 2 year hiatus. Between the pandemic and wildfires, every attempt of mine to get into the Sierras was foiled in 2020. It was a glorious return. I soloed a 35 mile loop trip through the familiar Great Golden Trout Wilderness (GGTW). I suspect this was my 6th trip to the area and despite it being a repeat trip, I made an effort to explore somewhere new. At the suggestion of Andrew, I pushed my plan a little further into Little Whitney Meadow and it was a sight to behold! It’s a lush area with a small winding creek that’s bordered by a huge pile of lava rocks. I thoroughly enjoyed the alone time where I logged a lot of hours in the hammock and read the classic sci-fi novel “Dune”. The only downer to the trip was the failure of my hiking boots. After 10 years of service the soles decided to stop being bonded to the boot. Luckily I packed in some duct tape that served as a good enough band-aid to get me back to the car.

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