June 20: mission today: quickly get into the off-trail Vermillion Valley Resort, charge my stuff, shower, eat, and out by the afternoon. Theses plans would change.

I was hiking by 6 am, easily finding the 7 mile side trail to the resort. There was another route in- 4 miles down the PCT from the side trail a short 1 mile trail lead to a lake where you could take a ferry across to the VVR. But with water levels so low, the ferry wasn't consistently running. Which meant a 7 mile walk around the lake anyway. I decided not to chance it. It was a beautiful morning, the trail was pretty easy, and there were lots of little critters scurrying around as I walked by. I reached the dam beyond the lake by 9am- just walk over the top and follow the dirt road to the resort. I was there by 9:45. Right on track.

At the VVR, I saw Keylime and Fancy Feet - a fellow AT hiker. We talked for a bit - they highly recommended staying for dinner here. We'd see.

I found an outlet, the laundry facilities, and the shower house. Like many places on the trail, they had loaner clothes to wear while you did laundry. Not many bottoms, and none in my size. Which is how I spent the day traipsing around in a Hawaiian shirt down to my knees- AKA Hawaiian dress!

Shuffle and Piney showed up, then Q-Tip- who I camped with the night before. Then there gang I camped with after Pinchot Pass. And as my clothes dried, I was eating lunch and ice cream Ina Hawaiian dress with 10!other people.

As I folded my clothes, they started bringing out big slabs of meat and putting them over coals that had been burning in a pit all morning. Rubbing he meat with spices, basting it with sauce, and as I put my clean clothes in my pack, they posted a sign for tonite's barbeque dinner.

I set up my tent.

Ate barbeque dinner in a Hawaiian dress with 25 or so other people as my phone and external battry- all fully charged- sat and waited for me to hike tomorrow.

June 19: after conquering Muir Pass - the hardest Sierra pass- I was to be rewarded by going over Selden Pass - "the easiest pass". But, like so many other instance on this hike, I would beg to differ when done. One of my big issues today was my phone. I had charged it I the hotel in Bishop before hitting the trail, but it didn't really take that well. The battery died amazingly quickly. So I recharged it with my external battery, but that, too, has been charged in the same hotel outlet and only had 1/2 charge stores, instead of the usual 1 1/2 charges. Result: I was running on empty with the phone, and looking at hiking the sierras with no camera and no GPS.

That makes for a hard hike over a pass, when you can't check your progress on the app, and when southbounder a are giving you conflicting advice: "only .5 miles to the top!" Followed by: "about 2 1/2 miles to the top!"

Good thing the views were so gorgeous.

Up and over the pass with beautiful, exceedingly cold lakes, and down the other side into a more wooded, forest-y valley. I stopped for a snack break at a river and who should I bump into, but Shuffle- who I hadn't seen since he ran out of water during the 44 mile stretch- and Piney- who I hadn't seen since Ziggy and the Bear's! We caught up, and I asked if they had heard anything about the VVR- Verrmillion Valley Ranch. It could be reached the next day on a side trail where I could recharge my phone, but it had poor reputation. They had heard good things about VVR from southbounders and we're going to stop in. It was settled, then. I would head to VVR tomorrow.

Onward I hiked, and after a quick stop to swim in a warmer River, I set up camp with 3 other people 2 miles before the side trail to VVR.