15 June 2023
Mammoth Mountain Lodge to Minaret Summit
(4 miles, +800/-800 feet).

What a crazy year this is!

This week I am car camping with some friends who love Mammoth. They went skiing while I walked the road from the Main Lodge to Minaret Summit.

Only there was one problem: it’s not plowed yet!

About halfway up a worker told me to turn around and go back. I complied, but once out of sight, I donned my microspikes and looked for a way up the snow wall on the south side of the road. No easy task, but I did find a spot.

Unfortunately there was a steep ridge between me and the heavy equipment the worker wanted me to avoid, but I took my time and soon I was up and over it.

About half a mile later I circled back to the (unplowed) road, but the sun was so intense on it that it was posthole city. I returned to the shade of the forest for a slightly-easier slosh through the snow.

After an hour and a half I made it to the entrance station.

And a quarter mile past that I actually found dry land!

The return was a little easier. Instead of going south of the road, I went north, and the terrain was shadier and less steep to get around the snowplows.

My last major challenge was finding a way back down to the road. I managed to find a slope where I was only 4 feet above. I dangled to the asphalt.

Then an easy road walk back to my friends. What a fun intro to Sierra Summer Snowpocalypse 2023!