I woke up this morning feeling better than I expected so I strapped on my pack and headed for the Mammoth Crest. The Mammoth Crest is a ridge which overlooks the Mammoth Lakes and the surrounding sierra range including the Minarets and Mammoth Mountain. As far as ridges and passes go it’s a pretty easy hike and the views are spectacular which makes it a popular hike with the locals.

About fifteen minutes up the trail I came upon a hiker who was moving very slow. As I started to go around him we started a conversation which lasted for the next two and a half hours! The slow moving hiker was a man named Gerry and the reason he was moving so slow was because he is 75 years old!…As we hiked together for the next two and a half hours we talked about everything from hiking to the keys to a well balanced life. I felt a kindred spirit with Gerry and found him an inspiration…. Because… despite his age and the fact that has body has slowed down quite a bit he is still out there hiking mountains that even people who are younger and stronger would have a hard time hiking. Later I found out that Gerry was doing an eleven mile hike that day which was four miles longer than what I was hiking this particular day.

As Gerry and I moved along chatting out this and that we were joined by a “hiking family” from Italy. I found the mother particularly interesting because one could tell by the tone of her voice and her eyes that she obviously loved the mountains as much as Gerry and I who have been doing this sort of thing, in my case, for 40 years and Gerry for 50. Liliana, the woman from Italy told us about her various travels to Colorado and the Alps. I have long been interested in the Alps and had an opportunity to go the Alps when I was in my twenties. After listening to her talk about it today I’m now thinking about maybe giving it a go in the next three or fours years, if my health holds up.

When I got back to camp around two thirty I had intended to go into town and do a bit of shopping but tomorrow I have a very long hike in store so I decided to take an hour power nap. I’m sure glad I did because I was really tired but when I awoke I was refreshed again. Tomorrow is one of my biggest hikes of the summer. I am heading up to Bishop Pass. Bishop Pass is one of the great hikes in the Sierras. It is an eleven mile round trip hike which passes numerous lakes and streams. I haven’t been up to Bishop Pass since I was 18 years old so I am “really” looking forward to this hike.