UPPER KING
I got up in the dark. I got up too early. I totally overestimated how long it would take to hike up to the upper falls. Indeed, it was a pretty short hike. I had calculated that the falls would be in the sun immediately after sunrise, so I wanted to be there at sunrise and no later. But it was not sunrise yet!
When I arrived at the upper falls, it was still dark. I had about 30-45 minutes to wait for sunrise. I could have slept so much longer! Well, I filled up on water and I ate my breakfast. That took about 15 minutes, I suppose. It was quite a bit cold, waiting around with nothing much to do.
Finally, the light came and I was able to take some photos of the waterfall. I had hoped this waterfall would be a bit nicer, but the flow was low. Certainly, it would be spectacular in the spring. Well, it was still quite a bit pretty, even on this day.
I got back to camp, packed up and made some coffee. Then I hiked back down the mountain. I don’t know why because the trail is only about 6 miles, but it took a long time to hike down. (as it did to hike up). Why is that? I was hiking fast (not running or anything, but not going slow either). It just seemed to take so much longer to hike this trail. Made no sense.
Anyhow, I got into Mammoth Lakes, and I found that the power was on. Hallelujah! I stopped at John’s Pizza Works for lunch (as I always do). Then I made the long drive home.