Mammoth Trip, October 2016

NBB: Found this incomplete from last Fall.  Sketched in details from the latter half of the trip.  September 2017.

NB: Libby and I meant to write in the book before we left the cabin, but we forgot in the hustle and bustle of closing the cabin.  Here's what we should have written:

October 10, 2016

Libby, Andrew, and I came up to close on the last day of September and left on Monday the 10th of October.  This is our longest trip together at the cabin, and the time felt expansive and very restful (in general).

We left So Cal at 8:00 pm, which is by far the latest we've ever left, in order to drive while Andrew was sleeping.  We anticipated arriving in the frigid cold after 2:00 am, and we did, in fact, arrive around 2:30 in the morning.  Thankfully, it was surprisingly warm (upper 40s) when we arrived, and Andrew transferred smoothly into both warm pajamas and the cabin.

The next day we settled in and waited for Phillip, Alysha and Emma to join us.  We went shopping in town and took a walk around the lake.  They arrived in the evening.  Andrew had AMS that night, and he and I spent three hours sleeping (well, he was sleeping) in our car down in town.  We're worried about what that means for future trips.

The next day we went to Bodie, and Emma and Andrew napped nicely on the way there.  We did the normal meandering around town after a picnic in the picnic area where a Golden Eagle was circling the nearby hills.  Andrew got sufficiently dirty playing on the ground.  On the way back, after being awoken against our wills by construction along Mono Lake, we stopped by the Mono Cone and then took the kids to the park around the corner.  Andrew slept well that night, though Emma struggled.

We had enjoyed above average temperatures at Bodie and Lee Vining, but the next day would see a change of weather.  A cold front howled in with cold wind and sent the temperature dropping from the mid-40s around mid-day while we were on a hike at Emerald Lake.  We retreated to the cabin and gathered around the lovely fire.  That night, we watched Emma for a little while so Phillip and Alysha could celebrate their anniversary, and I excitedly pointed out snow flurries to them while Libby showered.  I don't think they appreciated the wonder of the scene.

The next day we visited the Cast-Off together before the Mootharts headed south.

Our primary entertainment on our days alone was what we called nap hikes.  Every day around 11:00, we'd go for a long walk while Andrew slept in his carrier.  We went up to Hart Lake (amidst sun and snow flurries), Skelton Lake, and TJ and Barret from the rear of the cabin twice.  We also visited Lundy Lake one day to peep the leaves (which were stunning around the waterfall above the beaver dams).

We frankly reveled in the cool and seasonable days.  It slowly warmed into the low 50s as the week went on.  The only drawback was that Andrew slept very poorly most days.  We don't know if it was teething, or the cold, or a new place, or the altitude, but Libby had many rough nights.

Gabe and Timothy came up for the later half of the week, and we enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures with them.  It's always hard to imagine closing the cabin for the winter when the days are sunny and warm.

The biggest trip we took together was to Devil's Postpile.  The main parking lot was closed, so we ended up taking the long walk from the Rainbow Falls trailhead, if I remember correctly.  There are many poorly signed intersecting trails, so we ended up taking a longer route back.  Andrew really fussed on this hike, and we ended up transferring the Ergo with him in it to Libby. Naturally, that calmed him.

We also explored the Mammoth Consolidated Mine area together, and Timothy chased off all the bad guys.

This was, if I remember correctly, the longest trip to the cabin we've ever taken as a family.  We were there over two weekends, and so, barring the difficulty with sleep, it was a great opportunity to acclimate and enjoy.