Sprained Ankle Part 1, and New Itinerary

Oh, Boy!
So, in case you haven't heard, I sprained my ankle last week about a mile or two down the trail from the Mc Lure Ranger Station.  I apparently (I didn't see it but my hiking partner did) Fortunetely I was hiking with my buddy Natty who played soccer in college and has sprained his ankle a bagillion times.  He knew what to do.  He got me to a resting place at a creek and went down to the ranger station to seek out options/assistance/perhaps a ride out by horse. (One should keep thier hopes high, right?)  He came back with an awesome ankle brace and a plan to hike to the John Muir Trail Ranch.  He also set up the camp so I could lay down and take it easy.  We left for Muir Trail Ranch in the morning.  It was about 10 miles away, but maybe they would have a cowboy there who would take me to Mammoth Lakes on his trusty stead.  On the way Snow Turtle and Agassi caught up to us and we had lunch together.  They joined us for the rest of the hike to the ranch.  Pat, Bob, and Hilary at the Muir Trail Ranch were very helpful in explaining to me what my options were.

Basically, the closest exit to the trail exited on the west side of the Sierras.  I wanted to be on the east side so that I could get to Mammoth Lakes.  The only way to Mammoth Lakes was to hike there.  I decided to get off the trail at Florence Lake, a six mile hike from the Ranch.  Since we were at the ranch, we decided to hit up the nearby hot springs.

When we got there, people were already in the main one, so we headed for the other pool.  The water was not so hot, and there was a strange worm floating around in it, but it was not so bad.  The next morning, on my birthday we went to the good pool, which was much hotter.  Agassi and Snow Turtle took off.  Natty and I met a couple of dudes from Ashland, OR who had already done the PCT, Zoner and Snax.  They suggested going to Vermilion Valley Resort because the owner there, Jim was a pretty cool guy who sometimes lets hikers do work trade for food.  This sounded like a good idea.  We stuck around the hot springs for an hour longer, and met some more guys, Frobro and Edgewise.  Finally, it was time for Natty and I to part ways, but he promised to meet me at VVR.

I made my way down the trail to Florence Lake, trying to get used to hiking by myself again.  Even though the trail was easy to follow, and not technical, I was still a little scared.  The six miles flew by quicker than I thought.  When I got there, I was impressed to discover that I had made it in time for the one o'clock shuttle.  Zoner, Snax, Frobro, and Edgewise were also there!  Frobro and Edgewise gave us a ride to Mono Hot Springs, where I picked up a resupply box and a birthday package my mum sent to me. I spent the week at VVR doing work trade, and really had a fun time, but I'll have more on that next time!

Right now I'm in Mammoth, which is a great town but I'm itching to get back to the trail, so I'll have to finish the rest of the story later.