Our second day camping in the Eastern Sierras I’m thankful for sponge baths.
Carly and I got up before dawn to start our hike to Duck’s Pass this morning.
We cleaned up our campsite on the mammoth scenic loop as the sun was still rising above our camp site. I threw some instant coffee over ice ( we didn’t have time, getting into camp late last night to get a permit for a camp stove) and we hit the road for the Lake Mary area, ten minutes away.
The sun was just beginning to rise over Lake Mary as we cruised by the alpine lake, empty of even fishermen at this hour.
We were the only ones at the trail head at Coldwater Campground. This early in the morning, the campground was silent and felt deserted.
I tried out my new GU octane endurance sports drink, chugging a cup of the lemon lime flavor before we hit the trail. Honestly this sports drink tastes way better than so many more I have tried! Although I’m not to impressed with the energy it gave me. I only used a half serving this first time trying it though.
I’m so glad we got an early start on the hike! We chose the Emerald Lake path up to Duck’s Pass. This way is shorter and steeper.
By seven a.m. when we turned around at
one of the upper alpine lakes the valley below was already filling with smoke from the Rough fire over the pass in King’s Canyon National Park and I could barely see the minarets in the distance.
The constant smoke in the air really tempered my mood to hike.
We went back into town; I stopped at the Mammoth ranger station to talk to a ranger who really was a dumb dumb ( she told me I didn’t even need a camp stove permit and then proceeded to tell me the three most boring hikes in the Mammoth area.
Luckily an other ranger wandered over, told me, yes, we do need a permit and I decided to ignore dumb dumbs advice and not just hike in the Von’s parking lot and check out
Red’s Meadow and Rainbow Falls; two areas that turned out to be just gorgeous, especially in the autumn.
This is the kind of autumn inspired trail mix that is just perfect to pull out of your pack during a day of exploring alpine lakes. I use Kashi cereal in this recipe so its easier than your average trail Mix
Curried Trail Mix with Cranberries and Cashews
2 cups Kashi Go Lean Cereal
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup cranberries, dried
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup pepitas
Comments
Hey Amber! You seem really knowledgeable in what I call “new age cooking”…cooking with ingredients I don’t see everyday at my local grocery store. I am working on an upcoming project about cooking with almond flour and coconut flour and mixing them to find the perfect ratio…I was wondering if you might have any tips, thoughts, or advice? Please feel free to email me: jebbica at gmail dot com or jebbica at jebbicasworld dot com. Would greatly appreciate your help!! I always love your recipes!
PS: Those pictures are absolutely stunning. Can I move there?
That trail mix sounds really tasty and I might make some for the boys to much on after sprorts training rather than a chocolate bar! Can I ask what the Go Lean cereal is like so I can find or make something similar.
Thank you for adding this post to the #GoingGreen Linky and huge apologies for taking so long to reply: a combination of being so busy over the summer that I hardly touched the blog and an Internet that took to crashing when I did have time! The next linky opens on Sept 4th so I hope you will join in again ?