The Beginning of Hobodom

 It started without much fanfare. I got things loaded the night before, fed and cleaned the cat in the morning, bid goodbye to my ex and then I was on my way. Rather uneventful considering that I may be gone for months and then settle in Nevada when I'm done. Hopefully I'll be all recovered from ME/CFS by then. Hope springs eternal, they say. Or, I'll be back in Sacramento if the hobodom becomes too much a stress and my condition gets worse.

It took a while -- it was hard to get things nailed down at once. Every time I think of something, it took a couple more days to procure or configure. The SPOT4 satellite messenger was the last one, so I thought, then I realized I need a headlamp as well. If I get lost in a canyon somewhere, I'll need overnigh survival tools as well as an SOS device. I wasn't going to get any of those -- I'm only hiking 4 miles at a time mostly on well trafficked trails. Then I decided to do Coyote Gulch. Then, I figured, If I'm doing Coyote, I might as well do Angel's Landing. That kinda brought it home that I really need all precautions that I can take. The trip was delayed another week as such

So the 3 major events in this trip will be: Angel's Landing, Coyote Gulch and Ouray Perimeter. This trip will either kill me or cure me, I guess. Things can change though; I'm playing by the ear like a proper hobo should.

The road to Mammoth Lakes took me through Hwy 50, 89 and then 88 on the way to Gardnerville off the famed 395. I meant to get to Mammoth Lakes by 3PM so that I can claim a boondocking spot before they all fill up. I got there Gardnerville/Coleville at 2PM and the plan was out the window by then. I had lunch there where while charging and left at around 3PM. I heard that Coleville hosted an earthquake of magnitude of 6 at 3:30 PM, so I must've left there just in time. My ex at home said that it shook the water heater tank at home in Sacramento, but I didn't feel a thing. I guess you don't feel the quake while driving unless it splits the road ahead of you. In the end, I got to Mammoth Lakes after 5PM. I tried to look up the campsite while charging the car, but my cell signal was kaput. Just what kind of carrier have spotty coverage in a major resort town like Mammoth? Mint and T-Mobile, that's who. A Starbucks was 2 blocks away, but it was closed at 4PM. Luckily, the frontdesk at Shiloh Inn let me use their wifi and I was able to locate the camping site. I finally made to 37.6918547, -118.9894394 well after 6PM and found a free camping spot too. It'll be a home for the next a few days.

Mono Lake off US395