So between July 6 and July 16 there was some more down time from hiking and in that time Lenora and I traveled to Utah for the annual Mickey Goodliffe Memorial Junior Golf Tournament. This is a tournament that is in memory of my Mom and it not the usual junior golf tournament. Rather than competition, the emphasis is FUN! My Mom was ahead of her time and she could see that the balance of all sports was trending toward competition and away from fun. The “Love of the Game” was being replaced by the love of the big paycheck. She always liked to emphasis the fun part of sports and by having fun you could also have success. So this tournament is not part of the junior circuit but is out there on its own and the focus is to provide a good time for all the kids involved. We do give out trophies for the age groups and a watch is given to the mentalist for both boys and girls but frankly if we could put a device on the kids to measure fun we would also give out trophies for those that had the most fun. The parents of the kids help with the tournament as many of them help the kids around the course and keep it moving. The most a kid can take on any hole is a 10. We had over 100 kids for the tournament this year. We put drinks all around the course to keep the kids happy and hydrated and cook hamburgers for them at the end of the day. Being the traveling child, I have missed these tournaments most of my life. This was the 42nd and I have been there for about 10 of them. Been there for the last 5 and will never miss another one. They are emotional and fantastic.

Took some pictures on the way back from Utah to Mammoth Lakes. Here is one of the Bonneville Salt Flats. I wanted to take the car out and try for a world speed record but Lenora would not let me.

So you may also notice that I skipped PCT miles 878 to 914. I just could not make Lenora drive the 7.5 hours between Mammoth Lakes and the VVR where the last hour is a bit of a dangerous road again. So rather than going back to VVR, I started from Agnew Meadow near Mammoth Lakes. I may do those 36 miles some day. Probably not.

There are lots of wilderness around these parts. I am entering a new one. Not sure which one I am exiting…

So I know I am only going to Tuolumne Meadows where Lenora will pick me up for the weekend and Sunday church. So I have 3 days to go 28 miles. I think I can manage that. Starting north from Agnew Meadow I am amazed at the number of wild flowers I am seeing and I stop to take a picture of each new species I see. I find out later from Lenora that they actually have a wild flower trail around Agnew Meadows for that very reason. She went on that trail (and many others around the area) and took a number of the same pictures. Here are a few:

I have two passes between me and Tuolumne Meadows. The first is Island Pass and there is a steady but gentle incline all the way from Agnew Meadows to Island Pass at 10200 feet. It is a very easy hike and here are some pictures along the way.

From Island Pass you drop back down to about 9700 feet and then start the ascent to Donahue Pass at 11031 feet. I am a little surprised by the elevation of Donohue because I thought my days at 11000+ feet were over. About the time I have finished the descent from Island Pass, a thunder storm develops over Donahue Pass. Thunder and Lighting, oh my!! I am amazed as it seems each time I approach a pass this happens. This time it seems more serious. It is only about 3 pm and I have 5 more hours I could hike but I decide to play it safe and set up camp for the night. Thunder and Lighting continue into the night but there is never any rain where I am camping. I have a nice meal of Idahoan Potatoes (BACON FLAVORED!!) with some extra cheese and some olive oil added. The package says it contains 4 servings. I eat them all and feel good. I have talked with other hikers who indicated over the higher passes that they also experienced problems getting sick after eating. They all attributed it to mild elevation sickness and so I guess that is what I had as well. That makes more sense than my body starting to reject food…. I like food!!