Day 11- Bear Creek Junction to Vermilion Valley Ranch

Distance: 10 mi
Elevation Gain: 1,280 ft
Starting Elevation: 8,940 ft
Ending Elevation: 7,900 ft

Shower day! Laundry Day! Treat day!

To this point we had seen incredible things and had pushed ourselves beyond what we could have imagined over the past ten days... but that paled in comparison to the superhuman feeling of taking a hot shower after 10 days on the trail.

The look of sincere joy while eating apple pie.

As usual, we woke up around 6 am, rested and excited to get to Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR). Unfortunately, our ailments and injuries would temper our excitement and pace. Pat's blistered feet were in bad shape and my knee did not appreciate any downhill movement. We ascended along Bear Creek, through sweet smelling vegetative cover and up steep switchbacks for two miles until we reached the Bear Ridge trail.

At the junction we stepped off the John Muir Trail for the first time since Day 2. The Bear Ridge trail was lovely and the ground was soft and covered in bark and pine needles. It was not significantly traveled and we saw no one for the first time as we descended approximately six miles toward Lake Edison. As we approached, the lake came into view and with each step we knew we were getting closer. When we finally reached the dam, we took a break for a picture and then continued along the first paved road we had seen in more than a week.

The last few miles of hiking were challenging, to put it mildly. Though we were on a relatively flat road, we had three miles to walk around the dam to get to VVR. So close to our destination and still it felt like an eternity to arrive. As we approached we spotted huge campsites for day hikes and cars whizzed by us toward the resort.

Finally we arrive and, still the early morning, we felt a strong sense of relief. We threw our packs onto a nearby bench and immediately went inside the small store/cafe at the resort. We wasted no time purchasing shower tokens ($7 for 7 minutes), a laundry pass ($7) and tickets for the ferry ride the following morning ($13 per person). The lovely lady at the counter started a tab for us and we rushed toward the showers awaiting us.

The feeling of a hot shower after days of hiking is too incredible to convey. After days of wearing the same clothes, we were finally able to clean ourselves, and also take a look at the fairly significant weight loss we both experienced. Seven minutes in a hot shower was more than anything we could have hoped for. Once we were clean (and dressed in some borrowed clothes from the resort) we started out laundry and ate some Oreo's that we were saving for a special occasion. Then we walked into the cafe and sat down for our first real, non-dehydrated meal in days.

Pat ordered the Vermillion Burger (double cheeseburger) and I ordered fish and chips. VVR offers through- hikers the first beer free, and we each had ciders which tasted so incredibly sweet and delicious, and were also incredibly intoxicating. We ate slowly and savored the delicious meal. When the waiter came by to ask if we had room for pie we did not hesitate for a second. Of course, there is always room for pie...with ice cream.

We spent the rest of the day in a daze. We eventually got around to setting up our tent in the free campground less than 50 feet from the store entrance. We added a few more items to our tab including some snacks, a slightly fancier dehydrated dinner meal for that evening, some mole skin bandages for our feet, and some Tylenol.

We explored the campground and sat in the sun on Lake Edison beach before returning to the picnic tables near the cafe for a pre-dinner snack of BBQ chips, Pop Tarts, and hot chocolate. Not long after, as the sun began to set and the temperature outside began to get chilly, we climbed into the tent and made a hot meal while listening to a podcast (Myths and Legends).

We fell asleep, nearly full and extremely happy. Despite not being a true zero day we felt refreshed and so grateful for the chance to experience VVR.