Sierra Pack Trip

I just returned from a wonderful painting trip from the Eastern Sierras where, along with eight other artists and a photographer, I spent six days painting at 10000+ ft elevation. It was awesome!

As with past such trips, I want to do a day-by-day, blow-by-blow report of the trip. I do have lots of pics to share so I think it best to try and post in manageable chunks.

I'm still kind of exhausted so this post will be just a short one, to set the scene for the next bunch of posts.

This is my third painting trip to the Sierras, and this year's destination is the same as last year's; Chickenfoot Lake and Gem Lakes. We hike in from Rock Creek Pack Station, some 20 minutes South of Mammoth.

But that's tomorrow. The first day is spent just getting there - from where I live, it's about five and a half hours driving. Since I got a speeding ticket last year, I was really careful and drove like a snail. Still, the beautiful scenery down Hwy 395 kept me engaged and it felt like I got down there in no time.

We met up in Mammoth, and as tradition dictates, headed over to the Taproom, a dinky little bar where we drank beer and caught up with each other's recent adventures in art. We arrive here a day before the hike-in to acclimate ourselves to the elevation a little bit. After all, we will be spending the next several days at 10000 - 11000 ft above sea level, and that's not something to take lightly.

Beer flowed and one by one, all the members showed up at the Taproom. (Except Daniel, who would meet us in the morning at the pack station) . We headed over to Slocums Grill for one last civilized sit-down dinner before a week of roughin' it. (If you heard me say it, you'd detect a bit of irony. But more about that later)

Stuffed with excellent food and wine, and excited about the adventure, we returned to the hotel and turned in early.


-to be continued-