Having nearly run out of food after seven days in the wilderness, it was high time to resupply. The only trouble was, the closest trailhead with a decent road into town lay on the whole other side of yet another near 12,000 foot pass. Thankfully, crossing Kearsarge Pass didn’t pose too much difficulty, and after a pleasant lunch on a sunny rock at Bullfrog Lake we ambled through a few minor snowfields and up some gentle switchbacks to the top.
On the way down to Onion Valley trailhead, we passed a fair number of day hikers and a few families out for a weekend camping trip. We had just reached the parking lot when a day hiker named Bill who I had briefly spoken with on the trail came down behind us. I asked if he would let us hitch a ride with him to the tiny town of Independence at the highway junction below. Not only did Bill give us a ride in the bed of his pickup truck, he also kindly offered some vegan chocolate shakes for us to quench our thirst during the short trip down! As I sat sipping my shake in the truck bed, back propped up against the cab and legs splayed out lazily before me, I watched the surrounding mountains slowly recede into the desert valley and felt content.
Russell on the Road 