Mono Pass, John Muir Wilderness (2025)

25 October, 2025 [Apologies for the poor sound quality. The wind was horrendous at times.] On Saturday, our friend Ed, at whose home we were staying in Bishop, had planned to go swimming and exercise at Keough Hot Springs. Patsy and I picked up yummy sandwiches at Mahogany Smoked Meats, then drove to Mosquito Flat (10,000') and hiked to Mono Pass (12,000'). In the background was Bear Creek Spire, which we climbed with Mordechai Bodner many years ago. It must have been 1987. Patsy and I had entertained the idea of eating lunch at Summit Lake before climbing Mt. Starr (12,836'), but we gave up on the idea because the lake looked really cold, and then we gave up on climbing Mt. Starr because it was really windy. Then it started snowing on us. It was really a bit too late in the season to do a hike like this, but we at least made it to the Pass and back to the car safely. Upon our return, Ed said he didn't feel good, so he had stayed home instead of going to Keough. Patsy and I mentioned that we'd had both Flu and Covid boosters before we flew to New York. "Thanks for the reminder", Ed said before driving off to get a Covid booster. Upon his return, he said the pharmacist wouldn't give him a Covid shot because his temperature was 2 degrees above normal. It turned out that Ed had Covid, and for the first time! We stayed one more night and helped Ed with a few chores in the morning. Patsy and I felt fine. We had planned to visit our friends Ernie and Jeri in LA on our way home, but didn't want to risk giving them Covid, so we drove straight home instead. We stopped at Alabama Hills Cafe in Lone Pine for lunch, but it was really disappointing. The food wasn't nearly as good as it used to be, and it was a lot more expensive than it used to be. Their bread was priced at $11 per loaf, far more than it cost last time we were there. We won't be eating there again.