The Great Outdoors

Chapter 69

DAY ELEVEN

Lavender Fields to Mackenzie Lake Loop Trailhead

There’s an inscription carved into the wooden sign at the Mackenzie Lake Loop Trailhead that reads: THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS NEVER CHANGE, THE MOUNTAINS CHANGE YOU.

If you look closely at its post, you’ll notice it is covered in scratches—rest assured that these were not made by any wild animal, but by every hiker who came before you.

Tradition holds that each hiker, upon completing the loop, reserves the right to carve a small tally line into the post. Use a pocketknife or a humble house key to make your mark.

—Henry Herrington, Backpacking the Sierras: A Beginner’s Handbook (Fourth Edition)