Travel update: leaving Mammoth and heading south for winter
It's a sad day for us- we left Mammoth.
If you are new here, my partner, Patrick, and I live with our dog in an old campervan. We arrived in Mammoth Lakes, CA in May and have been living and working in Mammoth since then.
We moved south to Bishop, which is only a 45 min drive to Mammoth, but usually about 20 degrees warmer. Patrick is working at a coffee shop in Mammoth until the beginning of December so he's commuting five days a week.
It wasn't until I got to Bishop that I realized how good Mammoth has been to us over the last six months.
First of all, to have a free space to stay tucked away in the pine trees away from people and close to town is a dream. The rangers *mostly* don't care that people are living there- we just had to move every few weeks.
Second, the amenities available in town are the best I have ever seen. Clean water and dumpsters for trash were easily available. Also, the laundromat! I have never enjoyed doing laundry so much. Not to mention, the people tended to be open minded and welcoming which made me feel safe.
Finally, the scenery is just something nowhere else can compete with. If you aren't lost in a pine forest somewhere, you are taking in views of crystal clear alpine lakes or majestic snow capped moutains. I started solo hiking again and I haven't felt that happy in years.
We have spent the last month looking for housing in Mammoth. Unfortunately for us, Mammoth lacks affordable housing.
We tried to stick it out as long as we could, but after the first snow of the season we were cold in our bones and decided it was time to head south.
Because Patrick had committed to working at the coffee shop until the beginning of December, we settled down in Bishop for the month of November.
What a stark difference! Bishop is the toilet bowl to the beautiful paradise that is Mammoth. It isn't about the scenery, Bishop is beautiful in a different way to Mammoth. It is about the hostility of the people of Bishop towards travelers and homeless people.
It has been made very clear to me by the people of Bishop that I am not welcome here. So, while we might have stayed here while we looked for affordable housing in Mammoth, we are instead going to head south for winter.
I am sad to leave Mammoth behind, but at least we know we have a safe place to stay where the weather will be warmer.
Next year in spring we will return to Mammoth and continue our search for housing. Maybe by winter next year we will figure something out.
Patrick's last day of work at the coffee ship is in the beginning of December so we will head south for the deserts of southern California then and look for work.
I would love to find a place to belong to, somewhere I feel safe and am not always seen as the outsider or a problem like I so often am. Being in Mammoth is the closest I have felt to belonging in years.
Maybe one day we will have a small house with a garden and a safe place to call home. But for now, the financial barriers seem too fucking high for that to ever be possible.
Let's be friends! Do you have a place that feels safe to call home? What makes your home feel safe for you?
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