Week 18: Sonora Pass to South Lake Tahoe

 Day 125 ( August 3rd ): On the Trail Again

I hoped to get an early start, but the beef and bean burrito I had for dinner last night gave me the runs. Fortunately, I was always able to get to the bathroom on time. I finally started to get ready to go back on trail at 11. In my hurry. I left my flashlight behind ( I didn't notice it was missing until I got to camp ). Gary gave me a ride back to the trail at 2:30, telling me the story of how Deadman's Creek and Deadman's Canyon got their names along the way. In September of 1859 a man was traveling along the road through the canyon when he was caught by a hard, early blizzard. The following spring they found his body near the creek and buried him nearby.

Of the four hikers who stayed at the resort last night, I am the only one who returned to the trail today. I started hiking at 3, after chatting with some hikers who were going SoBo from Sonora Pass.

At about 4:30 I met two members of an Americore Trailwork team heading to camp at Sonora Pass for the night. 

At 5:30 it started to rain. Unlike the previous rainstorms I had in the southern Sierras,  this one lasted longer and had hail mixed in. 

waited until the rain let up a bit at 6:30 abd resumed hiking, reaching camp ( in the rain ) at 7. There was one tent set up already. The rain continued on and off until 11.

Day 126: Who let the cows out ? Who ? Who ?

I was lazy this morning and slept in until 6:30 (not having a flashlight makes packing in the dark harder). As I was packing, I met my neighbors, Don and his Support Dog "Zeke". Don's trailname is WTF ( It's embroidered on his hat. It means "Where's The Fish" ).

Don and I chatted for about an hour before I left at 8. At about 8:30 I met "Pancake" a SoBo hiker ( not to be confused with "Pancakes" the Trail Angel from Ridgecrest ) hiking from Ashland to Sonora Pass to complete her through hike from last year that was stopped by wildfires. Way to go Pancake !! Congratulations!!

Don and Zeke passed me as I was chatting with Pancake.  Don said he was planning on hiking 12 to 15 miles depending on how Zeke did. Zeke is 10 years old and has a few health issues so he can't hike as far as he used to. At 9, I met Elegant,  the woman Sarah and I met at Walker River who only hikes 4 or 5 miles a day. She got her trail name because she wears Pearls while hiking.

As I was hiking during the afternoon,  I  heard what I thought were wind chimes. I wondered, "Who would set up wind chimes out here". A few minutes later I realized I was listening to the Concerto for Cowbells in C Major.

I was hoping to hike 20 miles, but the threat of rain plus aching feet and shoulders made me stop after 17 miles.

My early stop allowed me to back up all my photos. 

Day 127: Rain, Rain go Away

OK, I admit it, I am a bit of a wuss. Are you happy now ? It was raining when I woke up at 5:30. Not being in a huge hurry ( and being a bit of a wuss ) I decided to sleep in and see if the rain would stop. 

No joy, so at 7, I got up and started packing. C**P!! My water filter is missing ! It's not in the tent or backpack. That means I must have left it several miles back where I last filtered water. So, I am going to have to walk several miles in the rain to find my filter. So, you might think, what's the big deal, buy another one when you get to town. Trust me, when you are camped 200 feet from a stream and there are "cow pies" nearby, you really don't want to drink the water without filtering it first. 

So I started walking. About 2 miles back, I met a team of two Aussies and a guy from Chicago who had started on May 31st. Those folks are bookin' !! One of the Aussies was kind enough to give me some water purification tablets.  I continued hiking and a mile further ran into Don and Zeke. Evidently, I  had passed them yesterday and didn't see them. Don said that he and Zeke would watch my tent until I returned. Nobody had seen my filter. GULP!! 

When I got to the place where I had filtered water yesterday,  my filter wasn't there. SHOOT!! If I  didn't  find the filter it meant that the dozen or so treatment tablets ( enough to treat 6 Liters of water ) would have to do for 50 miles. That meant, find the filter or make do with 1 or 2 Liters of water a day and I  usually drink between 4 and 5.

Hoping beyond hope, I  carefully scanned the side of the trail as I slowly made my way back to camp. About a half mile from where I filtered water yesterday. I found it on the side of the trail. It had fallen out of my pack and landed in a thick patch of flowers. If I wasn't hiking slow and looking for it, I probably wouldn't have seen it. WHEW !!

I quickly walked back to camp, arriving a bit after Noon. Don and Zeke were resting under a tarp and watching my tent when I returned to camp. Thanks guys !! I quickly filtered ( and drank ) 2 Liters of water. Hey ! I was thirsty. You hike 12 miles without a drop to drink and see how you feel ! I then ate a quick meal ( my first food of the day ) and crawled into my sleeping bag to warm up. Don and Zeke left at about 1:30 as I drifted off to sleep.

The sun started to poke through the clouds around 3 and I quickly set out my wet clothes and shoes to dry as much as they could while I stayed warm and dry in my sleeping bag.  I decided it was to late in the day to go any further. Yes, I am being a wuss. I hate hiking in the rain, especially the rain that doesn't stop until you and all your equipment are thoroughly soaked. It's my hike and I'll be a wuss if I want to.

It sprinkled a bit at 5 but I was able to get my stuff into the tent first. At 6, I heard footsteps in the campsite. Hoping it wasn't a cow ( there was one tentsite that had a huge cow pie right in the middle ), I crawled out of my tent to investigate. It was "Blink"  a Second Grade teacher from Brooklyn, New York. She is called Blink, because someone once said if you blink she's gone. She had actually hiked a mile or two past my campsite and came back when she discovered that the next campsite had a lot of cow pies in it. She uses the same tent as I and gave me some advice about setting my tent stakes further out from the tent to get more space and headroom. I will have to try it.

My plan ( revised because no plan ever survives the first mile on the trail ) is to hike to South Lake Tahoe, do a resupply, get a new pack, flashlight, a pack cover (to keep my pack dry) and a new pair of pants. The pants I use have a 38 inch waist. The problem is I have lost so much weight ( 40 pounds or so) that I  now have a 33 inch waist. I know, it's a good problem to have, right ? I would also like to get a haircut and beard trim. After doing that I will take the bus to Bend, Oregon skipping almost 900 miles of trail to get around 4 or 5 forest fires. I will then hike from Bend to Cascade Locks for Trail Days on the 19th and 20th. Think of Trail Days as Comicon for hikers. It's a huge celebration of the PCT and the hikers who hike it.

Day 128: Another change of plans ?

I was up, packed and on the trail by 7:30. Blink was just getting up as I left. She says she normally hikes 21 to 23 miles a day, so she will probably catch up to me at some point. 14 miles up the trail, I caught up with Don and Zeke as we took a break to have a bite and get some water.

Note to the wise: try to take your breaks near a stream or creek so you can refill your water when you're done.

It turns out that Don is a former Navy Corpsman ( that's  Medic for all the other military branches ) who served in the early 80's.  He has PTSD from what he saw during the AIDS epidemic and some things that happened in the OR. That is why he hikes with Zeke.

After our break we started hiking. After a mile, we saw that someone ( more likely several people ) had put an American flag on the top of a mountain overlooking the trail.

How they got the flag ( and pole ) up there, I have no idea. It's the first flag I have seen on trail. We hiked another 2 miles under darkening skies ( as in possible thunderstorm dark ) and made camp a little ways off trail between two forks of a creek.

Not taking any chances, we dug small trenches to divert rainwater away from our tents if it rained.

It turned out, the trenches weren't necessary, as the sky cleared at sunset.

Sarah contacted me through her Garmin Inreach.  I had notified her of my plan, and hadn't heard from her. It turns out her Inreach battery was low. She thought that we were hiking to Truckee together ( that was what we had planned at Kennedy Meadows Resort ) and was wondering why I was changing the plan. She is 40 miles ahead of me, so if I am going to catch up, I will have to put in some long mile days. 

Day 129: A most unwelcome visitor 

I got up and started packing at 5:30. I was almost done, when I noticed I had a "visitor", a tick was on my sleeping mat. YIKES !! I quickly undressed and checked my body for any others. None that I could see. I then had Don check my back. No ticks. Whew !!

Don has a blister on the bottom of his right heel, so he will be taking it slow. I have a lot of miles to do, so I  started hiking at 7 with the goal of doing at least 20 miles. I made good time, covering 11 miles before stopping for lunch at 12:30. 

I was going to take a long ( 30 minute ) lunch break when I read a FarOut comment that the Rangers at the Carson Pass Visitor Center give out Trail Magic until 4.

I had 3 hours to hike 7 miles over the pass to the Visitor Center, so I  off I went. Along the way, I  saw both Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches in the same place ( the first time I had seen both species together other than at my feeders ) and a Bald Eagle.

About half a mile from the Visitor Center, some dayhikers pointed out something very unusual,  a Birch Tree growing from the branch of another tree about 30 feet off the ground.

When I got to the Visitor Center at 3:30, I was greeted by the Rangers, Edi, Lisa and Mike.

Edi refilled my water, Lisa pointed me to the trail magic (Pepsi and Granola) that they provide (Forest Service regs require they do it outside the Visitor Center)

and Mike offered to recharge my electronics. Blink showed up at 3:45 and we hung out at the Visitor Center until 4:30 ( it closed at 4 ). A hiker family gave us more trail magic ( Gatorade and Clementines for me, 2 Beers and Clemintines for Blink ). 

Blink and I started hiking at 5, intending to camp at the outlet of Showers Lake.

Blink sets a fast pace and we covered the 5.4 miles to Showers Lake in 2 hours. My hiking philosophical question is: Why do you always (or almost always) have a hard climb to get to your campsite at the end of the day? The tentsites at Showers Lake are nice and we were able to easily find good spots to camp. 

Blink told me that if I  extended my trekking poles another 5 cm when using them to set up my tent, it would give me more headroom.  She is right. I can sit up from a laying position without my head touching the tent. Thanks Blink !

Day 130: Welcome to South Lake Tahoe 

I woke up at 6 and strolled down to Showers Lake to take some photos.

I was ontrail by 7:30. Today is Blink's last day, so she is taking it easy. At 9, I was passed by a young man who is flip-flopping the PCT ( he hiked from Echo Summit near South Lake Tahoe to the Canadian border and is now hiking from Echo Summit to the Mexican Border ). It was a fairly easy hike to the highway and I arrived at 11:30. 

The FarOut comments all said it is an easy hitch to South Lake Tahoe from the trail. Easy hitch my A** !! I was passed by anywhere from 75 to 100 cars before a kind young man pulled over and gave me a ride close to the hostel I am staying at.  He explained that getting a hitch is easier in the evening when most of the traffic are locals who like hikers. During the day most of the traffic are tourists. He is planning on hiking part of the Tahoe Rim Trail and wanted to build up his good karma before he started. 

He dropped me off a short (for a through hiker) distance from the hostel and right next to a Pizza joint. LUNCHTIME  !! Happy is the hiker who gets to eat a whole 8 inch pizza (by himself) for lunch. I know this will sound odd to most folks but the two foods I have a hard time getting enough of on trail are fruit and fats. Fresh fruit is big, bulky and heavy. In this day and age of low fat, low cholesterol foods getting food with enough fat on trail is very hard. I can get Tuna packets to make sandwich wraps anywhere, but shredded beef ?? Good luck with that. So far, I've been able to get shredded beef packets in only three places.

After lunch I did resupply and  checked the local gear shop to see what they had. The grocery store didn't have Payday bars and the gear store didn't have the pack I wanted.

Day 131: Zero Day in South Lake Tahoe

I spent the day roaming South Lake Tahoe ( it's widely spread out for a town of 20,000 ) trying to find a place to get a haircut.

All the places I checked were booked for the day. I then tried to find a decent pair of hiking pants for less than $100 and struck out there too.

Scooters for rent

Bikes for rent

As I was roaming the town, I passed the Gondola to the top of the mountain. I checked the cost. $69 ! Are you kidding me ! I realize that all prices are bigger in California,  but that's a little to much for a guy who's hiked to the top of Mt Whitney. I finished the day by arranging for transport to Bend, Oregon to get around the fire closures. I take a bus to Reno, a flight to Redmond, Oregon and another bus to Bend.

Day 132: Final Zero in South Lake Tahoe 

I finally found a place to get a haircut and roamed a bit taking photos. In the evening, Sarah contacted me and we discussed our plans. She is with a couple in Reno and is planning on driving to the Mt Hood area and hiking from there. 

She pointed out that there is a 20 mile fire closure NORTH of Bend, which is from a fire that burned last year. The crews are still working on cleaning out the debris and making sure dead trees won't fall on hikers passing underneath. Yikes !! So I spent the evening arranging for a ride around the closure.  

My plans (for now) are as follows: Travel to Bend on Thursday,  do some shopping at REI ( I still need a new pack and more comfortable pants ). Spend Thursday night in Bend. Hitch a ride to the trail on Friday and hike to the south end of the fire closure. I will get a ride around the closure on Saturday and continue hiking north to Cascade Locks on the Columbia River. I hope to make it to Cascade Locks by next Friday when Trail Days starts. I will probably meet Sarah and Alyssa there.