We set an alarm, but it was a wasted effort. I’m always too wound up on days we leave town and return to the trail. I’m not exactly sure why. I like seeing the towns we visit and try to imagine living there, but after a day or two, I begin to feel like an outsider. I get to the point where I can’t stand all the people and noise. I just want to get back out in nature. But I do miss the warm beds and porcelain. I guess that’s what keeps bringing me back.
Baby made us breakfast again. She’s really trying her best to fatten us up. This morning was pancake, sausage, pork stew, Philippine coffee, and strawberries for dessert. We took down the extra food we had bought to eat in our room, but never got around to eating because of all the restaurants close by. We’ll be back in South Lake Tahoe in just 4 days. We’ll have hiked 40 miles around the valley to be in a hostel 4 miles from where we are now.
We went back up to our room to pack and get ready (say goodbye to porcelain). Bunny had already checked to see if Uber was available in the area. We ordered one as we were coming down the stairs. We thought we’d have a few minutes to say goodbye to Baby and Lily, but the Uber was already down waiting for us. In fact, we made it to the trailhead and were hiking by 10a. We weren’t in a hurry at all knowing we only have 8 miles to go today.
The first 3 1/2 miles were pretty steep uphill…in some places almost 1000’/mile. Comparatively, it’s not that bad, but that is about as steep as it ever gets on the PCT. I’m a little worried about the trail quality and grades we’ll run into once we turn off the PCT tomorrow.
Bunny was struggling today. We’ve managed to accumulate too much food. Digit Alice sent us a perfect resupply just as we had asked—4 days. The problem was that we came into town with 2 days that we had managed to over accumulate from our road trip and then we got some food from Backpacker to test. We’ve got about 7 days worth of food all together…more than will fit into our Bear canister. The reason Bunny is struggling is because I had to have her carry the Jet Boil. That was the tipping point that put her over 28 # 1 oz.
Other than being steep uphill, the hike was uneventful. We didn’t run into anyone once we left the parking lot. We did run into 2 hunters there and asked what they were after. They said “Biden supporters.” The camo should have tipped my hand, but I was distracted by my load. Like a good chameleon, I said “you need to get down to town, they’re swarming down there. None of them liberal pansies out here on the trail.”
It took us 5 1/2 hours to cover the 8 miles. I made sure we ate bigger meals tonight for supper so I can free up enough space to take the Jet Boil back from Bunny tomorrow. I’ll also pack better. Today was the first time I’d carried the bear canister in our new packs.
Today was overcast all day and it cooled off fast once we got to camp. We are at almost 8700’ but the forecast was calling for cooler temperatures overall. We might dip into a freeze tonight. There are a couple of tropical storms out in the Pacific that the forecast said could possibly dump some rain, or even snow, on us this weekend, depending on our elevation. I like snow. I don’t mind camping in snow. I hate Bunny thinking/worrying/obsessing about snow.
EFG