We set an emergency alarm for 8a, but BUNNY was awake before 7. I made it until 7:20 but when I’m in town, I’m a news addict. That’s a big reason I like to travel out of the country…the further away I am, the less I care. At least hiking removes me from internet access.
Breakfast in the Midwest is usually the most economical meal to eat out. You get huge portions and the price is relatively cheap. Not so in Tahoe. They have managed to make breakfast more expensive than lunch. We spent $40 for 2 cups of coffee, biscuits and gravy for me, bacon and eggs for Bunny. I asked to just get biscuits and gravy without eggs, but they didn’t discount my meal any. I made them give Bunny my eggs since I was still paying for them. Bunny had read that the cost of living in Tahoe is 10x the national average (I’m sure real estate prices are a large portion of that, but breakfast is taking its bite).
After our visitation rites were complete with the porcelain, we called for an Uber to take us back to the trail. It was less than 5 miles to the trailhead from the hostel. Normally, I’d say let’s just hike it knowing that Sassy would interject a “hell no,” but she’s not here. I didn’t want to risk Bunny saying yes if she’s feeling good. We were hiking before 10.
There were surprisingly few people on the trail today. What a waste because it was a perfect day to be out. Clear blue skies, no wind, mid 50s, and a great trail bed. Even though our first 9 miles were all uphill, the grade wasn’t bad so it almost felt level. We started getting great views of Lake Tahoe within the first 2 miles of hiking.
This is our 18th day on the TRT. The first 4 were just getting to the start of the trail and we’ve taken 4 zeros. We’ve spent 10 days just hiking down the west side of the lake and around the valley on the south end of the lake. Today, we hiked half way up the east side of the lake in just a single day. We saw more of the lake today than we did in the other 17 days out here. From the high point today, we could see Tahoe City across the lake. The end is within sight.
Something strange did happen to us today. When we were at the high point surveying the lake, a helicopter flew up from below right above our heads. It then circled us 3 times coming back to just above us. It was a fire helicopter and we thought it might be searching for fires since the wind had picked up a bit near the top of the basin, but it just kept screwing with us. Finally, we decided to head down off the ridge into the trees. When we did this, it finally quit circling and took off south. We kept looking for smoke around us but decided they were just screwing with us. It did make us question whether the trail is open or not.
As we got closer to Rt 50, the main route in from Carson City, we did start seeing more people out. Then we turned onto the Spooner Lake Loop and met a couple that stopped us and told us there were bears just ahead of us. Finally, a shot at some wildlife. We found access to the lake where we could get water. Bunny agreed to filter water if I would fill the water bags and go find us a spot to camp.
I headed in the direction of the bears. I found one spot about 50 yards from where we were getting water, but I wanted to be sure there wasn’t a better spot just around the turn. I kept going for about 1/2 mile without seeing anything even comparable to the spot by Bunny. I kept going until I ran into the bears.
Right in front of me on the trail was a little cub. It couldn’t have weighed 20 #. Another one was just to the right off the trail. I could see mama about 50 yards further. All three were just rolling pine cones around trying to get seeds out of them. I tried yelling to get mama’s attention, but she didn’t care. The cubs weren’t scared at all. I kept yelling and they all just ignored me. I took a few pictures before heading back to Bunny.
We grabbed the spot near where we had gotten water. We’re not sure if camping is allowed near Spooner Lake, but there weren’t any signs saying it wasn’t. Don’t ask, don’t tell. We set up the tent before Bunny insisted we go looking for the bears. We walked back to where they had been just 30 minutes ago, but they were nowhere to be seen.
The Forest Service is cleaning up the fuel on the forest floor in the area. There are several piles of wood all around. I’m sure they have managed to find space in one of the piles big enough for all 3 to squeeze in. I’m sure I weigh more than the 3 of them combined. Mama barely looked to be 100 #.
By the time we got back to our tent, it was almost dark. Bunny took care of the beds while I prepared supper outside. We’re trying to keep our headlamps off as much as possible to not draw attention to the fact that we are here. We have passed several notice boards today and there weren’t any restrictions posted on any of them, so I’m assuming we’re fully legal. Bunny promised to come visit me in prison if we aren’t. She swore she wouldn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus if a ranger stops us. Isn’t marriage grand?
EFG