I kind of like this no hurry hiking. We woke up a little after 7 and we’re still on the trail by 9. A couple of day runners passed through our camp before we got out. Also, the dog launched the canoe and took one of his humans out fishing with him.
One of the dangers of hiking in the age of Covid is that every time something’s a little out of whack, you wonder if you’ve finally caught it. I always have allergies in the spring and fall around pine trees. My nose was dripping today…do I have Covid? It was pretty hot for 8000’ elevation. I was sweating a lot. Do I have a fever?…do I have Covid? We both had upset stomachs today. It might have been the old jerky I used in the potatoes last night, mild food poisoning, or…do I have Covid? I’m farting quite a lot. Nothing unusual there. Have I had Covid for years?
Bunny was really struggling with her stomach today. I think she has Covid. It got worse right after lunch. She claims that mayonnaise goes bad, but I’m sure she has Covid. We had to stop for her to poop on the side of the trail (it’s better than in the middle of the trail like she usually does. No doubt, Covid). I start to wonder how we’re going to get back home if Bunny has Covid. It gives me a headache. Maybe it’s me with Covid.
By the time we stopped for lunch, we had less than 5 miles to go to our target destination. We climbed up on top of a rock in the shade and took a leisurely 45 minute lunch. Our first day out of Tahoe City we did 9 miles even starting at noon, but we were pretty sure we didn’t have Covid then. Even with Covid, we should be to camp by 4. We’ll just sweat it out. My gas is getting worse, Covid? I hate to say this, I wish we could hear more news so we’d know what the symptoms are. I hate to have hypochondriac moments for non-symptoms.
There weren’t very many people out for such a perfect Saturday. The weather has been ideal since we started hiking last Saturday from Truckee. As I mentioned, today was quite warm considering our elevation above sea level. We watched the local news the night before we left Tahoe City and saw 100 deg F predictions for the Central Valley for the first 2 days of October and the rest of the week was above 95. It’s pretty warm, in my opinion. We were a little concerned about having it snow on us in October but it looks like we’re going to dodge that rubber bullet.
I was thinking about some comments people I know have said about California fires. Before we started hiking out here, we just didn’t grasp how big the state is. CA has 18 National Forests and each of those forests is bigger than the Shawnee in Southern Illinois which clocks in at 340,000 acres. I’m guessing the average size of the forests in CA is at least 500,000 acres, and California has a lot of mountains and 8 National Parks with numerous wilderness areas. It’s not just a simple matter that “they need to clean up the forests.” The tallest mountains in the lower 48 are here. A lot of the state is inaccessible.
We entered the Desolation Wilderness today. It is one of the Crown Jewels of wilderness areas. You have to have a permit to even day hike here. The permits aren’t tough to get, but they try to limit the access. Why is it so popular? Because it’s f’n beautiful and filled with alpine lakes. We passed 3 today: Middle Velma Lake, Fontanillis Lake, and Dicks Lake where we are camping tonight. They are each stunning, filled with crystal clear water, and surrounded by granite mountains. We even saw snow patches above the last two lakes I mentioned.
We made it to Dicks Lake (no apostrophe, I’m hoping this is not a backcountry, gay pickup up spot—not that there’s anything wrong with that), before 4. We ran into 2 guys as soon as we got to the lake (coincidence?). I had noticed a corner of the lake on the map sitting right above the overflow to Fontanillis Lake. We headed back there and found several great spots on the opposite side of the spillway.
Bunny and I set up the tent and then went down to the lake to clean up. The lake is ice cold. I soaked my feet for about 2 minutes before giving up. We, instead, headed to the spillway to get away from all the roe floating in the water near the shore. At least some life forms truly enjoy alpine lakes to the fullest. I filtered water while Bunny sponge bathed.
Supper was a delicious guacamole with Fritos followed by a spectacular concoction of Ramen Noodles and Spam. Desert was a dubiously labeled “shareable” size package of M&Ms with peanuts. I accidentally bumped Bunny’s head when I stood up. As compensation, she tried to finagle the extra M&M tonight. Homey don’t play that! I carried the bag all the way from Tahoe City. We don’t live in a socialist country. I earned that M and I ate it.
EFG