Easily Forgotten Archives - Page 5 of 5 - My New Life on the Trail

Day 7, Thursday, July 8. South Lake Tahoe—(Zero Day)

Shaking things up in Tahoe

What to do in sunny CA on an off day when you’ve already spent a couple months hiking the PCT over the last 3 years? Why not ride out an earthquake (5.9 on the Richter Scale, not a measly ass 4 like we get in South East Missouri).

I had already decided that I was not going to write the blog this year so I’d have more free time on trail and on our zero days in towns. After the way Bunny and I had overheated this past week on the trail, we decided to follow the lead of the majority of thru-hikers we had seen on the trail and buy some sun shirts. Strider actually wears long underwear under his hiking clothes along with a long sleeve shirt and a hat that blocks all sun from him. Sassy wears a hooded sun shirt. We spent the morning (after a big breakfast, of course) going from store to store in search of sun shirts.

After trying a half dozen different outfitters and clothes outlets, we ended up buying the first sun shirts we had seen. This just goes to prove my point about being a commando shopper—get in, get out as fast as possible. Shopping around is for sissies. If I’m going to spend my new found freedom shopping, I might as well just write the damn blog.

In the afternoon, Bunny and I did our grocery shopping for the next 6 trail days. We had already bought a few dehydrated meals and fuel when we were searching for the shirts. After all this shopping, I turned to Bear for a reprieve. The women were “tired” from all the gathering they had done in the morning. They wanted a nap. The men still had hunting to get out of our system. Bear suggested ice cream. Is it any wonder that I don’t enjoy hiking with Bear? We began our hunt.

Apparently, we are trend setters. We found a Cold Stone Creamery that was empty. We went in and made our selections. Bear chose a “gotta have it” that contained 970 calories. I’m still trying to lose a bit of weight. I chose a “gotta have it” that had a slimming 940 calories. When the masses saw 2 alpha male hunters sit down to our “man sized” rewards after a hard fraught morning with women in a shopping meca, the line formed and stretched out the door. Cold Stone should have paid us for bringing them the meek and weak.

As we were slowly ingesting our bounty, I felt the table move. I thought the masses were getting too close for comfort. I turned around and noticed a display rack and all the items were shaking. “Was that an earthquake?” Bear said he thought so. We saw that the gondola across from us had stopped. People had worried looks on their faces. All eyes turned to us. Our next moves would set the entire mood for all of South Lake Tahoe. Slowly, Bear and I dipped our spoons in our ice creams, and shoveled it in. Stay calm and eat ice cream.

Upon seeing that we had successfully prevented mass hysteria from breaking out, our thoughts immediately turned to the women-folk. We both thought the same thing…Bunny has freaked out. In this instance, we were both right.

When we returned to the hostel, both Bunny and Sassy were sitting outside at a picnic table. Bunny had gotten out of bed and stood in the doorway when she realized it was an earthquake. When the shaking stopped and she saw that the building hadn’t fallen, she made a bee-line for the picnic tables outside. She no longer trusted the old building we were staying in.

We joined them at the table. Our manly influence immediately calmed them. That is, until we started looking up information on the earthquake. We found an article from May of this year that said Tahoe was long overdue for a big one. We found news stories on the quake that just happened as well as the other 38 smaller quakes that had happened in the last 24 hours. This influx of data did not calm Bunny. Nor did the aftershocks that followed through the rest of the afternoon and night.

When we went to bed, I was going to gently shake the bed to pay her back for making me take the top bunk—“you’re too dehydrated to get up to pee in the night. Just take the top bunk.” Just as I was getting ready to shake the bed, another tremor happened. It was kind of relaxing being 6’ off the floor and gently swaying too and fro. I decided from the panic in Bunny’s voice that I had no need to shake the bunk again. But I did it anyway 10 minutes later. I cheerfully slept after that one.

Until about 1 when the room still hadn’t cooled off. Bear got up again to fan the door and bring in cool air. He was trying to comfort all of us and cool us down for a good night’s sleep. Surely, this would have earned him his Angel wings…if only he hadn’t been just wearing his underwear. Are Angels hairy? Maybe next time.

EFG

Day 6, Wednesday, July 7. Echo Summit Trailhead, TM 1563.5–(9.0 miles **)

Why can we move faster today than any other day? 2 words: TOWN DAY

It’s amazing how energized I am today. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting used to the trail again, or, maybe it’s because it’s a TOWN DAY! Tracy is going to meet us around noon and have hamburgers, fries, and Diet Coke’s. Even better, we’ll get to shower and sleep in beds tonight. I’m not sure if I like the hiking, or if I like how luxurious hiking makes everything feel once you get back into a town, even a little backwoods hole like South Lake Tahoe.

I suppose I need to explain the ** in today’s title. It’s getting a bit out of order, but it needs to be said. I am a purist. I believe in walking every inch of the trail as laid out when we are on said trail. My arms were twisted behind my back today. I was out voted 5-0 once again. Bunny and I hiked the shore along Echo Lake last year when we hiked the TRT. We’ve done the trail. We’re not thru-hiking anymore. That ship sailed when we nearly died in 2019. We are LASHers which mean we just need to hike all of the trail…eventually. The ** means we already hiked this 2.4 mile section of trail and it wasn’t that great last time. It was hot and dry in October. I have no doubt it’d be miserable now. Against all fibers of my being, we took the water taxi across Echo Lake. As a form of punishment, we all wore our face masks the entire trip. We had no choice. This is considered “public transportation.”

As has become the norm, let the weak links get a head start out of camp. Only, today was town day. We flew. It was less than 6 miles to the turn for the water taxi. We looked back but never saw anyone from our party. It was refreshing to see people heading up from Echo Lake. They were struggling going uphill. We were smugly fast walking downhill telling people how beautiful Aloha Lake is as it’s worth the effort. Oh what a joyous morning watching people make the pilgrimage uphill while we were heading to town. It didn’t matter that we smelled like walking human waste…TOWN DAY!

We stopped in a shady corner of the trail and waited for the other 3 to show up. Several passing day hikers asked us questions about how far we were going and how long we had been out. The biggest part of the northbound bubble has passed us by now. If they haven’t, their chances of finishing without flipping begin to diminish. I’m sure there are still some coming towards us who started later and are really flying up the trail. They’ll pass us faster than we pass day hikers.

Upper Echo Lake and Echo Lake, aka, salvation

Sassy, Bear, and Strider were only about 10 minutes behind us. We headed towards the water taxi as a group just in time to see the boat eave Upper Echo Lake. No problem. All we have to do is call for another one. The number is on a small hut right by the dock. Who’s got signal? No one. No problem. There’s a land line in the hut. All we have to do is call. When we checked out the phone in the hut, we realized, problem. The line has been cut. No Verizon signal. No AT&T signal. Even if we stand on the end of the dock with our phones raised.

Eventually other people started trickling in. The first couple had T Mobile. T Mobile doesn’t have signal anywhere, we’re screwed. What? T Mobile can get through. It’s like “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island” where the professor finally gets the radio to work. Just sit right back for a 10 minute tour of Echo Lake.

We made it…every other man for themselves

By the time the boat arrives, there are way more than 20 people waiting. We were sure to have our packs on the dock with the couple that made the call. We weren’t sure how big the boat would be and we HAD to be on the first boat. We had burgers coming to us. It would take 2 boats to get the crowd that had accumulated back to the Chalet. The only drawback with the boat ride is that it’s considered “public transportation” which requires all passengers to wear face masks. Face masks in an open air boat traveling 20 mph across a lake. We can’t even hear anyone speak on the boat, so virus exposure risk is pretty close to 0%, but if it gets us to burgers, put on the damn face masks and let’s get going.

We have a need for speed…burgers are waiting. Faster!

We knew we had time before Tracy when we arrived, so we let everyone pay at the dock before we left. The ride is actually free. It’s getting off the dock that costs. We paid and then went to find a spot to meet Tracy. On the way, we stopped by the Chalet, which is just a fancy name for “camp store.” The store was very well stocked for the cabin owners on the lake with plenty of options for hikers to perform a resupply without going into town. We bought a couple Diet Cokes to quench our thirst.

An example of a million dollar, off the grid, shack

The lower parking lot was crowded, so we headed up the hill (and trail) to the next lot where we found a nice shady spot to wait for Tracy. When she arrived, there was a spot she could park while we ate our much anticipated burgers, fries, onion rings, and Diet Cokes. Tracy had even made a special stop to buy Sassy a gluten free hamburger and fries. We were in heaven.

Back to my purity. I was very strict on the AT about not missing any trail. If there were two entrances to a shelter, I always exited the entrance that I came in. I always hiked north. I never slack-packed…until the AMC (Appalachian Money Club) did me in in New Hampshire. Their refusal to do any AT trail maintenance or improvements led to all of us having knee/hip/leg issues. My only choice was to not hike for a week to allow my knees to recover, or we had to slack-pack (hike without our backpacks). I’m a broken man. It’s a slippery slope. Doing it once makes it all that much easier to do it a second time.

Someone, not me, came up with the idea of slack-packing out to the highway where Tracy would pick us up and take us to town. It would give Tracy and Strider time to get him resupplied and cleaned up for the next portion of the TRT. It did sound appealing to walk 3 miles without a pack. Screw my purity I just rode a water taxi in place of 2.4 miles of trail. Chariot, carry my pack. I’m a trail slut. Can we catch a bus to Yosemite? Where does it end?

Maybe these shacks are more to your liking

Don’t ever repeat this. It was very relaxing and enjoyable to walk a few miles without my pack. Don’t let Bunny know I said that. Tell her it was hell. My soul was in agony. I’ll never do it again. We covered 3 miles in right at an hour. I didn’t know we could walk that fast without sweating.

We had told Tracy it would take us an hour and a half. We had time to kill. We sat on the road and waited for her. We saw her coming down the road and we got up…as she passed us up and headed down a steep curve right past us. I remember this road. It’s next to impossible to turn around. I panicked. A few minutes later, Tracy was back. She found a wide spot and a gap in traffic at just the right moment to make a U-turn. We were back on track for showers and beds. Life is grand!

Tracy drove us right to theMellow Mountain Hostel in South Lake Tahoe. Today, Tracy earned her wings and the title of “Trail Angel.” She brought us hamburgers. She slack packed us. She drove us right to our hostel. All before 4 which is check in time. Ring the bells for Tracy.

We quickly checked in and dropped our bags before we performed the next most important task of the day. It had already been over 3 hours since we ate. We had ~~hiked~~ sauntered for 3 miles. We had had slight panic attacks when we saw our packs pass us. We had made it to a town. In other words, it was time to eat. We headed to a pizza place Bunny and I remembered from last year and ordered sodas, salads, and pizza (gluten free for Sassy, of course). I drank 6 glasses of Sprite Zero before the salad arrived. Locust in a field had nothing on what we did to our salads. I had at least another 6 glasses before we left. I never once peed.

Now that we were fed, we headed back for showers. Since I’m the youngest, I was relegated to laundry duty while I waited for the last shower slot (it’s not always fun to be the baby of the group). The only drawback to the hostel was no AC. We did have itty bitty fans on each of our bunks, but they didn’t put out enough air to cool us down. About 1 in the morning, Bear broke down. He jumped off his top bunk and started fanning the door to draw in cool night air. It actually worked. We were able to finally sleep on the mattresses we had dreamt about for the last 4 nights. Is this enough for Bear to become an Angel? I think not. He does snore.

EFG

Day 5, Tuesday, July 6. Aloha Lake, TM 1554.5–(10.6 miles)

Lots of lakes to enjoy

We got up and going at our normal, 2021 start time…8:30, 8:45, never later than 9. This was our first morning without Strider. He usually wakes up around 4 and starts shuffling things. It’s become a morning comfort sound, kind of like Sassy’s snoring, or Sassy getting up to pee in the middle of the night, or Sassy getting up at 6 to go boom boom. Come to think of it, Strider makes Sassy seem like a church mouse.

Sassy has a new way of waking Bear up in the morning

Bunny and I did leave a few minutes ahead of Bear and Sassy. We remembered the climb up to Fontanillis Lake as being fairly steep and we are very aware of how slow we ascend. Not 3 minutes from camp, we hit the jackpot. We’ve been carrying some “all natural” insect repellent. To be honest, it’s as effective as smearing horse crap all over your body. In other words, it doesn’t work at all. It only seems to attract more bugs. Give me good old carcinogenic chemistry to keep the bugs away. Some poor nobo hiker had left their 100% deet on a rock by the trail. We didn’t hesitate a second before grabbing it. It was probably some smart ass punk anyway, so no guilt here.

Could you damn hikers keep it down? Not everyone likes to get up early

We started climbing. Bunny had her head down and was pushing on not paying attention to anything. How true that was, I didn’t realize until we got to the top. A nobo thru-hiker had set up his tent in a flat spot right next to the trail. It looked to be a Big Agnes tent and he’d left his rain fly off. He was not a foot off the trail, so not only was he clearly seen sleeping in his underwear, he was close enough to the trail to smell him. When we got to the Fontanillis Lake overflow, Bear and Sassy caught up with us. Sassy asked Bunny what she thought of the nobo hiker sitting in his tent smoking a cigarette (he must have woke up just after we passed). Bunny said she hadn’t seen anyone hiking up.

Fontanillis was as beautiful as we remembered. The mountains on the other side of the lake were reflected in the water’s surface. It was gorgeous. We met a few hikers in the area. One was a girl from Israel. Her trail name was Barnes & Noble. We chatted for a bit and told her we wanted to hike the Israel National Trail—she had hiked it twice and loved it. (Bedouins will take hikers in!) She’s hiked all over the world and wants to hike the Camino de Santiago next year because she wants to have coffees in all the small cafes along the trail. She got her trail name when she was in San Diego and stopped in a Barnes & Noble for a coffee and nearly choked on it.

The four of us started the climb up to Dicks Lake where we planned to stop for a snack and get water for the climb up to Dicks Pass. Strider caught up with us just before we got to Dicks Lake. It seemed like all of us needed a little Dicks juice in our water bottles. Fontanillis is actually filled by Dicks overflow. I couldn’t swallow the juice without adding a bit of flavor to it first. I needed the salt, but only if it had a fruity taste. Everyone else seemed fine with Dicks water unflavored.

It’s a 2 mile climb up to Dicks Pass from the lake with a gain of over 1000’. It’s really not too bad. The back side descent is much steeper and exposed. Bunny and I took off just a few minutes ahead of everyone else and it looked like we might actually be keeping pace with them until we neared the top where Sassy and Strider passed us. Bear was still behind us, but only because he was talking to everyone he passed on the way up. All in all, we did better keeping up than we had been.

Going downhill was pure pleasure. The big climb was over and we could watch the crowds struggling up the steeper side to get to the Pass. Nothing gives greater pleasure than watching others suffer (even if it’s by their own choice). That’s probably why we, as a society, do nothing to tackle poverty. Nothing makes a person sleep sounder knowing that, somewhere, someone is worse off.

I had a goal of having lunch on Susie Lake. Bunny and I had lunch on a small finger into the lake last fall. It’s the last spot to stop before the climb up to Heather Lake prior to our goal of Aloha Lake. The spot on Susie Lake allows us to look back up at Dicks Pass while we relax. I thought everyone might take their shoes and socks off and soak their feet, but I was the only one who partook.

Bunny and I are getting better, but still slower than everyone else. We took off while the others were having a discussion on metaphysics. Bear and Strider were starting to get philosophical and my mind wasn’t up to it. Until my body gets adjusted to the trail, I just don’t have the energy to do anything other than feel sorry for myself…lord knows no one else does. Wo is me.

It was getting quite hot. I’ve been trying to drink lots of electrolytes, but I just can’t keep up with all the sweat I’m losing every day. The walk along the shore of Heather and then up to Aloha is all in the sun. To make it worse, it’s all rocks which have been absorbing heat all day. I just can’t take being in direct sun for long periods of time.

Heather Lake is under appreciated because of its rocky shoreline

Sassy caught up with us before we got around Heather Lake. Bear and Strider were nowhere to be seen. She said they were full on into a philosophical discussion and she didn’t have the patience for it in this heat. I feel her pain (much more than I get from anyone). The three of us pushed on up to Aloha Lake.

A marmot cursing us as we climb up to Aloha Lake

The camping area is on the far end of Aloha from us. When we came by here last fall, the lake water level was much lower. We actually camped in the lake bottom between rocks. Now, we could only see the top of those rocks. The other thing we had forgotten is how long this damn lake is when you’re hot and tired.

There were lots of people out along the lake. People were swimming or camping almost everywhere we looked. We were afraid we might have a hard time finding a good spot. The three of us started looking for open spaces in the rocks. Sassy spotted a flat spot near the shore completely surrounded by huge boulders. She sent me to check it out. (Being the youngest, everyone feels free to tell me what to do, and I usually do it.) it was a beautiful spot that could easily hold 5 tents on two different levels. The best part, (don’t tell any LNT authorities) we were less than 50’ from the water with our own private Boulder access. In all fairness, no one on the lake could see us, nor could we actually see the lake from our spot.

Before we could get out there to claim the spot, Bear and Strider showed up. I yelled at them and motioned for them to come directly to me which was the easiest route. They were still so deep in conversation that they didn’t notice and walked on by. When they bumped into Sassy, they noticed we had found a campsite.

We set up camp in the depression. If someone walked by, they could only see us if we were standing up. Strider had gotten to go swimming in Middle Velma last night. Tonight, we all went into Aloha to cool off. Only Strider and I got completely under water. When I got out and back on the rocks, I about froze because a breeze had finally appeared. By the time we ate supper, almost everything was dry.

One more look at Dicks Lake and Fontanillis Lake

Most of the people around the lake turned out to be day hikers. The crowds cleared out fast as the sun started setting. We all climbed up to a boulder behind camp to watch the sun set and have a nice after dinner conversation. Tomorrow will be our last day with Strider. His wife, Tracy, is going to meet us at the Chalet to bring us burgers and resupply Strider as he continues his TRT thru-hike. I wish we had been in better shape for hiking with him. We did warn him ahead of time, so he was well aware. We’ve had a great week with Strider and we will miss him.

EFG

Day 4, Monday, July 5. Middle Velma Lake, TM 1543.9–(12.2 miles)

Day 4 hell

Today was rough. Today was day 4. Enough said. Day 4 is always the hardest on us when starting out. Your body isn’t used to carrying a pack. You’re not used to hiking 8+ hours a day. Your body is tired of the repetition. Your tired of being tired and sore. You stink like urine (one perk of hiking that people don’t talk about much is the lack of hygiene…I’m willing to go the poop distance here). Day 4 just sucks.

Everyone drags a bit on day 4…even Bear, just a little

The first 3.6 miles of trail was completely dead air. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of wind or air movement. The humidity was high. (This is a relative comparison. Back home in MO, IL, and KY, it’s not unusual for the humidity to be 90+ %.) The humidity had to be 40%. Unusually high for here. We felt it. But the worst part was the mother f#$&ing mosquitoes buzzing in our faces. They weren’t thick, but always there. It was too hot to put on headnets for just one or two. I was starting to go (some might say “long gone”) crazy.

I had no energy. Bear and Sassy caught up with us about 5 miles in, but they kept going. We passed them again a bit later when they had found a spot with a breeze. We were close enough to Richardson Lake that we kept going. I was short on patience, energy, and water. They caught up with us at the lake, but didn’t stay long because they had just had a snack. As soon as they left, Strider caught up with us.

This was a new strategy for Strider. He’d wait anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes after we left someplace (depending on how far it was to our next rendezvous) and then he’d catch up, or pass us, as we were about there. Today was our entry into Desolation Wilderness. I honestly don’t know why it’s called this because this area is filled with alpine lakes. It was our favorite area on the Tahoe Rim Trail last year.

Strider PM (we added the PM for Perpetual Motion…Strider is always doing something, he’s a total ball of energy) was carrying swim trunks because he plans on swimming in some of these lakes. Our goal for today is Middle Velma Lake. We didn’t stop there last year, but went on to Dicks Lake. We remembered walking by the lake, but didn’t remember the camping spot.

Just as we were getting close, Guthook logged me out. Bunny’s phone was already dead, so we weren’t quite sure where we were headed. We knew we had to get water about 1/2 mile before camp. The outlet from Middle Velma wasn’t flowing well, so we headed up to the lake to get water. We filled all of our drinking bottles then filled our squeeze bags with another 4 liters. It seemed pretty stupid to camp next to a lake and carry 7 liters of water, but that’s what we remembered we had to do.

When we finally found the camp, we understood why. The camp was about 100’ above the lake on a rock shelf. Bear and Sassy had their tent all set up, but Strider wasn’t around. We asked if they had seen him because we were certain he was ahead of us. They told us he had shown up at camp, but when he saw how far from the water it was, he got antsy. He wanted to swim, so he had decided to bushwhack down to the water’s edge and camp there. He said he’d catch up with us in the morning.

There was a decent breeze up where we were, so I was fine staying there. The site was just big enough for the two tents, so it all worked out for the best. We had dinner with just the 4 of us. We’ll have to get used to this because Strider will be continuing on when we head into South Lake Tahoe for a day of rest in a couple of days. Since the 4 of us have already hiked over 1300 miles together, this felt like old times.

Except for being overweight, overheated, out of shape, old, dehydrated, annoyed by the bugs, and not used to the altitude, we might be having fun. Sassy reminded me this was day 4 and that things will probably get better. We promised them that if we were supposed to meet them in the future and we hadn’t stayed, or gotten, in shape, we wouldn’t show up.

EFG

Day 3, Sunday, July 4. Bear Lake Outlet, TM 1531.7–(13.6 miles)

Our media empire pays off with a trail recognition

There were just too many reasons to not pass Bear Lake Outlet. 1) We’re hiking with Bear. 2) We’re carrying bear canisters. 3) We want to see a bear. 4) It took Bear to coax me into camp. And, most importantly, 5) I couldn’t possibly have taken another step yesterday.

Once again, we were first out of camp at 8:45. It’s no accident. We’re so slow, we need the head start, especially on large climbs like we had today. For an in shape hiker, this would have been a pleasant rise to the back side of the ski areas above Lake Tahoe. To us, not so much. As usual, Bear and Sassy passed us before top. We expected Strider to pass us also, but he’s to the point he realizes he can stay in camp an hour after we leave and still catch us in time for lunch.

A clear shot of Lake Tahoe from the trail

Once we got to the top, we discovered we had cell signal enough to call ahead to South Lake Tahoe to make reservations for Mellow Mountain Hostel on the 7th and 8th. Strider still hadn’t caught up to us which caused me to worry a bit. I decided to call him as well to make sure he was okay. As I expected, he was just a single turn of the trail behind us. I think he took a short nap after we left.

Enough level sections today that we got to hike with Bear and Sassy

Something special happened to us today. Fortunately, it was on a level section of trail when it did (I almost appear like a capable hiker on level and downhill sections of trail). We were recognized by a couple heading north. “Is that Easily Forgotten and Bunny Tracks?” I didn’t recognize the person who asked, so I asked him to take off his sunglasses hoping a name would come to mind. “Don’t worry, you don’t know us. We recognize you from your videos.” This is only the third time this has happened to us, that someone knew who we were from our social media empire. Donkey and Chia actively looked for older hikers to get a feel for what to expect before they set out on the PCT. We definitely qualify as older.

Chia and Donkey recognized us from Bunny’s videos (they had no idea I wrote a blog)

Nay, nay, nay. There is an actual older hiker on the trail this year. Chia told us Billy Goat is out trying to complete his 9th and 10th hikes on the PCT. He’s 82 years old and heading our way. They passed him several days ago. They said we’d recognize him because of his long beard and skinny legs that don’t look like they’d support a person. I filed this info away hoping to meet him. He’s out here at 82 doing what I can barely do at 57 (the youngest in calendar years of our group, but most feeble, by far).

We stopped for lunch at TRT/PCT junction. I remembered this area from last year and knew this area had trees and shade. This junction also has symbolic meaning to our group. This is where Strider leaves us on the PCT and starts hiking the TRT. We may be walking together for the next 40 miles, but we’ll be on completely different trails. This is the true start of Strider’s Tahoe Rim Trail thru-hike.

Strider told us where the moss starts on the trees is the average snow depth in winter, Bunny demonstrates why we avoid the snow

After lunch, we ran into Cheerful from the former East Germany. When we heard her accent, we quizzed her on where she was from. We spent almost 3 weeks exploring Germany in 2017. She told us where she was from, but we didn’t recognize the town. When we listed all the cities we had visited, she told us she was very near to Wismar. This was a very cool city on the Baltic Sea that has hidden passages to neighborhoods that cut through houses. The princess that ruled the city was worried about affordable housing for the poor, so she mandated that some courtyards be modified to provide small houses. The only way into these neighborhoods was to cut passages into lower levels of the homes that surrounded them. We had a great time finding and exploring these hidden areas.

Because I had been so feeble yesterday, Bear came up with a multifaceted plan to cover all options today. We had a bail out campsite at 8.4 miles with a targeted campsite at 10 miles. He had a stretch goal of camping at 12.4 miles. The only option he hadn’t considered was the chance that I might bounce back a bit. We ended up hiking 13.4 miles today to keep us relatively close to schedule.

I’ve got to get in the action every now and then

The main reason we did so much better today was the lower temperatures with partial cloud cover. There is a possibility that I might be starting to get used to the altitude. It will take me a long time to build some cardio and lose weight, both of which will help immensely. Until that happens, I will continue to drag everyone else down to my level.

The campsite was gorgeous. There were lots of flats spots with downed logs separating the tent sites (which make great sitting and cooking areas). A stream was close by so we could rinse off and get good, cold drinking water. Bunny asked “why is no one here?” Almost as soon as we set up our tents on the choicest spots, other hikers started showing up. If you build it they will come.

The mosquitoes were thin enough that we could eat dinner outside of our tents. Tonight turned out to be “the great Spicy Southwestern Skillet debate.” I tried to offer up a trade for Stowaway Gourmet Chili with Bear and Sassy because Bunny was scared of the “spicy” in the name of the meal. I tried to convince her this was Backpacker Pantry spicy which only means “not bland.” I was trying to work out a deal that if Bunny didn’t like the Spicy Skillet, she might be able to trade with Sassy or Bear for half of their chili. It turned out, neither were willing to part with the chili. Instead, they were carrying the same meal and decided to cook it as well, so if Bunny didn’t like our skillet, she could trade for theirs. Turns out, and I couldn’t get Bunny to say it directly, but, I was right. Spicy merely means not bland. She ate it.

About 8, the skeeters came out in full force. We might have liked to stay up a bit longer (it’s hard to go to bed when the sun is still up). The little bastards can just make life miserable if they choose to. It was close enough to hiker midnight for us to all turn in. I don’t think Strider is used to going to bed so early.

EFG

Day 2, Saturday, July 3. Five Lakes Creek, TM 1518.1–(13.4 miles)

Can we survive a winter of zero exercise and still hike?

This is a first for me. I didn’t get up to pee all night. I’ve got to be dehydrated because even at home, on a good night, I have to get up twice. By calendar, I’m the youngest of this group, but, by physical capability, I am definitely the oldest. “And the last shall be first,” or vice versa.

The first I got out of the tent was to pack up

Bunny and I were ready to go by 8:30 but no one else was. It was then revealed that, by unanimous vote, I leave first. The hardest part to accept was that is was a unanimous vote. Even Bunny voted against me! I don’t remember voting, but the results clearly showed a 5-0 tally. Who am I to question election results? I’m not some crybaby that can’t handle a loss.

No shade, hot day, fat man looking for excuse to rest, takes picture of Sassy and Bear approaching

This was an exposed hike in full sun. No water for almost 5 miles. The water we were supposed to make it to last night. Everybody caught up to us before we made it to Tinker Nob (the halfway to water point). We drank a liter of electrolytes which was all the water we had, once the water was completely gone, I got really thirsty. Strider was flying down the trail. He had plenty of water, was used to the altitude, and was completely covered head to toe so the sun didn’t touch him. By contrast, I was out of water, practically stumbling down the trail because of heat, altitude, mental age, and lack of physical training. Downhill, I can handle that. Downhill was the rest of my day.

It was Africa hot. I’m carrying too much weight, both in my pack and on my body, I’m not used to the altitude even though we haven’t gone over 9000’ yet. I was hoping for death, praying for it actually. We had a stretch goal of 13.4 miles today. My super stretch goal was to make it on my own without having to be carried on a stretcher.

Any guesses as to what this device is? Ans: a gas cannon for blasting loose snow off of mountain

I tried to talk the group into stopping at the American River when the ranger told us a “nocturnal event” was coming. We pushed on because the Five Lakes campsite was lower. The final 1.2 miles killed me. If it wasn’t for Bear, I’d have stopped and let the jackals eat me (or possibly marmots, whoever is closest).

We enter Granite Chief Wilderness with false smiles

As I was staggering uphill, Bear asked me “Does anything hurt?” I huffed out a “no”. Truth was, my nipples were killing me. My shirt was soaked from all my sweat and I was excited about getting to camp—a painful combination to a fat man.

This has to be taken from me being way behind on a switchback…I was never out front today

I was near passing out and throwing up by camp. I was of no help to Bunny as she set up the tent. Also, she had no compassion for my plight. Inexcusable. It’s her fault that I’m this way. I followed her off-trail exercise regimen this year. I could barely stand. We cooked and ate in the tent because of mosquitoes. This was not a fun day. My chapstick was in my pack and I kept forgetting to get it out. My lips are drying up like my body. I keep thinking of the original Star Trek episode where they encountered an energy life form that called them “ugly bags of mostly water.” They’d have to call me “ugly dry bag that used to contain water.” Side note, this was the second night in a row I didn’t get up to pee.

Snow Flowers creep up after the melt is done

EFG

Day 1, Friday, July 2. TM 1504.8–(7.8 miles)

We met Steve and Tracy for breakfast at Jax Diner just down the street from our brothel cum hostel. We had only met Strider briefly on the TRT last year and then he met us when we finished and had lunch with us. Breaking bread is always a great way to introduce people. This was our first meeting of Strider’s wife, Tracy. We knew everyone, but Strider didn’t know Bear and Sassy. We’re going to be spending the next week together and I wanted everyone to get along and have a common goal…”we’ve got to do whatever we can to avoid Easy” usually fits the bill.

The Red Light Inn in Truckee…we’ve spent many a night here

There was a bit of confusion as to where to start hiking. Donner Pass road is reportedly closed M-F due to blasting to widen the road. Bear had seen that they were not blasting today in honor of the 4th of July holiday. Even so, I wanted to start from the Interstate rest area because Bunny and I will have to return to this area later this summer to finish up the last 120ish miles between Truckee and Belden. Ultimately, we agreed to start from the Interstate adding another 3 miles to our day.

Even before we started, we ran into someone we knew from the AT. Lady Bling, a traveling nurse who was from VA but working in TX flew home in 2018 to set up a major trail magic extravaganza. Not only did she supply food and drink, she also brought other items people don’t consider hikers need such as: toothpaste, toilet paper, lip balm, and other toiletries. She even loaned her hat to someone we were hiking with at the time: Gray Fox. She told us he wore it all the way to Katahdin, took his picture with it on the summit, and then mailed the hat back to her. In 2018 on the AT, Lady Bling had told us she was going to hike the PCT in 2019, the same as us. Like us, the snow screwed her over and she was here finishing up the trail. She was hiking with Chewy (not that hairy, but you can’t understand what he says), and a friend from Chicago who has never hiked before.

One last shot of 5 clean hikers…this doesn’t happen often

It was exciting to be back on the trail. Bunny and I haven’t hiked, or even exercised, since we finished the Tahoe Rim Trail last October. I was anxious to see how effective our off-trail training routine would turn out to be. I took the lead heading out of the I-80 rest area. It was only 3 miles to Donner Pass. In hindsight, I took off a bit too fast. Everyone tried to get me to slow down, but my adrenaline was flowing well. By the time we reached Donner Pass, my adrenaline, energy, and electrolytes were all depleted.

Being flatlanders, 7000’ about killed us…we’re going up another 1500’ at least, today

The goal for today was to make it almost 13 miles to the first known water source south of Donner Pass. There is a climb out of Donner Pass, not terrible for an in shape body. To me, it felt like trying to ascend Mt Olympus to unseat Zeus. Zeus doesn’t want to give up his seat, so he targeted me. The wheezing, coughing, and gasping from the back of the line of hikers was much more than just an out of shape hiker…it was a target marked for death by the gods.

I tried to make it appear that I was doing well in spite of the sweat rolling off my face. “I’m just staying back to make sure everyone is fine.” A few Nobo thru-hikers passed us and told us about a snow patch on the trail. I was hopeful that it might lead to a quick death if I slipped, instead, it provided an alternative source of water.

Now that we had water, we weren’t obligated to make it the 13 we had stupidly planned. Had everyone been in shape (Bunny and Easy), the 13 would have been doable. Instead, I started looking for anyplace remotely flat that could hold 3 tents. We passed up the terrible spot Bunny and I had stopped at last year when we hiked the TRT. I asked if anyone wanted to stop. Everyone said “no.” I restated it in a slightly different manner. “ I can’t take another f#&ing step. Let’s stop here.” This time, I got more buy in. We were a mere 5 miles shy of our goal.

I got a bit concerned when Bear said “we’re having friends for supper”

First camp of 2021 and I’ve got a new Big Agnes to sleep next to

I recovered enough to have a group supper by Bear and Sassy’s tent where I introduced my new trail sleepwear (snacks and naps); young Yoda eating frogs. I hadn’t noticed the frog eating when I bought the pjs. The most disturbing part of the ensemble was that Yoda was eating where my left boy was supposed to be (I say “supposed to be” because he chose to move away from the munching as a form of self preservation).

Bear and Sassy were kind enough to host a group supper

We talked about LNT (Leave No Trace) with Strider and came up with 3 alternative options to carrying out used paper. 1) Wipe first so paper is underneath the stash. The downside being a squishy feeling until the next cycle…23 hours and 50 minutes of slight discomfort vs not carrying used paper. 2) Pee on tp. The downside is the paper dissolves under wiping pressure, so it’s more like wiping with a bare hand…a bit messy, at best. I, personally, don’t like direct contact with a black (brown) hole. 3) Set tp on fire. A big plus is that no “manscaping” is required because all your hair will be burned away. A scorched butt is a real possibility.

We decided that the PCTA recommendation might, in fact, be the best alternative. We decided to sleep on it (the preferred method, not the poop). We’ll just let everyone decide for themselves in the morning when nature forces it’s brown hand.

The view from our camp…it’s going to be a pleasant night

EFG

Day 23, Sunday, October 18. Tahoe City, TM 0.0–(13.9 miles)

Spoiler alert: we made it, but not without some tribulations and surprises along the way today. Let’s start with the morning.

We ended where we began…on the Truckee River in Tahoe City

Bunny agreed to make breakfast this morning since it didn’t require lighting the stove. We had peanut butter and jelly out of squeeze tubes with a bag of salted peanuts. It was not satisfying but we did get 440 calories each. She contemplated cold coffee vs no coffee and opted for plain water. This was not the dream breakfast in bed that I was hoping for. We skipped coffee and morning poos and were ready to hit the trail at…8:20. It just proves my point, no matter what we do in the morning or when we wake up, we will hit the trail between 8:20 and 8:40.

We got to keep an eye on this blue thing most of the way into town

Bunny was a possessed walker all morning. I had to keep begging her to slow down. I did discover the secret to speeding up the Bunster was skipping coffee. 6 miles later, I realized she was giving it everything she had in the hopes of making it to town before the inevitable energy crash. A noble attempt, but a failure, nonetheless. I’ll admit that I was also feeling very sluggish like I had lead weights in my feet, pants, and pack. When we got to town, I discovered Bunny had put rocks in the bear canister, I had a pound of dust and gravel in each of my shoes, and, in reality, I had only skipped the coffee this morning.

The ridge opposite above the Truckee River Valley

We didn’t run into as many hikers today, but we did run into a lot of mountain bikers. The trail bed has been pulverized by the bikes to the consistency of 3” of talcum powder. I’ll admit, I was dragging and ready to be done. Although the bikers were friendly, it still scares the crap out of you when they zoom up silently behind you (that’s the cause, and I’m sticking to that story).

Watson Lake on the morning of our last day

As we were climbing the final hill before dropping into Tahoe City, we met a trio of day hikers. They asked if we were out for an overnight…Cascade Locks, 3 1/2 months, 1000 miles, TRT, yada yada yada, finishing today. We discovered this was “The Nomadic Mango” (check them out on Instagram) who were doing similar to us. They had sold everything last year and were planning on traveling the world. They had been to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka last year before returning home for the holidays. Once Covid hit, they took refuge in Tahoe City for several months. They will probably spend the winter in Mexico before resuming their world travels next year. Obviously, they were more successful than we were in financial planning. They are traveling the world while sleeping in beds every night. We can only afford the ground for the majority of nights.

This gave us a bit more energy to know we are not alone in our choices. In fact, we have met so many people the last few days that told us we were inspiring because of our choices and willingness to take the risk to hike and see the world. We have been very lucky and blessed.

As we got to the top of the last climb and only had 5 miles left to town, we got our biggest surprise, yet. Steve, who we met yesterday finishing the TRT, had decided to come out and meet us for the final downhill to town. This is the first celebration we have ever had at the completion of a trail, and the most (pleasant) memorable finish to a trail. (Our freezing finish to the AT will be hard to ever forget…we’ve tried).

A surprise escort on our last day…Steve!

We walked to town with Steve and got to know each other’s stories more that just a 45 minute encounter on the side of the trail. When we return to finish the PCT, we will get together with Steve (henceforth known as “Strider”) and maybe get to hike together for a few days. We shared celebratory burgers at BridgeTender on the Truckee River. This was both the start and finish location of our TRT thru-hike. Thank you Strider for recognizing our accomplishment and making it special.

Strider joined us for a celebratory burger at the end of the trail

We’d also like to thank all the other people who have made our journey magical this year. (In no particular order) To Miles and Linda who brought us all of our supplies through the first half of Oregon when the Covid was at the height of uncertainty. Linda also introduced us to CBD topical oil which proved to be a godsend for our feet and other aching body parts. The drive to Olallie was a harrowing experience way above and beyond which was just one of many trips they made for our tramily.

Miles, Linda, and Puff made several trips to keep us going

To John and Jenny who opened their house for 2 nights to a group of strangers. They fed us, clothed us, and washed us (not necessarily in that order…I’m pretty sure the washing came first). We hope they are safely returned to their home by now. They were forced to evacuate because of the fires in Oregon.

Jenny and John opened their house to four smelly hikers

To Karen and Pete who rescued us from the fires in Belden and gave us refuge in their home for several days while we figured out the “next step.” Karen and Pete tried to educate us to the trees of a mixed conifer forest (Bunny still remembers most of what she learned, but I’m a hopeless case). They showed us a side of CA we didn’t know existed. We had a great 4 days in their B&B (which they asked us not to share with other PCT hikers).

Struggles, Charcoal B, Karen, Pete, and Zena rescued us

And no thank you is complete without a huge shout out to our personal Trail Angel, Digit Alice. Digit was Bunny’s childhood friend who adopted us on our AT adventure. She has watched over us ever since sending us surprise goodies on the trail and opening her home to us in the off season. She kept us completely supplied on the TRT. Thank you, Digit.

Digit Alice and Kodi look out after us on and off the trail

We also like to thank the wonderful friends we got to hike with this year. To Dancing Dog who made her 100 mile mark in a single outing. She stretched her comfort zone the most of all of us. She survived getting lost in the woods, crossed glacial rivers, walked on scary snow fields, and went the longest she had ever gone without bathing in her life. We’re glad to have witnessed the transformation to hiker trash.

Dancing Dog (middle) transformed into hiker trash before our eyes

To Charcoal B and Struggles who we hiked with from Old Station to Belden. We met them last year while hiking the Washington Section of the PCT. Not only did we hike with them, they invited us to spend time with them in their beautiful home in Maui. We spent 3 weeks before being evicted the day that Hawaii closed due to Covid. It was because of Struggles cousin, Karen, that we survived to hike the TRT. We had planned on hiking longer with our Hawaiian Ohana but the fires changed that. I’d also like to ask everyone to keep Charcoal B in your thoughts and prayers this year. He will undergo surgery when they return to HI. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see them on the trail next year.

Charcoal B and Sassy even invited us into their home after having spent time with us on the trail

Lastly, we need to mention the pair that abandoned us when the kitchen got “too hot.” Bear and Sassy have become two of our best friends and our best hiking companions. Together, we have hiked over 1000 miles together, and I do mean together. Our paces match up so well that we hike and talk together all day long. We have had the best laughs with these great friends. We look forward to many more miles of hiking with them. Until our next hike…

Even in mosquito hell, we were always laughing with Bear and Sassy

EFG