The Round-up

It was cool at Seven Oaks this morning, cool enough to have a cup of coffee sitting in the hot tub.  What kind of BLISS is that? The all caps kind. (Creepy looking hand though.)

I could have had delicious granola with fruit and milk but I've had granola every day, or almost every day, for three weeks so I opted to go to town and have bacon and eggs. Yummy, yummy, yummy. 

I took my leave of DW and thanked him again and again for his heroic drive to come get me. I hope he knows how much I appreciated his help. 

My last activity before heading back home was to drive to Kennedy Meadows and pick up the box I had sent there as my resupply. It's a couple hour drive so I wanted to do it when it was as cool as possible. 

Along the way I stopped in Jamestown at an "antique" store to see if I could find a belt at a decent price, since my pants were falling off. They were loose to begin with but now they are very loose. I rummaged around but couldn't find anything at a reasonable price so I gave up and headed on up the hill. 

While driving I realized something. I don't need a belt. I need something to hold my pants up! So when I arrived at KM I took come para cord I had with my camping stuff and cut me up a goodly length. I tied a bowline knot in one end, threaded it through my belt loops and tied it on with a half hitch. Perfect! Who needs a new belt? Ha!

I was very torn about whether or not to stay at KM for the night or drive home today.  It being the Friday before Labor Day weekend I knew the traffic would be grim, and the heat in the valley will be well over 100 degrees. Traffic and extreme heat or campground and hot but not melting temps? 

To help with the decision I drove around to see if I could get a site and found only one left. One. It is a crappy site, being in the full sun and all, but it is a place to stay so I snagged it. 

I was warned there is a human-food eating bear roaming these campgrounds and that this bear got some steak and tri-tip from someone last night. The campers ignored the pleadings of the campground hosts and now the bear knows to come back tonight for seconds, and thirds. Too bad because if the bear keeps getting a food reward it'll eventually be shot and killed. All because of human stupidity. 

Finally it got to be beer-thirty so I wandered over to the saloon. Football on the tube, Sierra Nevada cold and some real loud folks taking up space. Can it get anymore American than that?

The day bartender left and his replacement came on duty. I watched him get set up and then took a picture. Look how he lined up the bottles of hard stuff. 

I said I liked the way he organized his bottles and he said, "Yeah. I'm a bit OCD." I'll have to agree with him on that one. 

I went to the dining room to have the rib dinner and was disappointed with the food. It was ok but for the price it should have been better prepared. It was fine, just not great. Which is too bad since they're food has been great in the past. I'm thinking they need a new chef. 

The dining room is cool though. If you are partial to dead animal heads hanging on the walls. Or if you can ignore them. 

Finally, once the sun went down, I went back to the campsite to settle in for the night. It's weird being outdoors and surrounded by so many people and very large rv's and trailers. Not bad, just strange. 

I just re-read this post and it appears I'm getting grumpy. I guess it's a good thing I'm heading back home tomorrow. 

Day 24 - Town

Today I wear cotton! But first...

It was burrrrr chilly this morning when the alarm went off at 5:30. I dutifully ignored it for a bit but finally I rummaged around in my clothes bag for my stinky hiking clothes. I'm gonna be glad not to put these on again tomorrow morning. 

Too bad there isn't a smellometer button you could push so you could experience the full effect. 

Anyway I took off around 6:45, not knowing when DW would get to town and not wanting to make him wait. 

It's been about 7 years since I hiked the TRT and I didn't remember much of the trail I was walking on. Initially I walked on an old road with a nice walking texture under foot. 

 Then the road became a river bed, or so it seemed. 

Eventually the trail crossed Ward Road which, had I turned right, would have taken me to Hwy 89 in 1.5 miles. Hummm. What to do?

Oh well, I was hiking, not road walking, so I went on ahead and took the trail. 

The remaining 4 miles was mostly either up, or down, though in the middle was a beautiful meadow. I think it is called Paige Meadow. 

I passed one last mountain stream, about 2 feet wide. 

Then it was down, down, down to Tahoe City. One interesting thing happened on the way down was that I was passed, both ways, by a group of Deaf folks running/hiking this section of trail. I only know because I stopped one man to ask him a question about something and he indicated he was Deaf. I signed, "Sorry, my bad" and he grinned, then went on his way. You meet lots of interesting folks on the trail. 

64 Acres is a big parking lot off of Hwy 89 and I finally got there.Texting DW to let him know where I was, he showed up about 2-3 minutes later! Perfect timing!

Then it was off to South Lake Tahoe to pick up the packages I'd mailed to the Mellow Mountain Hostel. Next up in the order of importance was eating, so we went to, wait for it...

I have a personal rule that I'm only allowed to drink sodas when I'm backpacking so I had my last soda with lunch. Burgers and fries are, however, a horse of a different color. 

We drove for 3-4 hours, getting to Groveland about 3:30. I couldn't seem to get my car open with the clicker thing so DW figured it out for me. I haven't had to concern myself with these kinds of things lately. Clothes retrieved, a shower was in order. 

There is nothing like Mexican food for a native Californian who's been on the trail for three weeks. Sopes, beans and beer. Ahhhhh. Life back in town. 

We watched a Harry Potter movie then it was off to bed. I'm headed to Kennedy Meadows tomorrow to retrieve my resupply box, for the second year in a row. Next year I might actually walk in rather than drive. 

Day 23 - Ward Creek

🎼 What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours 🎼. But first things first. 

Seventeen switchbacks at 6:30 this morning. Dang. But the climbing got me up to some seriously stunning views and some crazy landscapes. First off were the head high purple flowers. 

Once altitude was gained this was the trail. 

Winding in and out of rock formations with lakes over one side 

And drop offs on the other. Do they really need to tell skiers not to drop off of cliffs?

Alpine Meadows Ski Resort looks nice, with Lake Tahoe in the distance. 

Another boundary marker. 

Then it was more rock and dramatic clouds. Early morning is best. 

After six miles I came to the junction between TRT and the PCT and I turned left, saying goodbye the PCT for now. 

Down, down, down I went till it was time to eat lunch. I can imagine you might be jealous of my gourmet meal. 

One of the things I was trying to do, while walking and taking pictures this morning, was to figure out how I was going to get where I needed to go once I hit town.  I had good cell reception so I contacted my old friend SG who volunteered to ask on a trail angel FB page if someone could help me. I also contacted someone else who had volunteered help but she had long term plans to go to LA, leaving this morning. So, to bring this back around to lunch, while I sat and chewed, I came to the conclusion that all this off trail logistics business was wearing me down and that I was ready to be done with this hike. Physically I am fine and haven't seriously injured myself and I'm not sick in any way, but I'm still done. Mentally I am done with being alone, having to deal with the uncertainty of town logistics and missing my loved ones. 

The only thing to do was to call A and discuss this with her and then decide for sure if this was what I wanted to do. Our friend DW has been saying to me, over and over again, that he would come and get me any time, any where. So I called him and it looks like I will be walking into Tahoe City tomorrow and DW will be coming to get me. The final details aren't yet set but at least I know what will be happening. 

This may seem like it is out of the blue but it isn't really. I've been counting the days till I finished at Kennedy Meadows and it still seemed like a long ways away. I hate giving up on goals but sometimes too much stuff gets in the way and the way out falls into place. That seems to be the case here. 

Once those details were agreed on I continued my steep descent and ran out of water just before I got to Ward Creek. Good timing that. 

I think I have about 5-6 miles to do tomorrow, or possibly a bit more. I have a screen shot of a trail map I got off the TRT website a few days ago but I'm not sure exactly where along the trail I am.

All together it was a successful day for me, having walked about 10-12 miles. Later in the evening I did have a bout of anxiety about asking DW to come get me. It is a long schlepp from his place to Tahoe and back. I just had to keep reminding myself he could have said no if it wasn't going to work for him. I am very grateful for his generosity. 

Day 20 - Donner

I really don't like these enforced layover days. I get to thinking about home and the comforts there...family, friends, all manner of loved ones, animal, mineral and other. And my hot tub. I really miss that hot tub and my morning soak with coffee in hand. Kinda makes me wanna go home. But, I'm out for the next couple of weeks and then I'll go home. 

I didn't sleep well here in my dorm room last night. While I am lucky and there are no other inhabitants sharing this room, it's still kinda creepy knowing someone could come in if they had a key and wanted to take a bed in this room. Not my favorite thing. Hopefully I'll remain lucky through tonight. 

I slept in till around 7:30 and leisurely got myself dressed and organized for the day. I am out of coffee, and the restaurant here doesn't open till 11am so I decided to walk the 3+miles to Soda Springs to pick up something to eat. There were clouds to start and I brought my umbrella in case of rain. It did sprinkle but not much. Walking on roads is hard on the feet so I'm glad it wasn't a longer trek. I did see an interesting building with a cool rusty roof. 
I didn't mention it last night but while I was at the restaurant/bar yesterday I saw a guy I had met in Sierra City. Huracane is a Kiwi and a big time, long distance hiker, having already completed the PCT and AT. When he walked in he looked a bit bedraggled and I soon found out why. He had hiked 38 miles yesterday. Almost the entire section I just took 3+ days to complete. He wasn't planning on going that far but then someone told him about the restaurant here and, well he just went for it. He is in his mid 50's so that makes it even more remarkable. 

You can't see it but he is wearing a knee brace this morning. He says he probably over did it yesterday. I guess so. Anyway he is headed south so I won't be seeing him again. Though I'll be able to keep up with his doings as a friend of mine in the Bay Area will be headed down under to hike the TA with him in New Zealand come this November. 

Somehow I need to find a ride to Soda Springs tomorrow morning at 9am to pick up my food resupply, which is packed inside my bear canister. Plus my water treatment drops. I'm hoping for a ride there and back so I don't add 6 miles of road walking to my total miles tomorrow. Once on trail I have to carry enough water to make it 9 miles, which is the first on trail water source. 

Looks like the next section will take 5 or 6 days and the last section 6 or 7. I'll have food for the longest estimate so I can be leisurely if necessary. In one part I'll reach 10,500' but that's for a short part. The Sierra here I come!

Day 19 - Donner Summit

As I lay in my hammock at 5:30 this morning I realized I could hear Hwy 80 in the distance. I'm still 3.6 miles away, and Castle Pass is between us, but it seems all that traffic can intrude on the wilderness, even at this distance. I'm not looking forward to the jangle. 

My experience today was influenced by more people than I am used to seeing in any one day. Previously I'd say I averaged meeting 3-4 people daily. Today, I don't even know. 20-30? And that is before I got to Hwy 40 and my home for the night. 

But I digress. And first things first. I took off at 7am and walked the shortish distance to Castle Pass. 

From there it was down to Hwy 80, a major east-west path though the country. The sound was intrusive but it meant I was getting ready to move into the Sierra. I have a special place in my heart for this area and the rocks began to resemble my favorite landscapes. 

Granite boulders are replacing sharpish volcanic outcroppings and the path planning requires a different kind of structure. Big steps up, and down. 

There was a tunnel under each road, both east and west. 

Then another 3 miles to Hwy 40, the historic route. 

Earlier today I had decided to decline the invitation to stay with Sunshine's cousin, mostly because of elevation. I'm acclimated to this elevation and I just decided dropping down to 500' near Sacramento would be a mistake. I need all the help I can get. So I got a dorm room at Donner Ski Ranch for the night, and maybe two. I have to be at the Soda Springs PO at 9am Monday morning and this is my best choice for making this happen. 

So, showered, clothes washed and well fed I am off to slumber land. The food here is good and the beer is even better. 

Day 18 - Peter Grubb Hut

I got a late start today since I didn't even get up till 6:30. It was cold - I even had to wear my hat and down jacket for a bit! When I shouldered my pack and walked the 50' back to the trail imagine my surprise in meeting someone who had camped right near by but I didn't know it. A solo woman section hiker! Amazing!

Meet Sunshine. She is 68 years old and has been working on completing the PCT for decades. We hit it off right away. I didn't stay for long as I had miles to go before I sleep...

The day was full of climbs, flowers, water. The initial climb had me going up a ridge that was northwest of Bear Valley, only to dip down to the wet, and mosquito filled area of White Rock Creek. 

I took advantage of the frequent opportunities with water and repeatedly soaked my hand and once I iced it, due to swelling that has occurred from the finger sprain two days ago. 

Too bad I didn't keep that ring off of my ring finger. It's on for the duration now. 

The treatment, and time, seems to be working. I thought for sure I'd have to have the ring cut off in Truckee on Saturday. 

Snow fields, more flowers and climbing were the themes of the day. It gets boring to look at flowers but I just have to show a couple. 

The snow really, really must have just melted here. Everything was wet, lush and buggy. The good with the bad I guess. 

Early in the day I had mentioned the fact I wasn't going to be able to pick up my food box till Monday and I'd just be hanging out in town for the weekend. Sunshine's cousin is coming to pick her up for the weekend and she invited me to join her. They were going to return on Monday morning so it will work for me. How fortunate am I?

I had lunch in Paradise Valley and began the long climb out. The mosquitoes were an inducement for sure and I put in my music headphones to help distract me from the discomfort. It seemed to take forever but eventually I got to the top and began the long downhill to this valley where I am settled in for the night. 

Peter Grubb Hut is a permanent building built by the Sierra Club in 1972 and is open to the public. I'm not sure who Peter is/was but the building is a beauty. 

Here is a dark pano of the inside. There are solar lights on timers. 

Me? I think it's gonna be a two ibuprofen night since my ribs still hurt when I breathe deep or move around too much. Given that I am happily done hiking for the day and ready for a nice long lay down.