Month: September 2023

Start: 1513.2

Stop: 1536

Today’s miles: 22.8

Total PCT miles: 1388.2

I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise, just like we planned, the only difference is, I got to wake up to it a few times, because I kept pressing snooze. Ha. It was so beautiful, and the wind kept me bundled up tight until my bladder forced me up. Margot slept in some too, and we didn’t get started hiking until sometime around 7:30.

It was cold this morning, numb fingers for the first mile or so.. and collecting snowmelt water didn’t really help any. It was nice to be a bit cold though, making me move a little faster to warm myself up. There was also a climb to start the day, to the tops of the ski resort ski lifts. Lake Tahoe was off in the distance, that same dark blue water like Crater Lake looking like a mirage in the distance.

We had more climbing after the initial up and down, and it was all exposed ridges with strong winds. It felt like it was going to topple me over at times, like a turtle wobbling in its shell. It was so beautiful that I didn’t care though. Margot stopped to eat her lunch before me, but I’ve already eaten all my candy and good snacks, so I was afraid if I ate too early I’d be hungry before getting to camp.

So, I pushed on. I went about another hour before sitting in the shade of a tree and out of the wind to eat my food. I’ve been listening to “The Winners” which is apparently the 3rd book in a series, but I didn’t realize that, and the book was just as incredible without reading the first two. I highly recommend it. So, I ate and listened to my book, then got back to walking.. tearing up towards the end of the book, and very happy no one witnessed it.

We’ve been leapfrogging a group of 4 or 6 hikers for the last couple days. It seems like every few hours we’re crossing paths again. When we were leaving Old Station we rarely saw anyone, now there’s always someone, and I think it’ll only get busier. We’re merged with the Tahoe Rim Trail right now, and in a coupe days more we’ll merge with the John Muir trail, arguably one of the busiest trails in the US, if not the busiest. Hard to state facts out here when I don’t have the service to verify it. Hopefully I proof read this and do just that, haha. (I’m proof reading, but not fact checking, too tired 😉 )

Anyway, the last 3 miles or so were mosquito hell, but as the sun got lower and the temperatures got cooler, they’ve mostly disappeared. I know they’ll be back though, the bastards. We set up camp a mile away from the Desolation Wilderness border, because Margot doesn’t have her bear canister yet, and you can’t camp overnight in that area without one. So, tomorrow we’ll hike the whole way to Echo Lake and then hitch into South Lake Tahoe.

Tonight, we may get a visit from a bear in the area that everyone on our app says is aggressive and “very hungry.” Whatever that means. It hasn’t attacked anyone, but it clearly doesn’t scare off easy. So, fingers crossed it doesn’t come to visit us, and picks one of the many other camps nearby to say hi to in the middle of the night.

Even still, I plan to have my earplugs in and stay oblivious.. hopefully it doesn’t try to join me inside my tent. Goodnight y’all.

Start: 1536

Stop: 1561.8

Today’s miles: 25.8

Total PCT miles: 1414

I couldnt sleep for the life of me last night. And it wasn’t because of bears, either. My right hip started hurting and just would not let up, no matter which way I turned. It sucked.

Around 5:30, Margot did hear a bear though. I didn’t, and kept trying to sleep until 6, when I relented and started packing. We were hiking by 6:30 and I was hurting. My right hip didn’t feel right, although my pack finally felt manageable with only todays food in it.

The trail was stunning as we hiked into Desolation Wilderness, an area known for its lakes and views. We had a pretty hefty climb up to Dick’s Pass, but we passed by so many little creeks on the way, and then were gobsmacked when we first came across Fontanillis Lake. It was just so pristine! The water was beyond clear, the mountains jutting up around it felt completely unreal.

We kept moving, knowing we had to get to Echo Chalet before nightfall, so we could hope for a ride into South Lake Tahoe tonight, where Margot had already booked us a room. It got pretty hot, and the trail was exposed, going around these beautiful mountains. I started to have some tummy issues early on in the day, and they definitely did not improve as I walked. In total I dug 5 catholes.. in very open areas because when you have to poop, you have to poop. I couldn’t exactly wait for a forest to appear.

That being said, as absolutely beautiful as today was, I was grouchy. My stomach hurt, constantly sounding like cartoon lava, my hip hurt, making me limp some, I was hot.. it just wasn’t fair. I tried so hard to just love the moment, but besides what I could actually see, I was miserable.

As the day progressed, we only passed more and more beautiful lakes. Margot stopped to swim in one, because OF COURSE you should-but y’all, TMI but here we are: my butt was too raw for me to want to get in water and then hike 7 more miles. I was so jealous of how much she was enjoying the water, and I don’t blame her for a second for soaking up every bit she could. I almost just went for it anyway, but with the bubbles my stomach was roiling with-I didn’t want to take the chance.

So, after hanging out with her while she swam awhile, I carried on. I was moving so slow anyway, I knew she’d catch me after she had time to dry out a bit and start hiking again. The descent from Aloha Lake where she swam down to Echo Lakes was a rough one. It was very rock filled, almost like trying to walk through a dump truck of gravel-just sometimes the rocks were the size of small dogs.

Eventually I made it to an area with a phone and a water taxi sign. No one answered the phone, and I’m here to tell you, if they did-I would have 100% rode in a boat to the Chalet instead of walking the last 2.6 miles to get there. When Margot caught up to me, she agreed she’d take the taxi, too. Alas, we had to walk.

It ended up being fine, the trail was gorgeous and Echo lake is apparently a pretty popular place to own property. I didn’t realize it was a lake people lived on. I got great service a mile from the Chalet, so I messaged a few friends, chatted with my buddy Brittany-who lifted my spirits tremendously.

When we made it to the Chalet (a general store basically for the lake, and the parking lot for the people who live and play on the lake too), it was just after 7:30 and already getting dark. We knew our hitch hiking chances were getting slimmer by the second. We looked for the numbers for trail angels, found 2-but no dice. Margot tried Uber. A lady paddle boarding said if we were still here when she got back, she’d take us-but she was just getting started and “would be awhile” because of the super moon.

I tried Lyft and after 20 or so minutes, I got our ride accepted, but the time for pick up just kept getting longer, so it wasn’t looking too good. Another hiker appeared, CliffJumper from the Netherlands, and asked if he could catch the same ride we get if it worked out. We said of course and we all sat around in the dark, getting cold, waiting for either my Lyft lady to appear or the paddle board lady to come back.

I was getting hangry, my stomach finally agreeing it was done being a brat and wanted some food now. Cool. Our Lyft lady ended up getting to us first. She was so nice and even dropped off CliffJumper at a trail angel’s house on the way to our motel. Once at the motel, now 9:30, we were exhausted, but the room was gorgeous! I ordered us McDonald’s (the fastest option) on DoorDash, Margot showered.

The food came before I could shower, so I ate and then showered, finally getting into the cushy bed by 10:30. Y’all. I am Worn. Out. I told Margot I’d be ok with taking a zero day tomorrow if she was. My hip really hurts. So we’ll see if this room is available in the morning. Sweet dreams.

I tossed and turned and tossed and turned some more until at least 1:30am. I finally got up and took some ibuprofen and Tylenol together, and was eventually able to fall asleep. I feel like my pelvis needs an adjustment. Time to fly my brother, Zac out here to me and get this spine right! (He’s a chiropractor, so proud!)

Once I did fall asleep, I was out. And it was glorious. I woke up around 8 and started messing with my work stuff, I had to login to a meeting with my manager for my annual evaluation, and none of my login credentials worked. I blew her phone up with screen shots and my problems, and naturally-as management does, she was able to fix it for me and we had our meeting at 9am.

While I was on my phone “in” my meeting, Margot walked to a cafe to get coffee and breakfast. Everything went smoothly. My manager didn’t fire me or anything for not checking my emails like I’m supposed to, lol, which, honestly I’m just happy I’ve been able to pay my bills on time the way the service and WiFi has been out here! Ha.

After we wrapped up our meeting, I got dressed and walked to the cafe too. Margot and I missed each other in passing, because she found out the motel is already booked for tonight, so she headed back to pack before check out. She also found us another motel close by, like next door, so we’d just go there.

I got a breakfast burrito and worked on the blog while waiting for it. Then it burnt the heck out of my bottom lip since I was so eager to shove it in my mouth.. sooo.. I worked on the blog a little more before my next attempt to eat it. Eventually, I took the rest of it with me and ate it on the walk back, since it was getting really close to 11am. I packed and we walked over to the next motel: Paradice Motel (apparently spelled that way on purpose, but Margot isn’t so sure).

The lady wasn’t in the office when we got there, but another hiker was. I assumed she’d already been helped and was waiting on her to return. I was wrong. After a few minutes I asked her if the hotel person had already started helping her-when she said no I called the number on the door-no answer. Weird. So, naturally, I just started walking around. I made it to the upstairs balcony area before a cute lady in a blue dress saw me and asked if I needed help-perfect!

The sweet lady is the owner I think. She started helping the other hiker, and then Margot and I had to help translate their conversations.. because the motel owner is Asian American with a thick accent and the hiker was Swiss with a thick accent as well and everyone just kept saying, “excuse me?” Or “what was that?” Ha. It was all quite comical really.

Then it was our turn. The motel lady got the microspikes I sent here from Amazon, and then checked in Margot.. she already had a room ready for us and let us have the keys! No way! She also let us do our laundry (with detergent) for free! She is seriously so kind, even if she is never in that office.. haha!

We laid around a while, resting, and waiting for the load of laundry in the washer to be done. Then we did our laundry while laying around. Once everything was clean, we went exploring the local Lake Tahoe shops, in search of a new pair of socks for Margot. She found some pretty dang quick. We also stepped on a scale that was in a kiddie trampoline area, used to make sure they use the right bungie cables or whatever..

YALL. I have lost 38 pounds. THIRTY-EIGHT FLIPPING POUNDS. I know the scale is just a number and yada yada-but when I was so damn miserable after all of my thyroid failing business, it feels very gratifying for the number to reflect how I feel. I mean, I know my hip hurts, but I’ve been breathing better and moving easier (typically), so I knew I’d dropped some pounds..I thought maybe 15-20, but 38, after demolishing a breakfast burrito.. hell yeah.

Anywho. We ate lunch at a Poke place. It was delicious. We walked by the marina and saw the gorgeous Lake Tahoe. Then made our way to Safeway to get our resupply. The walk back was a long one carrying two bags of groceries each. I’ve got to be real particular about how I pack my stupid bear can later. We also stopped in Whole Foods. Margot is officially in love, and found a few extra things she needed.

Back in the room, I chatted with mom for awhile, then while I worked on the blog, Margot took a nap. Now it’s close to 7pm and we’re going to go eat dinner. I think I’m going to just end this here, because we’ll eat and organize our crap and hopefully sleep.. and tomorrow is an 8:30 leave time to get back up to Echo Lake and Chalet to start hiking towards Kennedy Meadows North. It’ll take us 3.25 days to get there and then we’ll be in the Sierras! I can’t believe it!