Day 75 - 79
Echo Lake/ Tahoe - Sierra city
Mile 1094.5 - 1197.5
Day 75: Farewell
We had a big breakfast and mozied out of the campsite and back to Echo Lake. We said our goodbyes and stopped by the store for lunch and one last, delicious milkshake. We talked with Jim and Listener on the porch and , for only the second time in 75 days, it began to drizzle. By the time we left it had already stopped. We entered desolation wilderness and walked by many amazing lakes. Desolation wilderness is the most heavily used wilderness area in the US per area. It was cloudy and the combination of the grey sky and the mostly treeless section was really cool.
We passed 1100 miles!
As we were walking, we passed a couple who asked if we were from Utah. It turns out they are following our journal online and recognized us. That was so cool! We found a beautiful spot and went to bed early.
Day 76- Beautiful desolation
Last night was the kind of night when we were glad to have our tent that holds up to wind so well. It was so windy I hardly got any sleep. Nate, of course, slept like a rock. We were camped in a sandy area so when we woke up there was a layer of sand on everything in our tent. After we woke up however, it was a very pleasant morning that started with an uphill climb and continued to pass by the lakes desolation is so famous for and more wildflowers.
I entitle this picture, "walking off the edge of the world."
We ended the day by climbing up to an amazing view of lake Tahoe where we camped for the night.
Day 77-Late start
I woke up with neck pain and a headache. I peeked my eyes outside the sleeping bag, only to receive a sharp pain in response. Yup, that's a migraine. I took some ibuprofen and we slept in till 9. I have a feeling Nate didn't mind. When I could walk we set out not expecting too much out of the day. We entered granite chief wilderness.
The trail is finally starting to gain a nicer tread and after the rocky Sierra we almost feel like we glide over flat dirt trail.
We met magic bag and ate lunch with him and we leapfrogged with him and Jim again. Towards the end of the day we were treated to one of the most dramatic crest walks yet and it was so cool.
We were beginning to think we wouldn't find a spot when we saw a cabin up on the hill. We consulted our guidebooks which said it was a Sierra club hut. We checked it out but it was mice infested. Luckily there was a really good spot near the hut and there was an amazing sunset that I got a terrible picture of.
Even after the late start we were able to make it over 22 miles today.
Day 78- How many homeless people have an iPhone?
We woke up earlier today and hiked quickly to highway 40 where we met pebbles who gave us sodas! After that we seemed to just hike really slow and we weren't sure why. When we crossed I-80 we stopped at a rest stop to get water and eat lunch. A lady came up an gave us each a pair of non wicking, cotton, old socks and said it looked like we needed new socks. It didn't occur to me till after that she thought we were homeless. I forget sometimes what we must look like to people who don't know about the trail. We passed a lot of trail maintenance crews today and I realize I never get any pictures of them so I took one.
We were both feeling minor foot pains today so we just took it slow. We found an awesome spot in a thin forest and went to bed, blissfully ignorant of what was to come.
Day 79- Washington training day
"...penny sized hail with up to 40 mph winds...along with frequent dangerous lightning..." so reads the weather channel for Sierra City.
We woke up at 12:30 to thunder and lightning in the distance. We quickly put the rain fly up. We had a little service so we looked up the weather channel to see what we were dealing with. It rained and hailed all night and there was hardly 30 minutes without thunder and lightning. I envy nate for being able to sleep through some of it. At a time when we could have regretted our decision to come out here we looked at each other and smiled and, like two little children camping in our backyard, excitedly awaited what would come next. We stayed dry and warm all night in our tent. We are so happy with our choice. As soon as there was a break in the storm (~6:30) we packed up and headed out in our rain gear and waterproofed packs. Not 15 minutes later, the hail started again. It was so painful we had to stand under a tree to wait for it to stop. The rest of the morning was a game of waiting for one storm cloud to pass then hurrying over an exposed ridge until we found trees. Then wait out the next storm cloud under tree cover till we got to another exposed region. Rinse and repeat. Literally, rinse; we got drenched. Around 10, the sky cleared so we took all of our rain gear and pack covers off. We enjoyed the wet hike in cool, gloomy conditions.
We decided to stop for lunch and found a few nice dry rocks.
Within 30 seconds of sitting down (we didn't even have enough time to take our shoes off) it started raining. Not a light drizzle, but a downpour. There was no use in taking the time to put our pack covers on, we just threw them over the packs the best we could and huddled over our belongings trying to keep them dry (mostly unsuccessfully). We waited out this wave of the storm then sat as the excess water from the trees kept dripping on us till we had the will to move.
We got the tortillas out and went to grab peanut butter to put on them when we looked up and saw another storm cloud rapidly approaching. As we did with every one of these situations today, we laughed at the irony. We shoved a tortilla in our mouths and began hiking again. We eventually made it to Sierra city where we are camped in the backyard of the Red Moose Cafe. The hitch in was very easy thanks to a passing climber named Lincoln. Bill and Margaret have a restaurant that they use to give hikers showers, laundry, food, and camping. It is amazing here and such a great place to relax. We head out tomorrow again and can't wait!
-Be Free
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