Trail Day 73: Tentsite near Lost Lakes (mile 1069.7) to Highway 50 Crossing (mile 1090.7)

21.0 PCT miles

I set my alarm for very early this morning. I was going to attempt to get 21 miles in AND hitchhike into South Lake Tahoe today. With the troubles I was having with my foot and knee, I wanted to give myself as much time as possible to get to the highway in good daylight.

I set out just after 5 am, maybe closer to 5:30. First light appears to be getting later, which I am not happy about. I would like as much daylight as possible to do my walking.

Dawn at Lost Lakes. 

Sunrise in the mountains.

I walked uphill, past a couple tent and started to hit some snow patches, losing the trail under one of them and having to backtrack. The snowmelt was going pretty strong already, and the dry boots I pulled on this morning were already wet.

I headed uphill for my first big climb of the day and was dismayed to see that I would have to traverse a couple snow patches. I was really hoping my snow traverse days were behind me. I also did not have microspikes and the snow patches tend to be icy in the morning.

Ugh, more traverses.

The first traverse was a little steep, but I was able to take it nice and slow and the surface was just soft enough to kick in some extra traction. The second traverse was actually pretty easy.

Soon after, I crested Carson Pass and started heading downhill. I was surprised to see day hikers right away. It turned out that I was only about 2 miles away from a trailhead and information center. It is amazing how quickly you go from wilderness conditions to civilization out here.

On the way downhill I passed a dozen day hikers. Most appeared to be retirees. I could not get over how brightly colored their clothing was. Mine,  as well as the clothing of my fellow hikers, is sunbleached and covered with a fine layer of dirt. Most wore white sun hats or baseball caps. And, the white color was actually still a crisp white.

I passed the information center (with trash cans and pit toilets!) as well as another trailhead. It was full of hikers day hikers. It actually boosted my ego a bit as I was able to race past them. Usually on the trail I am the slowest one and I have to step aside for fellow hikers. It was nice to have other people do it for once. My ego came back down, however,  after a dad and his two young sons blew past me on an uphill climb.

After I got passed, I entered a high mountain river valley full of tributaries that feed the Trukee River. There were nice, large stones placed across each trail crossing that provided a very easy rock hop. This valley was also teeming with wildflowers.

Wildflowers and the PCT. 

Entering the river valley.

More wildflowers. 

Truckee River tributary.

Trail sign.

I walked through the valley for a long time,  before starting my second climb for the day, seeing day hikers and backpackers the whole time. The second climb was steep and long, but near the top I was able to get a glimpse of Lake Tahoe.

Going up again.

Lake Tahoe in the distance. 

After that, it was forest the rest of the way. I finished the climb and started down, leapfrogging with a large group of backpacking teenagers the whole time. The way down was really steep, but not so bad after I rested my swollen feet for a while.

As I neared the freeway I started to get nervous.  This would be my first time hitchhiking for real, if you don't count that time Elinor did it for me near Idyllwild.

I reached the highway 50 crossing, which seemed really fast and busy. I was hoping the people driving that road were used to thru-hikers and would pull over when they saw them, like what happens in some other trail towns.

Luckily, there was a large shoulder near where the trail came out, so I positioned myself at the end of it, stuck my poles in my bag and stuck out my thumb. Several cars passed by, and I would change my thumbs up to more of a “greeting” wave as the passed by.

After several cars passed, I heard a noise behind me. One of the cars had pulled over and backed up to me on the shoulder. I hadn’t heard it or seen it happen. I also think I had been waiting for a ride for a full minute at most.

I forget the generous man’s name (I had just hiked 21 miles and was overwhelmed by having to hitch for the first time), but he lived in South Lake Tahoe and worked for the forest service in the summer. We chatted for the 9 miles into town,  and he dropped me off at the transportation center at an intersection called “The Y.”

He has offered to drop me off at my destination,  but my destination was the only hiker-friendly hostel in the area, which was on the state line with Nevada. I was able to take a short ride on the bus to where I needed to go. The casinos of Nevada were only two blocks away.

It felt weird walking through the throngs of tourists and tourists shops all dirty and smelly as I was. I made my way to the hostel and was put in a mixed dorm where I met my roommates for the night in short order. None of them were thru-hikers. I expected the place to be full of fellow PCTers but I only bumped into one group of guys who I didn't know.

I took a shower and went to the local grocery store, bringing back way too much of the fruit bowls, fresh prepared food, and various cold drinks. I had to put some in the refrigerator for tomorrow.  I ate in the common room and afterwards my roommates came in and played Cards Against Humanity with other guests at the hostel.

Exhausted, I watched the game for a while before heading to bed early.