2MoreMiles…

Day 91: (20 miles)
mile 1196.5 – 1216.5

Today was mostly up, like 15 of the 20 miles.  The first 8 included a climb of over 3000 feet over our favorite type of trail… Rocks! 

We passed the 1200 mile mark and did our best not to melt in the day’s warm and dry air.  We hit a few springs which were amazing as the water was icy cold and delicious.  As this is the Lakes Basin Recreation Area, we should not have been surprised to eye at least half a dozen turquoise and/or deep blue pristine lakes below us as we trekked along.  Most, with the exception of Deer Lake, were a bit of an off trail trek to get to.  We had hoped to treat ourselves to a refreshing swim in Summit Lake at the 15 mile mark for the day, but the water was less than inviting as it looked more to be a swamp than a lake.  Curses…should have made the detour to Deer Lake. After a rest in the shade and mini battles with large black ants and several marauding mosquitoes we marched on…uphill of course.    When we reached our 20 mile marker (mile 1216, we were surprised to see a brackish pond near the quasi campsites, and lots of signage that was quite confusing.  We finally figured out where the spring was (east of us and 600ft up another trail), and boy was it was worth it. 

Again we were treated to ice cold, as in ice cream headache, tasty water flowing from a pipe. We guzzled until our heads couldn’t take it anymore and Paul surrendered to the mosquitoes.  Once all our water receptacles were filled we returned to the main trail to set up camp, with a quick sponge bath at the slow moving creek to follow. We set up our tent on a flat piece of real estate, and quickly found out why it’s always a good idea to stake your tent down wind or no wind.  When we turned to grab our camp towels (more like ShamWow chamois) our tent disappeared.  For an instant we looked at each other like, didn’t we just set up the tent which then morphed into ‘what did you do with the tent’?  A little gust/puff of wind had picked it up and moved it 20 ft or so, initially out of our line of sight.  Thank goodness this happened just before we went to wash up. Who knows where it would have ended up had it gone all Mary Poppins on us in our absence.  We recovered the tent, staked it down, washed up, changed into sleep clothes and ate.  Just before we dozed off, we were treated to an amazing sunset.

Day 90: (20.5 miles)
mile 1178 – 1195.5 +3.5 “bonus miles”

We were on the trail early and setting a good pace, as it was Sierra City town day. 

Today was quite “summery” as it was hot!  We had to be mindful of our water intake.  Luckily, today it was still pretty plentiful.  Nothing like in the Sierra’s where we were tripping (literally) over water crossing the trail, but we found it at good intervals so we didn’t have to carry more than a liter at a time.  We ran into several thru and section hikers today…all, but two, were headed into Sierra City.  We had two goals in mind…to make it to town before the Country Store closed as we had to pick up two days worth of supplies so we could make it to Quincy.  Why carry more than we had to from Truckee right?  The other goal was to take a plunge into the locals homemade swimming hole just a mile before town.  We succeeded with both goals. 

The swimming hole was just short of freezing cold, but remarkably refreshing and well worth the dip.  If we weren’t pressed for time, we would have stayed a lot longer.  Just as we were drying off   the two brothers from Huntington Beach that are section hiking the PCT showed up.  They were concerned about making it to town in time, but we talked them into taking the plunge as well.  When we saw them in town, they agreed that it was worth it.  When we arrived in town, the curbing up to the Sierra City Country Store was littered with “hiker trash”, with the exception of  “Cheese “, all were new to us.  We counted approximately 15 hikers.  While at the store we spent way too much money on food, namely two cheeseburgers, one of which (Paul’s) was called the “gut buster”.  This monstrosity was 1lb of beef with everything on it.  Unbelievably, Paul consumed the entire burger, even after a full bag of chips and a coke.  As there was no chocolate milk, I settled for a chocolate shake. 

After “dinner” and resupplying, we wandered over to the Red Moose Inn.  The store was in the process of closing and we were in search of a place to camp, and a beer, both of which were available at the Red Moose.  The proprietors of the Inn are also “trail angels”, and have been for several years.  They allow hikers to camp in their backyard, provide breakfast and a shower for a nominal fee.  Although they were not serving dinner and the restaurant was “closed”,  we were able to smooze Jim into letting us buy a beer or two.  We got to talking and he realized we weren’t the normal hiker “trash” that the Red Moose has been getting as of late.  Jim said that he’s had more than a few hikers this year that he calls “takers”, meaning they take without asking, expect things to be free and or they are entitled to anything that’s not nailed down.  We call them
  “freegans” . They expect everything to be free or if they can take it, it’s theirs. We’ve seen this behavior before on the trail. Jim told us war stories of what’s been going on this year : beer taken out  of the back after hours, emptying of the tip jar, urinating in his yard and partying late at night causing the sheriff to come out. This may be his last year. So sad. I hate reporting this but it’s part of the our journey. We’ve decided no more looking the other way. If these punks are out of line then they will be dealt with. They are ruining the trail for everyone behind them.
We camped in the local church side yard which worked out well. Next door was a public restroom. We plan on exiting town early because tomorrow has a long steep climb for the first 6 miles.

Day 89: (20 miles)
mile 1159 – 1179

Julie from Granite Chief Outfitters had offered to give us a ride back to the trailhead and was at the hotel at 7am. We had just finished breakfast, full of bagels and coffee ready for a 20 mile day. Off we went to Donner Summit where we began what we anticipated to be a tough week. The goal is to be to the town of Quincy for 4th of July. Lots of elevation gains and drops. Before driving away, Julie gave us a contact in Ashland, Or. we will use in a few weeks. She also gave us some dehydrated mandarin orange slices from Trader Joe’s…I miss Trader Joe’s.  We will be fighting over these later, I’m sure! After a little trail confusion we made some good time even though we both felt bloated from town food. We have definitely noticed that water is not as plentiful as it was in the Sierra Mountains, but the trail is kinder to our feet. We will need to carry more water and watch Yogi’s notes closer to ensure we stay properly hydrated, especially with warmer days on the horizon.

Trail humor

Our first quest today was to find the Peter Grub Hut.  Ironically we passed it and took a side trail to find it, then backtracked and found it easily…when we picked our heads up and didn’t look at out feet or the trail. The hut had a register to sign so we were excited about seeing who was ahead of us. 

Once there we checked the out the hut. Much bigger than the Benson Ski Hut but similar in design.  This one however had a two-story out house, which of course we used.  Looks like Eng (Gear Slut) is a week ahead of us and Ali (Alpaca) and Thayer (Yukon) are 12-14 days ahead. 

In the afternoon the trail went through a logging area. Thinking this was strange yet interesting we couldn’t help but see a pattern to the cutting. It appears that the blue spray painted tree trunks stayed and the red painted trunks were on the mow down list.  I expect Paul’s brother Mike to weigh in on this.  Later we saw a sign explaining the process/purpose (to harvest and enhance the health and sustainability of the forest)and the replanting of different pine trees. By the end of the day we had left the cut area far behind and found a nice campsite in the trees with little to no mosquitoes.

Day 88: (7 miles)

All our miles today were town walking, as we’d rather not shell out anymore cab fare monies if we don’t have to, and we were too impatience to wait for the bus. After our Continental breakfast at our hotel, the Truckee-Donner Lodge, and laundry we hoofed it to town which was about 2.5 miles from the lodge. 

Granite Chief Ski and Mountain Shop

Our first stop was Granite Chief Ski  Mountain Shop.  An hour or so later, Dee had a new rain shell (hers failed miserably) and a new pair of shoes.  The Merrill’s she had purchased in Mammoth were not working well for her and Granite Chief had Salomon shoes which she prefers.  She did not go back to the 4D boot, but went with the XA 3D trail runners, and is much happier.  While there we got to talking with John and Julie who were running the store about our thru-hike of the PCT. Neither of them thought we were PCT thru-hikers when we walked in the establishment.  I assume it was because we clean up so well.  As Dee was completing her purchase, Julie asked when we planned to get back on the trail.  I explained that we planned to be on the freeway on ramp tomorrow morning around 7am.  Julie then offered to give is a ride back to the trail the next morning, and would pick us up at our hotel.  No need to make the “back to trail” sign this afternoon.  We exchanged numbers and thanked Julie for her kindness, and for mailing Dee’s Merrill’s home for her and said we’d see her bright and early tomorrow.  Next onto the Safeway for food for the next 3 days and hopefully a new 2 liter platypus bag for our Sawyer Squeeze, as well as a igniter replacement for the JetBoil at the Ace Hardware store. No platypus, but they had the igniter replacement (hope it does the trick). Once food was purchased, and a Starbucks for Dee we headed back to our hotel…on foot, darn, but not before we stopped at Smokey’s Kitchen for some BBQ and a beer.  Both were excellent.  Once back at the hotel, it was jacuzzi and relaxation time cause packing and tomorrow morning is going to come all to soon.  Our stay in Truckee was a good one, most likely our last stay in a hotel for awhile, as we read that between here and Manning Park there are not many hotel zeroing options.  We’ll have to savor this stay.

Menacing weather at Squaw Valley

Day 87: (17 miles)
mile 1137 – 1155

The wind howled all night as it rained periodically.  The alarm goes off at 0530…it’s still raining, thus no reason to leave a perfectly dry tent, even if it is to slog our way into town, so back to sleep we go.  We awake an hour or so later, and the rain is barely audible.  It is only when the wins gusts that pellets of water blast the top of our tent.  We reluctantly rise and begin to pack in tight quarters.  Truckee will not come to us today, so we must exit our synthetic cave.  When we exit, we are enclosed in the rain gear we have carried since Day One (with the exception of the week we left our rain gear at home to “reduce weight” and almost learned the hard way in Big Bear, that it is better to carry that kind of “weight”).  It’s not so much as raining as it is misting.  It appears that the cloud has actually parked itself in the valley and plans to linger, at least until we walk completely through and hopefully out of it.  Pack covers to keep the contents of packs dry.  Check.  Rain pants and jackets to keep our bodies dry.  Check.  Galoshes to keep our feet dry and warm…ah, NO.  Today we will be walking in personal puddles that refill all on their own with the help of water saturated vegetation we brush up against and our rain pants that ensure all water repelled from our pants funnels directly onto and through the mesh of our shoes.  With each step water and bubbles ooze from the sides of our shoes.  Walk ’em warm and walk ’em dry never had such a purposeful meaning.  We walk through lush green vegetation and begin a slow climb out of the valley.  We decide to invoke the “glass is half full” perspective and comment that were it not for the rain, we would definitely be fighting off hordes of flying piranhas.  It may not be a silver lining, but aluminum will do.  A large buck runs across our path in front of us.  Cool.  The sun teases us as it peaks out and shines on us in chaotic intervals as we climb higher toward the peaks of the Squaw Valley ski area.  We eventually walk out of the wetness, but the sky continues to menace us with its dark and plentiful thunder clouds.  Paul decides to tempt fate and changes out of his rain gear.  I am noncommittal and remove the rain jacket that has, in all reality, outlived its usefulness (and needs to be replaced), but keep the rain pants on. 

The hillsides are covered with mule ears in full bloom. The sun comes out full force and we hit a thermalcline that makes me regret the rain pants.  They feel like those sauna pants that wrestlers wear to drop weight, and are probably having the same effect.  I almost cave, and take the time to remove them, when we turn the corner and whoosh!  Wind.  Big. Freezing wind! 

We curse the wind and then remember, ah yes, another summit ridge to traverse.  It just wouldn’t be the same without staggering gale force winds.  I’m pretty sure Mother Nature and Mr. Murphy have designed this as a reminder to us that they are still accompanying us on the trail.  Towards the last part of our trek toward Donner Pass, we are in search of the Benson Ski Hut.  Yogi’s guide says it’s hard to find, but we find it and take the time to explore. 

Benson Ski Hut

The "out house"

It was built in 1964 and is pretty cool.  It would, and probably has provided great comfort and protection from the elements for those who know of its existence and location.  We continue to Donner Pass and come upon one of the metal markers that Dori had been telling us about that are placed along the Mormon Emigrant Trail. 

Each of these markers have a quote of sorts from journals kept by the Mormon pioneers describing the significance of the site.  This one had to do with how they used oxen, a roller and 400 ft of chain to raise their wagons up a vertical cliff so they could get to the valley on the other side.  These people were amazing.  We still can’t help but wonder how they got and/or decided on 400 ft of chain.  Within a mile or so we run into a father and young son who are headed down the trail.  The father proudly exclaims that his son made it all the way to the peak (Mt. Judah).  Cool we say.  It’s a pretty good trek for a youngster like him.  The father asks us where we came from.  Paul asks, today?  “Yes. Where did you begin?”, is the reply.  ‘Mexico’, Paul responds.  The father laughs…smart ass he’s probably thinking.  Paul then explains how we are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and that is the trail they are on as well.  The father, intrigued, listens and asks more questions.  Paul tells him, as I sit on a rock and rest my sore feet, that we are on our way into Truckee for a resupply and a day off from walking…all day.  Turns out that the father, who’s name we later learn is Elan, is a native of Israel, in dental school in San Francisco (same one our dentist went to), and an avid hiker.  He offers to take us to Truckee, if we don’t mind squeezing in with his family (wife and daughter are already at the car).  We have no problem squeezing, we tell him.  As always, the last mile or two is the most grueling (this was nothing but large uneven rock steps or simply “organized ” rubble all the way to the bottom).  When we get to the parking lot Elan is making room in his trunk for our packs.  We meet his family and squeeze in.  Elan’s wife thinks we are “crazy…but in a good way”.  We agree with her.  During the drive, Elan shares with us some of his hikes to out of the way archeological sites in his homeland of Israel.  This peaks our interest for a possible future trip. They drop us off at our hotel. 

We thank them profusely and exchange phone numbers.  We tell Elan and his family that if they ever have the opportunity to visit So Cal, to give us a call…but after September of course.  We go to check into our hotel and discover there are no vacancies.  We didn’t think to make a reservation, nor did we know that the Western States 100 and another sporting event are this weekend.  The attendant apologizes (she tells us usually they aren’t full) but hooks us up with another hotel, the Truckee Donner Lodge (“its better” she whispers, “they have a jacuzzi”).  She calls us a cab, as Elan and his family are already on the road to South Lake Tahoe for more sightseeing.  For a nominal fee the cab transports us to the lodge.  We have learned that it is “Truckee Thursdays “, which means that in the historical downtown area they close off the streets for vendors, good food, music and a beer garden.  We tell the cab driver that we will call him to take us downtown after a quick shower.  While the cab fares we paid to get down there and back were a little pricey, it was better than walking, and worth the experience.  We’d do it again.

Barker Pass with a view of Lake Tahoe

Day 86:(21 miles)
mile 1117 – 1138

Before we even exited our tent at least two thru-hikers passed and said “good morning”, and we were up and going early this morning.  More and more solo hikers are catching and passing us.  We miss the familiar faces of the people we  had hiked with and/or leapfrogged with earlier.  We feel kind of isolated, almost disconnected from the PCT hiker community.  They are all in such a hurry it seems…and it’s not just because there’s a thunderstorm coming.  We hike through familiar territory.  It’s not as strenuous as we remembered.  We reach Barker Pass, and of course in keeping with all of our pass approaches and ascents, the wind is gusting.  Unlike last year, the lot is nearly full with vehicles…a perfect recipe for some trail magic, but no such luck.  We park at a picnic table and have lunch and a short nap. 

Phew! Good thing we ate these in time.

Several other thru hikers arrive…all youngsters.  Two of them started at the end of May and plan on only taking 100 days to complete the PCT.  They are averaging 30+ miles a day…from the beginning!  We feel really old.  We notice that when they drop their packs, a few of them dig out a pack of cigarettes and lite up.  We don’t get this.  It’s obvious they don’t think smoking leads to cancer and or emphysema, ‘we’re young…we can stop anytime…it won’t happen to me…we are indestructible.’ Youth is wasted on the young. 

Clouds building in the direction we're headed

The clouds have begun to grow to the northwest which is what the weather report said would happen. Strong winds and rain are forecasted for the evening/night.  We pack up and get back to walking. For now the weather is warm and sunny, but in the mountains the weather changes quickly so we walk along discussing how best to set up the tent in the rain. The TRT and PCT split.  The TRT heads toward Tahoe City and the PCT heads toward Donner Pass.  The trail is soft and our feet are happy. The trail roams through tall lime green moss covered trees.

This however changes quickly once the trees part and the trail begins to traverse an open mountainside. Exposed now, we realize the wind is blowing stronger than ever and the temperature is dropping. 
We can see the trail stretched out ahead of us for several miles.  There is no escape.  We will be hammered by the wind for some time.  The wind pushes us into the hillside (more like sheer rock cliff), on our right, which is better than the other option we suppose. We lean to the left to offset the force of the wind and stagger often when gusts blow. Two SOBO hikers pass, we yell hello but that’s it, no one wants to stop and exchange pleasantries in this wind.  The clouds overhead have morphed into one big dark gray moisture filled mass. We walk a top the ski boundary of Alpine Meadows.  We are at “Wolverine Run”, and the 100 yard wooden wind fence makes this crest virtually wind free. I shot a video of it but can’t figure how to load it onto the blog.

Alpine Meadows ski area looking toward lake Tahoe

The temperature drops further.  This is summer?  After several miles we see the tree line and rejoice in the shelter of trees. Our timing is perfect, for as we reach the shelter of the trees it begins to sprinkle. Our goal is to reach a campsite and stream in three miles before the sky opens up, and frankly there is no place to set up camp for the trail is now on a steep descent. We have to break for a bit so that my left  eardrum can thaw out and I can regain my balance.  Once equilibrium has returned, downhill we hurry on increasingly sore feet, which is how our feet feel at the end of most days. In the valley to the west we see the rain coming down in a fog. It’s only a matter of time before it reaches us. We walk faster, cutting the trail where we can to get down faster. Fortunately, we reach the campsite before the down pour and set up. Inside our tent we make dinner and eat, dry and warm. Tonight will be the first time we have used this tent in the rain. We cross our fingers and fall asleep to the popping sound of rain drops above our heads.

Tamarack Lake below where we camped

Day 85: (20 miles)
mile 1097 – 1117

Up with the mosquitoes, we began our trek which would take us past several lakes.  Aloha was the first, and just before Aloha we passed the 1100 mile mark…almost halfway!

Lake Aloha

Most people camp here and this morning was no exception.  Tents clustered together lakeside with food bags hung in available trees like piñata for possible bears.  This sight made us chuckle.  The lake level was higher than last year…not by much, and the mosquitoes were just as active. 

Where we "bathed" last year

The next lake was Susie Lake, and where last year we took a break on a side stream/pool/waterfall that drained off the lake when we did the Tahoe Rim Trail.  The lake was just as pristine, but the water was considerably cooler.  From there, we focused on Dick’s Pass. The year before it kicked our butts, the ascent and descent.  Not so much this time, in fact we walked up the pass practically without stopping.  Could we be in hiker shape?  Down the pass we trod toward Dick’s Lake and my personal favorite, Fontanillis lake.  Near Fontanillis we met an older gentleman who was familiar with the PCT and was visiting Fontanillis lake reliving memories of spending time with his son’s in their younger years at that lake.  If his sons could see how his face and total countenance lit up as he told us of his outings with them, I think his sons would make it a point to share this experience with their father and join him on his hikes to this lake.  Our original goal was to see if we could push and make it to Richards Lake, but our feet gave out at 19 miles of the 23.  Compared to last years mileage (10 miles), I think we did pretty good.

Day 84: (20 miles)
mile 1078 -1098

After a wonderful breakfast with Carl and Dori we were off for the trail. Dori, as I previously mentioned in the last post is an avid hiker and was meeting her weekly hiking group at Carson Pass. She was going south however.  After a quick good bye we were off and on our way for Echo Lake where we had  a resupply box waiting. Our hiking morale was sky high after being spoiled by Carl and Dori. The extra rest helped my poor swollen sore feet as I hiked with renewed enthusiasm. The day was beautiful, sunny and warm. We passed several small lakes and an old cabin. Not far from the cabin, the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) joined the PCT. We remembered this from our TRT hike from last July. The next 50 or so miles will be familiar to us. “Deja vu all over again.” As we got closer to Echo Summit, we could see Lake Tahoe through the trees. A large dark blue lake  surrounded by tall mountains that are covered with green pine trees. We descended down Echo Summit over large rock steps to Hwy 50. Surprisingly, this stretch was not as hard as we remembered it…not that we are complaining or anything.  After crossing the Hwy we walked the last mile to Echo Lake talking about the coke and chips Paul would get and my chocolate milk from the small Echo Lake Store. We figured we wouldn’t be able to pick up our resupply box as the post office closes at 2pm, so a coke and chocolate milk will hold us over till morning with the food we have left.  We get to the store and take off our packs in front of the post office window.  We can see that there is someone inside.  As we stand in front of the window, the woman opens the window and asks, “Can I help you?”. Why yes you can. Paul tells her that we have a package but we understand that the post office isn’t open till 11am tomorrow.  The woman says, ” I can get you your package.  Do you have ID?”. Why yes we do.  Score!  It is 5:05pm and I go to walk into the store.  There is a sign posted closed Mon-Thurs at 5pm… sharp!  Disappointed and downright angry as we had read that it stayed open till 6pm, we quickly shifted to plan B…Additional Shmoosing! The owner pulls up in a golf cart and Paul starts small talk about how we tried to get here before the store closed, as we thought they were open till 6pm. I jump in with, “all I’ve been thinking about was chocolate milk or an ice cream!” The owner shakes his head ‘oh well’ and goes inside, we shrug our shoulders (we must be losing our touch) and start to collect our gear.  Suddenly the door opens and a woman appears and says, “If you have cash you can come in and get a coke and an ice cream…Jimmy open the register”.  In like flin!… Once in, we get the coke, chips, and chocolate milk along with the beer! Score! It was a beautiful evening at the lake and we sat on the dock soaking out feet, sipping our beer,  debating if we should hike to the end of the lake or take the ferry. An older couple has told us they saw the ferry and it’s still running…so we load up our resupply into our packs and wait. Why walk when you can yacht.  About that time a man comes by and we ask him about the ferry. He tells us the ferry isn’t running, but he can give us a boat ride to the end of the lake, if we want. Ah, yes we’ll take that ride thank you. This man is John, at least I’m pretty sure that’s his name (ADHD kicked in…shiny fish jumped…brain went in another direction), but he is a professor at Boise State who teaches photography. He tells us that he grew up on the lake, as his parents have one of the cabins that dots the edges of the lake.  The only way to these cabins, many of which are more like homes than cabins, is via boat.  He tells us how he spent his summers working on the lake, actually driving the ferry, and the fond memories he has.  He points out his cabin/home and deftly navigates through a narrow channel to Upper Echo Lake.  The channel opens into a body of water half the size of Lower Echo.  Charming cottages scatter the edges of the lake, all equipped with their own docks.  It is almost too picturesque to be real.  Perfectly glassy crystal clear water.  Fish jumping.  Majestic mountains and a couple paddling their kayaks through the placid water. Disney…esq. 

John drops us off and we thank him for the lift. We filter some water to take with us for dinner and breakfast, and discover that our 2 liter platypus bag has a leak.  So much for a perfect day.  This is not to say our day was ruined for duct tape will fix that later.  We begin our trek toward Desolation Wilderness and a place to camp.  About a mile into the Wilderness boundary, as you can not camp before the boundary sign, we find a place to camp, but not without unwanted guest…mosquitoes, those obnoxious bloodsucking flying piranhas that we love soo much.

Dori and Carl

Day: 83 (Zero #19)

After a good night’s sleep and a wholesome breakfast, it was off to REI  to replace Paul’s air mat that went flat for no reason(his second one), a pair of gaiters for Paul, a food bag and a smaller pair of pants for me.  Oh ya, and more bug spray.  After REI we were treated to a local wine country tour, to include tasting at the Woodford Winery where Carl “works”.  It’s a small winery that produces about 1500 cases of wine annually.  Their wine is fantastic, so much so that when Paul, not really a wine drinker, says he could have drank the Rose and/or the Cab all day…it’s that good.  On the way back we stopped for lunch at a biker type road stop for a burger, then back to Carl and Dori’s for a nap (originally we wanted to watch the World Cup soccer match, but made the mistake of stretching out on the comfy bed for a “minute”).  Another fine dinner and conversation topped off our stay.  Tomorrow we head back out.  Dori will drop us at Carson Pass.  We will go north and she will go south with her hiking club.

Paul with Carson Pass Volunteers

Day 82: (7 miles)
mile 1071.67 – 1078.6

On our way to Carson Pass this morning. We are excited because the ranger visitor station has a PCT register and we can see who/where other hikers are on the trail. So off we go and over the pass. A couple of climbs and switchbacks with great views of dark blue lakes. As we descend the last two miles we encountered several day hikers who look so clean and smell so fresh. They are chipper and all smiles as they walk their first mile. We can only  wonder what they think of these two dirty smelly hikers. We say hello as we pass and are proud of how we got this way. Hikers refer to this condition as “hiker trash”. We are probably  the cleaner hiker trash out here. Some hikers look like they have been on the trail forever and pride themselves on that look too. When we reached the Ranger Station, we are greeted by a wonderful volunteer staff. They are all very cheerful, enthusiastic,  and helpful. We sign into the register and look for hikers who we’ve hiked with the past 1,078 miles. We see Gear Slut 5 days ahead, Atlas 7days ahead, Spirit 10 days ahead, Ally and Thayer  ( now Alpaca and Yukon)14 days ahead. We won’t catch these guys unless something crazy happens, but it’s nice  to know that they’re still on the trail.  The volunteer staff served us cake, fresh fruit, and cokes. Awesome! Inside the register we  found an envelope addressed  to “2moremiles”. A retired friend from CA. State Parks who lives in the area wants us to call him and his wife for some trail angel magic. Carl and Dori offer us a shower, laundry, dinner, and room we can’t refuse! We relax for about an hour until Dori arrives. Dori is an active day hiker in the local area who gives us a run down of the local trails as she drives. She has also done many multi-day trips locally  and far outside the area. We share hiking stories as we travel through some amazing country to their home.  When we arrive at their house we are afforded our own ” house” complete with laundry and an awesome shower.  We do our best to get ourselves and clothes clean, both of which seem exceptionally dusty/dirty.  Once presentable and stench free we join Dori and Carl for a wonderful evening complete with a tri-tip dinner and fine wine.

Per Carl, this wine is only available in high end restaurants

Carl is quite the wine connoisseur and works at a few local wineries come harvest and bottling season.  We talk past hiker midnight and then retire to a wonderfully comfortable bed.