Portlandia: Mile 2107

We've spent the last 3 days in Portland partly getting organized and mostly gorging ourselves.  Our new plan of action is pretty much finalized, as long as we don't run into any problems with the permit situation.  Today Mikey is giving us a ride to a shuttle that will take us to the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood for only $2!!  From there, we're heading north and getting as close as we can to the Canadian border.  Neither Mike or I have our passport with us, so we wouldn't be able to cross the official finish line anyway, but we can come real close.  It doesn't seem like we'll be especially pressed for time; since we're starting at mile ~2100, this only leaves 550 miles until Canada.  With the 650 we've already covered, that would be a grand total of 1200 miles, 300 short of our original length.  After some research, we've decided to try and hop off the PCT east of Mt. Rainier to complete the Wonderland Trail.  This 93-mile loop will add an additional week of hiking to our trip, and isn't a big detour.  We have to hitch a few miles to get into Rainier National Park, then see how lucky we get attempting a walk-in permit for Wonderland.  It's a pretty highly regulated trail, unlike the PCT.  You're only allowed to camp in designated areas on the trail, with reservations for each night's camp.  We'll be taking a bit of a chance trying for this permit, but if it falls through it's not a big deal to get back to the PCT.  The fire situation in Washington looks pretty clear, except near Stehekin at the end of Lake Chelan in the Northern Cascades.  It's nothing like the CA/OR fires, so we're optimistic those won't close down the trail or cause us any grief. I updated the calendar on the blog to show the new plan, we'll see if it sticks :)

Though it was an unexpected detour, our time in Portland has been great.  We've been able to spend time with great friends who have been very gracious and hospitable.  Mikey and Krista live right downtown, so there has been easy access to food trucks, bars, and Voodoo doughnuts :)  The food trucks are a hiker's fantasy...restaurants on wheels from just about every nationality you could hope for neatly lined up in one city block for your appetites ease and convenience.  So far we've had Vietnamese noodles, wings, gyros, curry, Polish sausage, Thai food, and even a Transylvanian schnitzel.  It's the kind of spread we've been dreaming about since we got on the trail, and they have all been delicious.  We also made consecutive day trips to the infamous Voodoo doughnut shop, which did not disappoint (ohhhhh bacon maple bars.....) and got to witness a Voodoo wedding, which is apparently something they do frequently at this place.  And of course we've been drinking delicious Portland beer.  Thanks for the food circuit tour Mike and Krista!! Sorry we made you be gluttons with us...

We also met up with Grant and Amber while we were here, who wined and dined us while Mikey and Krista were at work.  We had a carnivorous meal of kabobs from just about every type of animal you can think of last night, which was a great way to power up before getting back to work.  We're really fortunate these great people were all close by to help us get over our trail woes and recuperate.  So thank you Portland and Portlandia!!  We're very excited to be back on the trail today and start pounding out these miles!  One more really great benefit of moving north on the PCT is that we'll be a whole lot closer to our Seattle/Pullman people, making the trail more accessible to them too.  It sounds like we might finally get some hiking buddies as we trek through the Pacific NW, which we can't wait to do!!

Since we were in Portland and had such easy access to an REI, I decided to stop in and try to trade out my hiking shoes for ones where the sole isn't peeling off. I bought my shoes 2 weeks before our PCT trip started and they've been amazing! I really do love these shoes, but they're starting to fall apart. Unfortunately, they wouldn't take back my shoes because "there is nothing functionally wrong with them, they've just seen a lot of miles." REI's policy has changed quite a bit since people have been taking advantage of their leniency on returns. I didn't complain or anything, my strategy was to simply look like a pathetic, poor PCT hiker and hope to get some sympathy points. Unsuccessful! I wonder if I had tried to be a little angrier and meaner if they would've taken them back... Anyway, I still picked up a new pack cover because I figured it may be little more damp in the PNW and a garbage bag probably wouldn't cut it. We also grabbed a new trowel because I broke our old one. Yay for new toys!

Anyway, I'm excited to get back on the trail. It'll be interesting meeting new PCTers because we'll be in a different group now. Before this detour, we were sort of at the back of the pack with all the slower hikers or the folks who started late. Now we should be up toward the front of the north bound pack. I'm expecting to be passed by a bunch of people who are doing consecutive 30 mile days while we do our measly 23-mile days.

The world is on fire! Mile 1335

Written date: 8-4-14

Posted:  8-4-14

Oh how our plans have changed. Just when we get momentum going we seem to run into more roadblocks.  Just yesterday morning we were hiking, as usual, headed into the small town of Belden to grab a quick lunch and some milkshakes before getting back on the trail and finishing our hike to Chester. The day before, on the horizon, we noticed what looked like a mushroom cloud that was sitting atop of ridge that we first took to be a large cluster of clouds. As we got closer we realized that those weren't clouds but in fact a large smoke plume. Once we got into Belden we looked up the fire reports and trail closures and found 8 to 10 portions of the PCT that were currently or soon to be closed due to the fires. On top of that, the area we are about to hike into was on a severe weather alert with more thunderstorms and intense lightning strikes eminent. After our last brush with danger in a thunderstorm we decided to play it a little more safe this time around.  And thus a new adventure began.

After careful reconsideration we decided that the remaining part of California and Southern Oregon should be skipped since it might all be ablaze soon. This was a bit heartbreaking to us because there were a lot of great stops and amazing terrain left in California that we had hiked so hard to get to.  But considering that there wasn't a continuous 100 mile stretch between Chester California and northern Oregon where we wouldn't need to reroute, we thought it would be best to move north.

So after arriving in Belden and getting an amazing milkshake and some fried food, we made a four-part, 60 mile hitch up to Chester.  We found a cheap motel where a lot of fellow PCT hikers were staying, cleaned up and stayed the night.  The next morning we caught a shuttle over to the much larger town of Redding where we rented a car to take to Portland.  We're currently driving out of California and on our way to Oregon and should arrive at our friends Mikey and Krista's place this evening.  

They just moved to Portland a month ago but were kind enough to offer up their place to stay and a ride back to the trail near Mount Hood.  We left the PCT at mile 1335 and are getting back on approximately mile 2100. 

It was interesting running into other PCT hikers who are also reevaluating their strategies. Most people were just recently updated on the trail closures and finding out the magnitude of the wildfires.  It seems like the majority of hikers are hitching or finding ways either to Reading or Ashland Oregon which are the large towns on the border of the fire closures. Some are trying to wait them out and continue on the trail; others are hiking around the burn areas where they can.  It's tricky in spots because new fires are sprouting up almost daily and there aren't guaranteed reroutes to avoid them.  One ambitious group of hikers that was staying at the same motel that we were decided to leave the trail entirely, get road bikes, and continue up to Portland via route 101. This sounded like the most interesting option that we heard but we weren't about to buy bicycles.  Redding wasn't a particularly nice place so we were happy to get out of there as fast as we did and are really looking forward to continuing our trek. 

 I think we have a solid plan and although it sucks to miss the portions that we're skipping, we will get to hike through the Cascades now which is awesome!  We're starting at the timberline Lodge close to Mount Hood, so we'll get to do the last hundred miles or so of northern Oregon.  Transporting from the hot desert like climate of Northern California to the wet, extremely green, and mossy Pacific Northwest will be quite a change.  We will also get to walk by Mount rainier and as an offshoot we might try to do the 100 mile Wonderland Trail, which the circumnavigated Rainier. We will likely end near Snoqualmie Pass on I 90, the very pass that Mike and I both drove through every time we were visiting each other in Washington.  This is ironic and kind of fitting, as we will hopefully find a ride back to Seattle from some friends (hint, hint) :).  This new stretch should be about 500 miles, slightly shorter then our original plan, and should take us about a month based on our current hiking rate.

We'd like to thank Amber and Ray for their generous care package that we received this morning.  Although the treats you sent us were meant for the trail they have turned in to road trip food but they are just as delicious in the car. Just a heads up to Barb and Mike's aunt Tina, we left Chester before your packages arrived but we had them forwarded to our next stop at the Cascade Locks so we're looking forward to getting them there.

Although we're excited to be leaving all the smoke which makes it impossible to see anything in the distance, we are sad to be leaving Northern California behind. The last few days of hiking have been hot, hard and dry, but they've had their benefits as well.

  The last few days we've been averaging about 22 miles a day. We really got into our stride and are able to pump out big miles consecutively.  After two 23 mile days in a row we were pretty beaten and exhausted but our spirits were revived upon our arrival to the middle Fork of the feather River. We got to go for a refreshing and cleansing swim in the warm waters and had arguably our best campsite to date.  

Not long after we arrived in Belden and the rest is currently being written.  One last thing worth mentioning was the small town of Belden itself.  In our guidebook, Belden was described as a rave town. We weren't sure what to expect based on this description.  It's a 5000 foot dissent into the town, and once we got on top of the ridge and started our descent we were greeted with the vibrations of bass.  The farther down we traveled the more intense the music started getting and we figured out that there was a music festival currently underway. Once we got to the bottom of the climb we could feel the bass pumping through our bodies.  This was quite a scene to enter as it was a full on hippie jam electronic music fest. There were hula hoopers, passed out hippies and partiers strewn across the ground everywhere, hookahs, and plenty of drug usage. This was sensory overload and the music was terrible so we move through as fast as we could and unfortunately didn't take any pictures. This was an enticing scene for some through hikers, who stayed to join in the festivities, however it was not what we were looking for.

Truckee, the happy accident: Mile 1187

Written July 29th

Posted August 4th

Well friends, our troubles are over. My retainer is out, we're back on the trail, well fed and rested. We had an overall outstanding time in Truckee and although it was an unintended stop, it was far from unfortunate.

Luckily my dental issue is fixed! We stayed in Truckee Sunday night so Monday morning I woke up early to go visit the local dentist offices. I struck out at the first two places I went, but the third office was super friendly and able to fit me in. My appointment was set for 3pm so we got to spend most of the day hanging out in Truckee. We soaked our feet in the hot tub at the hotel for almost an hour while chatting with The Three Stooges, Sunshine, and Vibes. After we checked of the hotel, we walked around town and picked up a book for the trail. We had some tasty Mexican food for lunch and topped it off with a slice of German chocolate cake from Safeway. Delicious!

When I got to my appointment, the dentist was shocked that my retainer had bent while eating ice cream. He cut through the retainer to relieve the tension on the wire and then removed all tooth attachments. After getting rid of the remaining cement and polishing the teeth, he noticed my gums were swollen from the retainer pressing down on the bottom of my mouth. He gave me some floss and told me I need to floss twice daily till the swelling goes down. Total cost: $81. Not as bad as I was expecting!

We just want to stop and recognize how great of a hiker town Truckee really was. It was extremely easy to hitch, and almost everyone we met and talked to had some appreciation for the PCT and its travelers showing us tremendous kindness and generosity. From the moment we got close, we ran into Reno Dave who handed us a free cold beer, received another free beer upon arrival to the ski resort lodge, and had our lunches paid for by the father of a former PCTer. Once we got into town, we got $25 off our hotel room, free rides everywhere, and even an unprompted offer to stay in someone's home. As soon as we came out of my dental appointment, the first passer by offered us a ride to the trailhead before we even got a chance to get to the road and stick out our thumbs. Every Truckee resident seemed very content with their lives and happy to help out some strangers. The town was set up much like South Lake Tahoe, surrounding a recreational lake in the mountains with several ski resorts, only Truckee is much smaller and less touristy. The Truckee residents are really down to earth and appreciate the outdoors. In addition to great people, there was climbing, boating, fishing, hiking, and biking close by. So for anyone driving through I-80, it's definitely worth checking out. We thoroughly enjoyed our short time there and would love to come back soon. 

We really lucked out with our hotel situation since camping wasn't an option. Sunshine and Vibes just happened to be getting off the trail for a wedding, so splitting the hotel room with them not only saved us some money but it was also really fun! This was the first time we had split a hotel with other people. It worked out really nicely and we couldn't have asked for better roommates, we'll have to do this more often!

We had enough daylight left yesterday to get a few miles in back on the trail. After some slight confusion about where the trail began, we found ourselves back on the PCT. We got to walk under I-80 and then made our way into the woods as the sounds of the interstate slowly faded out.

 

This section has been really pretty so far as we made our way through thick, mossy pine forests that feel incredibly old. Today we hiked a 20+ mile day up and down much of the same landscape. Water is becoming a little scarcer, so we're having to be more careful with the amount we're carrying. This will certainly cut into our swimming time but we can handle that. 

We'll be getting into Sierra City tomorrow where we have a couple of packages waiting for us! I love getting mail on the trail :-D 

Feeling the love: Mile 1228

Written 7/31/14

Posted 8/4/14

We've been back in the swing of hiking long miles as we're averaging 20 miles per day for the last 3 days. We recorded our longest day to date today: 23 miles!!! Since it's very hot and dry during the day we've taken to hiking later in the evenings now. The light is much prettier and the weather is cooler towards the end of the day which makes for much more pleasant hiking. 

Today, for instance, we stopped and ate an early dinner then kept hiking. Normally dinner marks the end of our day and the initiation of vegetation. Even though we like having our big meal at the end of the day, this seems to be the only way for us to get in more than 20 miles. We've been walking up and down rocky forested hillsides which go on for miles but can make for frustrating terrain. These sharp loose rocks are not only a risk for twisting ankles, but really leave the bottom of your feet sore and aching. 

The elevations aren't as dramatic but the vast ruffled blankets of pine trees that line the ridges are no less beautiful than the High Sierras were. Water is becoming more scarce and more of an issue for us. We're having to plan carefully ahead again as the droughts in California have left many water sources dry. This means carrying more water weight just like when we started. Both our bladders were starting to get moldy so we ditched them and are relying solely on Gatorade bottles for water vessels now. It sure beats constant thunderstorms and hail, however.

We came and went through Sierra City yesterday. We were looking forward to this stop because we knew we were getting a package from both of Mike's parents as well as my super cool Seattle friend Dafna!!! We got lots of delicious treats; beer, chocolate, homemade cookies, and snacks were all a welcome addition to our food resupply. Thank you so much to everyone!!! All the extra treats and food we got from the hiker box came in very handy since food at the Sierra City Country Store was twice as expensive as a regular store. Mike's dad also mailed us our homemade tarp tent back which we were glad to swap out with our trial MSR FlyLite tent. It had a good run but we liked our handiwork better. 

Sierra City was supposed to be a very hiker friendly little town but we didn't necessarily find this to be the case. There were cheap enormous sandwiches at the Country Store (Mike ate a 1-pound cheeseburger, "the Gut-Buster", and I got an Italian sub with almost as much meat on it). However, locals weren't super friendly and we got the general vibe that we were a bit of a nuisance. This could've been due to the presence of some other party-hard PCTers that were also in town, one of whom passed out drunk in the town gazebo on main street, another of which was hitch-hiking with beer in hand. In any case, we didn't outstay our welcome and got back on the trail late in the afternoon. We found the tipsy hitcher napping in the middle of the trail about a half-mile in. Some PCTers enjoy town stops as much as hiking and can leave a bad taste in the mouth of locals in the towns near the trail. We got the feeling this might be the case more often than not in Sierra City.

I got to take one of the most interesting showers in Sierra City. We swam at an awesome swimming hole only a mile before reaching Sierra City so I wasn't feeling that dirty but the showers were free and Dafna had sent me some nice conditioner so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I walked around the tiny town trying to find this alleged free shower and finally stopped to ask an older local guy. He told me, "walk up this hill for a minute and then you'll see a gravel parking lot and the shower is right there." I thought, hmmm a shower in a parking lot. I was expecting to see a building of some sort, but oh no. His shower is a single stall constructed of some 2X4s and an old dirty rain tarp. There's a barrel stacked on top of this structure that gets fed directly from the stream that runs through town. A single chair and a dirty old carpet are sitting just outside the "shower" so you can change in the open air for the world to see. Upon seeing this I second guessed weather or not this would be worth the hassle but I told myself that there won't be another chance to shower for at least 130 miles so suck it up and just do it! I stealthily undressed and hopped in to find that the barrel has a regular garden hose coming out of it so you can hold the hose above your head and rinse off. There were only a few spiders and cobwebs around and the water was freezing cold! But hey, my hair is shiny and smooth for the first time in weeks and I don't smell like old moldy popcorn anymore. Quite the experience but definitely worth it!

We've realized that we end up talking quite a bit about food in our posts, devoting at least one paragraph to what we've eaten in each entry. Though this is probably not as fascinating to you readers as it is for us, it's the focus of our attention for a for a large portion of our days. When we were asked what we would miss most on the trail before we departed, we figured good food would be at the top of this list. I also thought going without flip-flops would be a tough luxury to lose. Our longings have transformed due to the frequent availability of food in the towns and comfortable camp footware, forcing us to re-asses our desires. Now we're craving watching a good movie with a cold beer and fresh popcorn on a comfy couch with air conditioning. So if anyone wants to mail us a solar-powered lightweight DVD player and a portable popcorn machine that would be greaaaaaat! Having a book to read together is a good supplement so that's a start. We started the first book in the Game of Thrones series and are moving rapidly through.

We should be pressing on with more 20-mile days as we make our way to Chester,  CA. We hope to see more water but have heard that might be unlikely. Tomorrow night we're targeting a large-ish river that we spotted on the Topo maps for our campsite. For now, we'll focus on staying cool, hydrated, and resting often to chow down on our bounty of delicacies.

Small detour: Mile 1155

Well ever since we left South Lake Tahoe we've had some incredible hiking. We've been getting great weather and the trail has been meandering over small hills and exposed ridges.

Last night we camped up on the hillside and caught this amazing sunset:

Apparently there's a forest fire 40 miles west of where we are so it's making the sunsets very colorful.

We were hustling to get down to Donnor Pass Ski Ranch this morning and bumped into trail angle, Reno Dave! He said, "you guys look like thru-hikers. Want a cold beverage?" Reno Dave proceed to take off his backpack and pull out a bear can full of ice and PBR!!!! He gave each of us an ice cold beer and we chatted for several minutes. Apparently he tries to do this day hike as often as he can during the summer and just spreads joy to the PCT hikers. Thanks Reno Dave for spreading trail magic!

We also hit our 500th PCT mile this morning!!! This was a pretty monumental occasion because we're exactly 1/3 of the way to the Oregon/Washington border. I was so excited I almost jumped out of the frame :-P

Once we got down to the Donnor Pass restaurant we sat down and we were immediately handed a free bud light! The folks at the resort are super hiker friendly since the trail crosses the road only 0.2 miles east of the resort. We ate burgers, fries, onion rings, and ice cream. We were in happy hiker bliss but our luck and good times took a turn. As I was eating my ice cream, my bottom permanent retainer on my teeth decided to leave it's resting position of 12 years. The retainer bent down toward the bottom of my mouth and is now stuck in a painful position. At first it didn't hurt too bad, but slowly the pain took over my entire bottom jaw. It feels like I just got my braces tightened but 10 times worse because it's yanking my teeth into an anatomically incorrect orientation.

Our first solution to this problem was to hitch a ride into Truckee and find some tools at the ACE hardware store. I thought I might be able to either push the wire back into place or just remove it completely. Sure enough, ACE had a full set of dental picks! 

We hitched a ride back to the Donnor Ski Resort so I could attempt some quick self-surgery. By now, the Donnor restaurant was packed with 10 other PCTers and everyone was drinking beers and having a great time. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a super friendly mood so I rushed to the bathroom to start scrapping away the adhesive attaching the retainer to my teeth. No matter how hard I tried, I could only cause myself more pain instead of alleviating the tension from the wire. After about 30 minutes, I decided to leave my fate in the hands of a professional. We made the decision to stay the night in Truckee so I can go see a dentist first thing in the morning.

Although we didn't really plan on coming into Truckee at all, we still had such a great day. We get to split a hotel room with another couple, Vibes and Sunshine. We got to eat at a sushi buffet! All in all, we've had a great day. I really hope I can get this retainer fixed quickly and cheaply tomorrow morning so we can get back on the trail and head to Sierra City.

South Lake Tahoe!!! Mile 1112

Written 7/24/14

Posted 7/27/14

So much foooooood!!!! Ok, we eat a lot when we get to a town stop but this one takes the cake. We have gorged ourselves on cheap Chinese, pizza, local breakfast, and a fancy casino buffet. The belly hurts just thinking about it all! I was actually looking forward to eating my healthy hiking snacks today on the trail because my tummy felt like it might explode after that buffet!!!

After the rainy afternoon that we spent 3 hours in the cave (which we later learned that the area had a tornado warning that day), we ended up hiking 9 more miles before dark to make up for lost time. We had a very wet evening, it rained in the middle of the night. We woke up at sunrise, took out our earplugs, and heard a dripping sound. We quickly realized that the ceiling of our tent was essentially raining on our sleeping bags! That was an extremely unpleasant morning because everything was so wet and it was too early for the sun to shine through the trees so we couldn't dry anything out. Mike ended up stuffing the wet tent into his backpack and hauling and extra 3 pounds of rain water up our morning climb.

There was a group of volunteers working on trail maintenance for the PCTA and they gave us some fresh apples! That was a nice surprise and they all seemed so excited and happy to talk to us about our trip. Mike and I definitely plan to give back to the PCTA and do some trail maintenance work next summer. 

We topped out our climb, dried our things, and then continued on north. There was another 1,300 foot climb later on in the day and my legs were so tired and my pace was slowing. In order to keep me motivated, Mike decided to lead  and set pace for the steep hill that was completely exposed to the sunshine. Usually I lead and Mike follows because he's a much faster hiker than I am but he slowed down and set a good pace for me. It's fun having a partner help you and push you! 

At this point we started running into a lot of day hikers from South Lake Tahoe since we were getting so close. We got our second trail angle surprise of the day when we got to the highway and the forest service volunteers gave us a bounty of fruit and sweets! The station where they were working has been very kind to PCT hikers over the last few years. In addition to the food, they also had a scale to weigh ourselves on. Mike has lost a whopping 25 pounds since the start of our hike! I've lost about 8 pounds which is exciting! It feels so good to be fit and in shape! (of course we probably gained all that weight back in town)

That night we finished only 9 miles from the highway into South Lake Tahoe (SLT). It's only a 10 mile hitch so we got to the road and stuck out our thumbs while holding a "SLT" sign. We were getting weird looks and gestures, until we figured out that we were hitching on the wrong side of the road! Once we started hitching from the eastbound side of the highway then we got a ride within 5 minutes. SLT is easily the biggest town that we'll encounter on the trail so we decided to splurge. We got ourselves a two-night stay at a swanky motel (Motel 6) and started feasting! 

SLT is a cool little mountain town and the lake is huge! The casinos are just across the border in Nevada and we couldn't pass up the chance to play a little slot machine poker! There's $2 I'll never see again...

Both Mike and I had new toys waiting for us at the SLT post office. Mike got new shoes from REI because his original pair had already blown out. Luckily REI was cool about it and gave them to him for free! I love that store! I had a new hip belt for my pack sent to SLT because my other one was too big for me now and one of the straps pulled out of its seem. Plus we got to finally mail out our bear cans. They're no longer required so we mailed them back to Mike's dad. Good riddance! Now we're each hiking with 2 pounds less!!!

We did also get to see the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and it was pretty entertaining. We spend a lot of time on the trail talking about movies so when we get to a town with a theater it's hard to resist! Needless to say, our time in Tahoe was relaxing, entertaining, and fabulous!

This morning we said goodbye to town luxuries and got a ride back to the trail. We got dropped off at the Echo Lake Resort at 8am and hiked by several gorgeous, turquoise lakes. We're officially in the Desolation Wilderness Area now which we've heard a lot of hype about and so far it hasn't disappointed! It was a really pretty day of hiking and we're happy to be back on the trail again.

Big miles! Rainy days continue: Mile 1057

Written 7/20/14

Posted 7/22/14

Well we successfully made it over Sonora Pass and into the Northern Kennedy Meadows resort. After the hail storm deterred our initial attempt to get to NKM, we woke up 6am the next morning to regroup ourselves, dry our things, and re-attempt the pass. Once we climbed over the ridge, the trail stayed above 10,000 feet on extremely exposed barren terrain for roughly 6 miles. Needless to say, we were very glad we decided not to attempt the pass in the hail storm.

We hustled down toward the resort and caught a hitch immediately. We were eating cheeseburgers and drinking beers by noon. 

After resupplying and taking a quick shower, we decided not to stay the night and instead hitch back to the trail. After waiting 40 minutes for a ride, we got to the trailhead and hiked a quick 7.5 miles making 18 total for the day, including our 3 hour stop at NKM. We were pretty impressed with our progress!

The last two days we did 20 miles back to back since the terrain has gotten easier. This is a first for us and we'll definitely be getting to South Lake Tahoe sooner than we expected. Yesterday we caught up to our friends from Pullman, Ford and Mariah (now Ferd and Dangit). We knew that they were on the trail and that we were close to them but this was the first day we actually stumbled upon them. After recounting our stories we figured out that we almost crossed paths several times but kept missing each other in between town stops and side trips. Since they started a week before us at the exact same place where we started, this just goes to show you how close but far away you can be to other hikers. It was great seeing them and catching up with them, they're a lively couple and full of stories. We camped with them at a small lake where we had a great little campsite and enjoyed a very scenic evening. 

They are also headed to South Lake Tahoe for some time off but are moving a bit slower than us. We woke up this morning, are breakfast, and packed camp before they were even awake so hopefully they'll catch us in time to hang out in Tahoe.

Today's weather looked promising but it started thunder storming by 1p. Since we got out so early this morning we put in enough miles to find cover and wait out the storms this time. Instead of hiking sopping wet and cold, we parked ourselves underneath and enormous rock roof and caught up on the blog.

The hiking has been getting easier because it's flatter and the trail is nice and soft from all the pine needles. The views have been just as beautiful and the wild flowers are everywhere!!! We found a fantastic tree to take our lunch break on top of a ridge yesterday.

We're very excited to get in to Tahoe! Buffets, a hotel room, beds, laundry, and showers await us. Although we've been able to swim and shower the last two weeks, we haven't washed our clothes since Mammoth. So, despite how clean we may feel, I'm sure we do not smell that great. It seems like there are a lot of hikers that we know that will be in the Tahoe area so hopefully we'll run into at least a few of them. 

While in Tahoe we're going to do our first official grocery resupply. We've been picking up tips from other hikers about what meals to get from the store. Although our boxes have been great, we're ready for a change in pace of food. Mike has been getting especially sick of his breakfast routine and wrote this poem about oatmeal. 

Ode to oatmeal

O oatmeal

Mucky, muddled, mush

Drab, deplorable dullard

I curse your maker

That smug little Quaker

Who grins at my every upheaval

Though I need your nutrition

It's against my intuition

To consume your hot, instant meals

You're a culinary bore that I've come to abhor

A detestable dish that I wouldn't wish

For the next hundred years to be eaten

And try as I might

To improve every bite

My efforts are repeatedly beaten

Peanut butter and fruits cant rescue your flavor

Honey and spices won't allow me to savor

Your bland and soggy cardboard taste

And texture like paper mâché paste

Why couldn't you be a bagel, doughnut or muffin?

Even a danish, some pancakes; give me somethin'

That tingles my taste buds or makes me drool

But alas, you're just oatmeal....

Oh how I dread my next spoonful