Day 72

(Originally written on Wednesday, July 15)

Today definitely ranked high on the frustration chart and I'm glad it is over.

We got up and were on the trail by 6 this morning. Tom and Cobie were splitting off at Highway 50 to head into South Lake Tahoe for resupply. I was going to continue on to Echo Lake Resort to get breakfast, then lunch, before continuing on for another 32 miles to Barker Pass. All went according to plan and I even got to the resort by 9:45 after hiking 10.5 miles. The only problem was the "resort" had no restaurant. So I was stuck eating various forms of junk food instead of a good, hot meal I had my heart and stomach set on.

After gorging myself with calories, I eventually got back on the trail around 2 pm with the goal of at least 10, and maybe 15, miles. The first 7 miles were fine, but then I got to Aloha Lake which had loose, baseball-sized chunks of granite as the pathway. Of all the trail surfaces, I hate this one the most. Every step you take feels as if it could be your last one before a broken ankle, never mind the pain of chronic blisters! This surface went on for several miles and I knew that 15 miles was no longer possible, so I set my sights on Dicks Pass--the last point on the PCT above 9000'. I figured I'd get close enough to it to tackle it first thing in the morning. So I hiked on the granite baseballs for a couple more miles around lakes that were mosquito-free due to the light wind that was blowing. I figured if the wind was blowing down here, surely it would be blowing at higher elevation...right? Wrong. I got to the point where I planned to camp and the mosquitos were the worst I'd seen all day. Strike three. So I kept walking, because I did not want to deal with them. And I walked. And walked. Finally, when I had nearly got to Dicks Pass, I found a rare piece of flat ground and just decided it would have to do. And of course, the mosquitos were still there. So here I am up on the side of a mountain, being harassed by mosquitos, low on water, and feet that are even more tired than usual because of granite baseballs. I can't wait for South Lake Tahoe.