Day 84-89: miles 1018-1092

Day 84: miles 1018.1-1027.3

We slept in today and got a fantastic breakfast, then hung out more. I called home too, which was lovely, and then got a quick lunch. We took the 2:00 shuttle back to the trail and set out with an immediate grueling uphill, then a nice downhill with not too much snow. We did about nine miles before making camp and settling down for the night. I don't normally do many dehydrated meals but for dinner I had a Good to Go mushroom risotto with added olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and parmesan, and it was super fabulous!

Day 85: miles 1027.3-1045.3

We woke up early and headed out, with some intense hills to start and then some good ups and downs. The trail was really lovely dirt the whole way, with no big boulders or anything. After lunch, we had an intense climb up to the pass above Noble Lake, and then camped right next to the lake. We got there early and got to relax. It was really windy, so we waited a bit to set up the tents, but it meant the mosquitoes were under control which was lovely. We had an early dinner outside, and I had a cheesecake desert which was fantastic! Then we relaxed a bit more and headed to bed.

Day 86: miles 1045.3-1064.2

Started out this morning with a nice downhill to Ebbett's Pass, where we were welcomed with trail magic from Chipmunk and Dave! They had a full spread of toast, eggs, chili, and hashbrowns which were fantastic, as well as a lovely handwashing station with warm(!) water and wipes. We hung out with them for about an hour and then carried on. The trail opened into a lovely meadow as it meandered up and down some hills, then across a steep traverse that we were very happy didn't have any snow on it. Then some more lovely ups and downs, with a gorgeous dirt trail and good views. We had lunch under a big juniper tree, then continued on. It's amazing how much the landscape and geology has changed in the last 50 miles or so - there's still some granite, but it comes and goes, with much more of the shale-like red rock dotting the trail. Also lots of fields of wooly mule's ears with their bright yellow flowers turned to the sun. We made camp at Lily Pad lake, and I took a quick dip to rinse off and cool down. Then we relaxed a bit as some more folks joined our campsite, including Koda, Choker, Sesame, Caboose and Thirteen, and Northstar and Mimosa. We said goodnight early and headed to bed!

Day 87: miles 1064.2-1083.1

We headed out around 7 this morning, and Cheers informed us that around 2, he heard the growls and chirps of a mountain lion as it prowled around our campsite for an hour or so before heading off. Fun stuff! This is why I wear ear plugs.

Some nice hiking in the morning, with good views and a gently graded uphill. We passed The Nipples, an aptly named pair of hills, at mile 1069 (nice). Then continued on, crossing a couple sketchy snow patches, one of which I took an unintentional glissade and lost a water bottle, though I only noticed a couple miles after when we stopped for a break :( We carried on over Carson Pass, which had some pretty steep snowy traverses, and I was very grateful to have my microspikes. I've definitely become more confident and less wary of heights since starting my hike - a traverse like that absolutely would have given me a panic attack if I'd done it three months ago. I kept calm and put one foot in front of the other, not looking more than a footprint ahead, and eventually made it through. We had some great views afterwards with some good wildflowers. We took lunch at Frog Pond, where I had a quick swim, then carried on to the rangers station at Carson Pass. They had a fantastic cooler of trail magic, which included fresh strawberries and whipped cream!!! We stayed about half an hour before carrying on to our campsite at Showers Lake. The mosquitoes were out and about but we managed to find a breezy spot for dinner. Choker and Koda joined us, and then we all headed to bed!

Day 88: miles 1083.1-1092

Only 9 miles into South Lake Tahoe today!! It was a breezy couple hours, with nice path and a small section of burn area, and we made it Hwy 50 around noon. We ran into another hiker, Backtrack, at the trailhead, so we all got a hitch together in no time, getting dropped off right in front of Big Daddy's Burgers, where we had a very satisfying lunch. The burger place was right next to our hotel, and the owner was kind enough to let us drop our packs in the laundry room since check-in wasn't until 3. With some time to waste, we headed to the beach just a block away. The lake was clear, the water cool, and the sand hot, what more could you want? We relaxed for a couple hours before heading back to the hotel, taking showers and doing laundry, and relaxing in bed. Then we walked down to this amazing Italian place where we eat got a big pizza and devoured them. The views of the lake on the way back to our hotel were really lovely. Then we watched a bit of TV and headed to bed!

Day 89: zero in SLT

Zero day!! Shade and I woke up first and headed to breakfast while Cheers slept in and called home. Then we chilled out at the hotel, I updated my blog, and did some mending on my hiking gloves. Then we headed to the gear store across town where I got a new fuel can and some bars, then a stop at the post office, and then to Safeway to resupply. I also got a couple treats for my birthday tomorrow :D We headed back to the hotel, packed up our food, took more showers, then headed to the beach again where we swam, had a couple ciders, and napped on the sand. Then back to the hotel for more showers, and then out to dinner at this great Thai place. Shade and Cheers were very sweet and treated me to dinner for my upcoming birthday, and we discussed life lessons and the passage of time. Then we headed home, enjoying the gorgeous sunset. Back at the hotel, we did face masks and I attempted to repair my broken glasses a little more permanently (my regular glasses broke about a week ago and were holding on by duct tape, and my sunglasses broke yesterday. Big rip to me and my vision). Then we said goodnight and headed to bed! Overall, an incredibly satisfying zero day!