Day 56: South Lake Tahoe

Mile 1079.3 to Hwy 50 mile 1090.1 (10.8 miles, 17.4 km)

It was cold this morning but that is what you get camping in a valley, next to a creek. The cool overnight air settles down low. The bonus was some airflow overnight and no condensation to speak of. I was under some tree cover. Out in the open a light frost had developed.

It was an easy 10 miles out to the highway over undulating terrain. Lots of day walkers heading in on the trail and I stopped to talk to quite a few, many eager to hear about the PCT. I love it when asked ‘where are you headed?’ and you can reply ‘Canada’ to looks of amazement.

I was out to the Hwy by 10am and met a Tahoe Rim Trail hiker gearing up from the car, taking on a resupply of food from his girl friend. I was able to off load my bear canister to them and they were most grateful.

Standing on the highway it took about 15mins to score a ride into town. Plenty of traffic but not many willing to pick up a filthy, smelly hiker, until Dave came along. Dave is a local and keeps an eye out for PCT hikers. Turns out he is also a forest firefighter with the US Forest Service on his day off, so we got along from the get go, sharing stories and just enjoying conversation. He couldn’t take me exactly where I needed to get to but central enough to jump on a bus for the last 25mins to my motel the Paradice Motel.

Bus services in the US are great. Cheap and efficient. I paid $2 for a 25 min ride to put me within a 2 minute walk to my motel.

I’m staying centrally to lots of eateries, supermarket and outfitters. South Lake Tahoe is another ski village in summer mode. Lots of fashion houses, gift shops and spas. I’m looking forward to treating myself to a massage tomorrow. I might even catch the gondola to the top of the mountain for a look.

I have a few things to do but spread over two days it won’t feel so rushed as other town days.

On the to do list:

◦ Find a barber for haircut and beard trim

◦ Pick up my resupply box and new shoes I purchased on online and mailed ahead

◦ Resupply for the next leg

◦ Get a massage

◦ Eat well

◦ Rest

No photos today sorry.