Day 72 – Carson Pass

Miles: 1055 to 1076.9

Trail Miles: 21.9

After a restless night I was on the trail at 0630. The fall I took leaving Tuolumne Meadows 6 days before, when I landed on my left rib cage, was still bothering me. It was hard to find a comfortable sleeping position. I couldn’t cough, sneeze or even clear my throat without stabbing pain. I had to be careful lifting my backpack, and taking a full, deep breath was still painful.

There was good news however. My left foot was healing. Occasionally I would feel it, but for the most part it was back to 75%. I was no longer worried about infection with wet and dirty socks either. (Celebrate the small victories!)

I’d had hoped to do 25 miles today, but as soon as I realized there was intermittent cell service I knew a mileage goal was out the window. Through the Sierras you were cutoff and in the wilderness. But now, approaching Lake Tahoe, there’d be service off and on; a chance to catch up on calls, blogs, email. That would easily eat up an hour or more, meaning 3 less miles hiked.

The first thing I took care of was calling the Soda Springs Post Office. I didn’t think I could make it there by 3:30 Friday afternoon given the shape I was in. My left rib cage, 75% foot and lack of sleep combined with loss of appetite, the remaining 105 miles in 4 days would be pushing it. Fortunately the postmaster said she could leave it at the store next door. The store was open til 8pm and on weekends. I was relieved to get that taken care of.

I called HH, texted some friends and was sucked into my inbox. You can never really escape. Ugh.

With all the stops for cell service/texting, filtering water (and resulting pee breaks), it took forever to get going and make some miles. I was feeling really low on energy; like all my glycogen stores were used up and my body wasn’t responding like it usually does. I know I need to eat more, but I’m just not hungry.

I caught up with Waterfall and Momento around 2pm while they were taking a break. They were going to camp near Carson Pass. It might be the last night I’d get to camp with them for awhile as they were going into South Lake Tahoe to resupply tomorrow.

After a long break – no one was feeeling energetic after yesterday’s 25 miles- we got back on the trail.

Around mile 1070 the trail goes through an OHV area. As we came up to a saddle we spotted what looked like an Army truck. I thought it was a deuce and a half, something I’d gotten to drive in the months after 9/11. As we got closer, I saw it had a canoe strapped to the top. It wasn’t official use, but I had to get closer and get a picture.

As we came up to the truck I asked if it was a deuce and a half. One of the men sitting in the back said no, but I was close. It was the big brother, a 5-ton truck, bought through Army surplus. It was all tricked out and looked brand new. There was a removable compartment that was the sleeping quarters. It had coolers under the backend seats and a propane stove. It was pretty damn cool.

The owner, Allerd, and his brother Gerald were both from the Netherlands originally. Allerd had emigrated to the US some years ago and lived in Nevada. They were camping for the night at a perch with an incredible view.

After we asked to take pictures of the truck they invited us to join them for a beer. We all climbed in the back of the truck and enjoyed an icy cold Modelo. We spent an hour chatting, enjoying the company and view. If I stayed any longer I was going to lay down on the tailgate and take a nap.

We eventually said our goodbyes and got on the trail. We had one more snow covered pass to get over before descending to our campsite near Carson Pass. Fortunately the snow was still soft at 5pm and we got through it safely. (None of us had our microspikes anymore.)

When we arrived at Carson Pass we got talking to some folks in an RV. They had driven up for a picnic dinner from Gardnerville, NV. They had once lived in Bishop, CA and were very familiar with the Sierras and PCT. They had a beautiful Australian Sheppard that we each took turns petting. (Dogs and trail magic will always attract thru-hikers attention!). We cooked our dinners at a picnic table nearby – having a table was a real treat! As we got up to leave, two backpackers came by and offered us some fresh fruit, vegetables and other snacks. They’d done a weekend trip and were heading home. The food was extra they hadn’t eaten. We each looked at each other, not wanting to be greedy or obnoxious by scarfing down the fresh strawberries and cherry tomatoes in one handful. It took some restraint as the strawberries and tomatoes were to die for, so fresh and sweet.

By now it was getting cold as the sun set. We hurried across the road to the other parking area and pitched our tents near 5 others. Everyone (but me) was going into Lake Tahoe the next day. They’ll all be up and gone early. If only I can ignore them and sleep in.