Miles: 1153.4 to 1168.5
Trail Miles: 15.1
The Sierra Club lodge provided dinner, breakfast and a pack-your-own lunch. At 7:30 I went down and made a large sandwich – six slices of cheese and double meat. I then had breakfast: French toast and two large bowls of real oatmeal, not instant, with milk, brown sugar, raisins and walnuts. I don’t normally eat this much but I was trying to stay ahead of my energy levels and calorie needs. Hunger was not a reliable gauge anymore.
At the lodge, the meals are served family style. I was the only thru hiker there and was a bit of a curiosity to the other guests. It was nice to chat with the other guests – people whose lives didn’t revolve around the PCT! Another thing about the lodge, guests were asked to help with the chores – clearing tables, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, etc. It felt good to pitch in and do something completely unrelated to the trail.
After chores and catching up on blog posts, I finally checked out about 1045. I went down to the road and stuck my thumb out. Within five minutes I got a hitch from an Indian American doctor and his wife. They were going day-hiking and asked a bunch of questions about the trail. The doctor told me that with his job he could never take off five months and do what I was doing but in his voice and choice of words I could hear wanderlust. They dropped me of at Donner Pass. It took me a few minutes to get my pack arranged and on my back. As I crossed the parking lot, I saw they were getting out of their car. He said I’d inspired them to hike a bit of the PCT that day.
The trail headed north towards I-80. I still had Internet service so I texted Waterfall and Momento. I was curious how their ‘McDonald’s Challenge’ went. Waterfall’s response was humorous and unequivocal: it had gone badly. She said she would not eat McDonalds again, at least not while on the trail.
It was the weekend before Fourth of July so there were a lot of day hikers out. It was good to see people getting out and enjoying the outdoors.
I stopped at the I-80 rest stop to eat my lunch and worked on the blog some more. I saw 4 other thru-hikers there. Walking Chi and Vision Board were a German couple I’d been leapfrogging with the last couple days. The other two, Solid and Werewolf, I hadn’t seen before. We chatted about how the Sierras had been and nutrition. They too had had to increase their food intake. – I wasn’t the only one struggling with food and energy.
The PCT/drainage tunnel under I-80
I stopped by the Peter Grubb Hut. It’s a small back- country hut owned by the Sierra Club. that’s open to the public year round. It’s essentially a shelter with a couple wooden table and benches. I think it’s used in the winter mostly, for back country skiing. There’s a ladder on the exterior that leads to the second floor, for when the snow too deep to use the first floor entryway.
I saw on the trail register at the Hut that Surge been there earlier today. It’d be good to see him, Gargoyle and Happy Feet again. But one thing I knew about hiking, you could be within a mile of someone and never see them.
I got to the campsite around 1900. It had a nice view. I’d forgotten to buy a new fuel canister and, of course, ran out of fuel immediately when I went to cook dinner. Looks like I’ll be cold-soaking my food the next two days.
I was in my tent when, just before 9pm, another hiker came by. I could see he was an “ultra light” hiker. He had his tent set up and was probably asleep in 30 min. I’d never seen him before. I bet he’ll be gone before I’m even moving up and moving tomorrow.