200 days of hiking in the triple crown calendar year

This morning I packed well and early and I was on its way around 5:45 am. He had some service, so I sent a text message to Jay to let him know that he had come further yesterday and that he would probably be in the Donner Ski Ranch around 4 pm. We had originally planned to meet for dinner, but now it was going to be a little earlier. What really works very well. The farther I get today, the less miles I will have to do to enter the next city.

The morning was absolutely beautiful. I went up a little to start the day and then folded a corner and got incredible views of South Lake Tahoe at dawn from the top of a crest. There were some epic places of tent near and I really met some hikers who were sitting on top of a rock looking at the sun. It was a super sick place. But I kept walking and enjoyed dawn as I rode on the crest.

In the course of the morning, I would have some different climbs to do. But everyone seems to be quite gradual and then the path would tear down and level for a while. Late in the morning I entered the desert in chief of granite, which was impressive. And the farther I went for the day, the more day hikers I began to see it.

I really didn’t care this morning because the views were very impressive.

I checked my map and I could not see any type of parking close. So I wasn’t sure where everyone came from. But the path passed through some different ski areas. So I thought there were some kinds of paths that cross the parking lot. Because I ended up watching tons of people walking with small one -day packages in the next two hours.

Entering the desert in chief of granite.

Once I got to the next climb, I spent all kinds of ski signs and even went through some telles. It was pleasant once I was at the top of the climb because I followed a crest exposed during the next two miles. That was a really great section of the path and definitely one of my favorite parts of the day. When I left there I had a long descent and basically I fell back into a valley. Then it would rise to another area by some ski elevators.

The good part today was that once I went up on the road, I was generally awake for a while.

However, those climbs were not so bad, and time still seemed to happen very fast. I went to some other PCT hikers and tons plus day hikers. And I was still definitely on the way to arriving at the Ski Donner ranch around 4 pm. Finally, I descended from the last crest and basically I had a ton of descent for the rest of the day. Or at least until I went to the road near Donner Summit. The path was pleasant and easy and I could spend a fast and predictable time, which was great. I listened to an audiobook and tried to do a little writing work.

Lake views in the distance.

The last two hours before arriving in Donner Pass were really great. The path was open and exposed, even though I was opening well in general. You could see more chair elevators and different things in the distance. And practically just navigated during those next hours. When I was approaching the road, there was a great snow patch that obstructed the path. To avoid it, he had to go down and cross some mud. And, of course, I slipped into the mud and stood on my butt. Fortunately, it is so hot that the mud became quite fast dirt and then brushed it.

The path was just below this skiing elevator.

I ended up arriving at Ski Donner ranch just after 4 pm and outside, Jay was already waiting for me. I had sent me an earlier text message in the day and told me to give him a message when he was about 30 minutes to an hour. That way I could ask for a pizza! The idea of appearing to Jay and a pizza waiting for me sounded incredible. In addition, at this point, I was still planning another 10 miles for the day. That would prepare me to enter the city of Sierra tomorrow night. So supplying the pizza would really help me reach those miles.

It is always great when you can see that the path is curved by miles in the distance.

There is a motel in Silver City that has been physically there for decades. But in recent years it has not been operational. Only a few months ago, a couple of guys bought the place and rent private rooms and literary rooms. I called today and I could make a reservation for tomorrow night. So, as long as another 8-12 miles today, tomorrow I will only have about 30 miles to reach the city of Sierra. That means that I could probably enter pleasant and early and continue enjoying the night.

In Donner Ski Ranch there were tons of hikers hanging out. Basically, there is a small corner of hiker that has a large hiker box and that is where everyone congregated. Jay had asked for a couple of pizzas and went up to the counter to buy some soft drinks. Donner Ski Ranch gives 40 -ouns free beers to hikers if he shows his permission. But I’m not drinking this year, so he lost me. Surely I drink soft drinks! It was very nice to sit and relax with everyone after hitting 28 miles at 4 pm.

Donner Ski Ranch! I had never been here before.

I promised that I could stay until 5:30 pm, relaxing and dating everyone. It was very pleasant just drinking my cold soda and eating a lot of pizza. And there were tons of super nice hikers spending the time there with whom I spoke. It is also really great to see Jay any opportunity I can. He has been supporting me so much since I returned to the PCT in Kennedy Meadows South.

Just around 5:30 pm I knew it was time to pack and start moving again. I filled my bottles of water, I said goodbye to everyone and then I went to the Justo road for the moment I intended. And almost as soon as I returned to the PCT, a boy stopped me and asked me if I wanted some trail magic. I apologized that I had just been in the ranch and had filled me with pizza and things. But he offered me to take me a soda on the way! Who could resist such a thing.

Leaving Donner’s ski ranch, slowly began to climb once more.

I thought the soda would be absolutely perfect to drink in a couple of hours just before the final thrust of the day. Leaving Donner Ski Ranch there were a couple of small climbs, but it was a quite quiet land during the next 4 miles. Then, the path crossed the road where you can hook Truckee. If it weren’t a weekend, I would probably have entered Truckee tonight. But it will be much more efficient to go beyond today and stay in the city of Sierra tomorrow night. Otherwise, I would not have arrived in the city of Sierra until the next morning.

The path crossed this tunnel in a moment!

After reaching the road, the path picked up a bit. I had some climbing to do while I was heading towards the cabin of Peter Grub. Which is a winter use cabin along the PCT. The wooden shelter was my original place in the camp to spend the night. And I think it would have been a day of 35 miles. But I thought that if I walked a little in the dark, then I could prepare much better for tomorrow.

When I got to the cabin, my choice pleased me. There were a lot of paths located inside, so I could not have stayed anyway. Instead, I sat briefly and drank my soda to be energized during the last hour of the night. I planned to do some more miles until I got to a good place for the store to spend the night. The next climb happened quite fast and easy because it was very pleasant and fresh. Hiking always feels much easier early in the morning and in the afternoon.

The sun began to wear while heading to the camp to spend the night.

Finally, the sun stood and walked in the dark for about half an hour. In a moment, I heard a very strong noise to the side of me. I’m quite sure I scared a bear in a tree! Because I could listen to the loud noise and the sound of something in the branches. The sound was so strong that it made me escape a small cry. When I looked aside, I couldn’t see anything. It was almost a sound as strong as a tree that fell. So I think the most likely answer was scared of a bear in a tree. Which definitely scared a little. But there was nothing more to do to keep walking.

Another glorious sunset. This time I really walked in the dark. What I have rarely done throughout the PCT because the days are so long.

One or two miles after that I arrived at a water crossing. There were some really beautiful tent points that have just passed there that were super planes. I really hoped to see some hikers there only depending on the location of the site and the water source. But it seemed that I would have a camp for me. I have it configured just around 9 pm. And he had been shy to 40 miles for the days!

Today is also the 200 of my walk for the year. It seems that there is no better way to celebrate 200 days on the way than to make a day of 40 miles. This also means that tomorrow I only have 31 miles to get to the city of Sierra. So, if I start well and early, I hope to be there at 4 pm. The land tomorrow looks very well compared to today. There are definitely a handful of small increases in the first 12 miles of the day. But then the rest of the day seems super cross with much less elevation. The idea of entering the city tomorrow night and having the opportunity to relax and also do some edition, sounds incredible.

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