PCT SOBO DAY 79 – I see Lake Tahoe!

Day 79

Start: Campground, mile 1510.8

Finish: Stealthsite, mile 1538.9

Miles driven: 28.1 miles

Last night I slept very comfortably and soundly. The desert was calm and the morning came gently. Today, I planned to make a slightly longer day so I wouldn’t have as many miles to walk to South Lake Tahoe.

After breakfast, I said goodbye to the boys and left. I had a slow start. I wasn’t quite in the mood to hike, I stopped and started too much. I finally reached the top of my first climb of the day, where I sat and looked out at the ski lifts while soaking up the sun.

I thought I should move a little faster, so I headed down, ready to tackle the next climb. The road was pretty quiet today. There weren’t many people on the road; I only encountered a few hikers and a couple trail runners. The scenery didn’t improve until I reached the top of my second climb.

Until there I walked along the high, bare ridge, which allowed me views in all directions. Looking into the distance, I saw a blue stripe. My first view of Lake Tahoe! For the rest of the day, I stayed high up, catching glimpses of the deep lake from various angles, each time the lake came closer and closer into view.

By the end of the afternoon, I was almost exhausted. Still, I wanted to get to the Desolation Wilderness and camp a few miles away. There was a campsite that would have been the perfect distance, except that hikers on FarOut commented on experiencing encounters with an aggressive bear – yikes!

“Desolation Desert: Permission required before entering”

I pushed harder as the sun continued to set. Now, I ran into more and more Tahoe Rim Trail hikers; I hadn’t even thought about running into them, but I guess it was a good time to take the tour.

Finally, just as it was getting dark, I found a campsite that wasn’t used much. I had my bear can, but I was still worried about seeing bears. I had seen more than enough bears in my life; I didn’t need to see anything else.

Tired and more than ready to get into my quilt, I quickly set up my tent and had dinner. Once again, the air was cold, so I gladly put on my warm clothes. Trying to get thoughts of bears out of my mind, I finally fell asleep.

And that’s a day in the life of a PCT SOBO hiker!

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