Sonora Pass to Donner Pass

Day 6 Cont'd – Bridgeport, CA to Leavitt Meadows, CA (0 Miles)

I waited about fifteen minutes before someone picked me up on the edge of town. A young guy from nearby Lee Vining driving a Subaru took me to the junction of 395 and 108. I always try and theorize about a person’s motivation when they stop to pick up a hitchhiker. In this case it was easy: he looked just like I did with the scruffy beard and odd tan lines. Maybe subconsciously he was offering himself a lift?

It was a hot day in the desert, and the junction where I was waiting might easily have been the hottest. I could hear some fellows celebrating a fly-fishing catch in a creek just a few yards away, but my own catch was more elusive. After an hour, a red pick-up truck pulled over and the passenger window rolled down. “Git in back and hold on tight cuz I drive kind fast. Don’t mind th’ dawg, he won’t bite ya.” I jump over the side of the truck into the bed, only to be welcomed by an enormous Rottweiler with a studded collar. As promised the passage was swift and bite-free. The ride ended outside the driver’s home at Leavitt Meadows, a pack station located about 9 miles below the Sonora summit.

As I thanked the driver and his family, I was told that the last hitch to the summit, where the trailhead was located, would not be a problem. That ride would not come today. I opted to hike a half mile downhill to the Leavitt Meadows campground for the night. After a complete lap around the place it was obvious all of the sites were already taken. Having no other option, I decided to approach a group of three campers to inquire if they mind my pitching a tent at their site. Adam Ruth, Jeff Brooks Jr. and Jeff Brooks Sr. graciously granted my request. The three, who live in LA, were on there annual car camping trip to the area. As luck would have it, Jeff Sr. was celebrating his sixty-second birthday that night. We all traded stories around the campfire and had a great time on a beautiful night under the stars.

Day 7 – Leavitt Meadows, CA to Some Random Creek (16 Miles)

I rose early to a quick breakfast and thanked the trio again for their generosity as I walked out of the campground to resume my hitch-hiking. After two hours of drive-bys there was again no luck. I was getting anxious to get on the trail again so I decided to be more assertive in strategy. I then walked around the campground offering twenty bucks to anyone who would drive me the last nine miles to the pass. I finally got a taker. “Tiny”, a huge road construction worker from L.A., drove me up in his truck. Reminded about the steepness of the grade, I was glad I hadn’t walked it. Twenty bucks well spent.

No sooner than had I been dropped off at the trailhead and I noticed another fellow with a small backpack at the summit. To the untrained eye, he looked like scruffy day hiker with a small backpack. To the discriminating eye he was a PCT thru-hiker carrying a very light load. He introduced himself as Tatoo Joe, and I would soon deduce that he was one of the fastest, and one of the most well-known, thru-hikers around.

I was happy to finally have someone else with whom to hike. Tatoo Joe had already hiked ten miles that morning, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he was climbing up the grade from the road. Of the interesting things I learned from Tatoo Joe, perhaps this fact was the most shocking: he once hiked the entire PCT with a base pack weight of under five pounds (that is without food and water being considered)!!! To someone like myself who likes to count ounces, I had a lot to learn from someone like Joe. After 12 miles of hiking together, I couldn’t keep up. Joe was set on turning in a 32-mile day, and I wasn’t even able to finish the last 22 miles with him!

As is typically the case in thru-hiking, there was no good-bye between us, he just kept going and I faded back. It suited me just fine as I was getting very tired. I ended up putting in about 16 miles and setting up camp near a small creek for the evening. Stove Top Stuffing for dinner.

Day 8 – Some Random Creek to Dorothy Lake (21 Miles)

There are days when it seems it would have been better to not get out of bed. Today was one of those days. I woke up, nibbled some food and packed up my belongings. I then went to a nearby tree to perform my daily ritual. Not having seen more than 10 people in a week in the backcountry I gave no thought to privacy. Caught in the act! A girl thru-hiker came around the corner to catch me with my pants down. Not a great first impression. She scooted out of the scene and I tried to put together the pieces of my damaged ego. Shit happens.

I decided that what I needed to clear my mind was a good hike. And a good hike is what I got, until I got lost. It happened quickly and without much warning. I was hiking along and came to a junction, thinking I had taken the correct trail. The trail I chose, later to be determined as the incorrect trail, led me to the edge of a steep canyon. The trail then became faint and I eventually lost it. I looked around for the trail but to no avail. After some checking with my map and compass, I determined that I should just find my own way down the canyon to find the trail at its base, the creek at the bottom.

So I made a bushwhack descent of the canyon, losing about 800 feet vertical. It was at the bottom of the canyon, having found no trail once again, that I realized my mistake. I had taken the wrong trail, and, to make matters worse, had lost that wrong trail and ended up in a place on the very edge of my map. I was frustrated and a little bit scared at that moment. My overconfidence in orienteering had gotten me into this, and much as I was tempted to find another path back to the PCT, I knew the safest bet would be to backtrack to where I had started.

Back up the canyon I went, and it was a tough and exhausting climb, compounded by the frustration I felt for making a poor decision. As I gained the ridge, I noticed a well-formed trail and figured this had to be the PCT which I must have missed before. After hiking two miles on it, I realized I was wrong again. I came to a junction with a badly battered sign (read: I wouldn’t be surprised if another PCT hiker had damaged the sign in a rage after realizing the same mistake). After carefully painstakingly piecing together broken shards of wood on the sign to form letters, and looking at my map, I realized that I still was not on the PCT. The bad news was that I was about two miles away from the PCT. The good news was that the trail I was on, the Murray Canyon Trail, would in conjunction with another trail meet the PCT on at a point further along that when I had left it. I could verify this by looking at my map.

So I opted to take this alternate course back to the PCT. My passage was anxious since I wasn’t entirely sure I could trust that this secondary trail had been maintained or that it was clearly marked. After a couple of hours I eventually came to a junction with the PCT. I was so relieved that, I kid you not, I kissed the junction marker. I was so relieved. Being lost in the wilderness is not a good feeling, especially when you are going solo.

And did I mention one of my most prized pieces of gear, my umbrella, broke today? After some 900 miles of use it finally died. Great for rain protection and sun protection. Gone.

A short while later I met a friendly day hiker named Kenny. Being a computer technician from Bend, Oregon, Kenny was excited to talk with me about how to learn web design. It was just what I needed to get my mind off of the debacle. As Kenny and I parted half an hour later, we exchanged goodbyes and, in the ultimate act of thru-hiker good will, Kenny allowed me to leave a bag of my garbage (including my deceased umbrella) near his car so that I wouldn’t have to pack it out!!!

After crossing Highway 4 at Ebbetts Pass, I realized how tired I was from the day. I opted to camp at Dorothy Lake, a magnificent place just a few miles off of the highway. Good call and a great end to a day where I not only had my shit on display, but had it handed to me as well.

Day 9 – Dorothy Lake to The Nipple (18 Miles)

From the first step of the hike today I was captivated with the scenery. At times it was hard to believe I was still in California. The familiar Sierra granite had given way to amazing volcanic formations. The wild flowers put on a dazzling show. The trail was well maintained and graded well. The miles came easy, and most importantly, I didn’t get lost. I can whole-heartedly recommend this hike from Highway 4 to anybody who would like to do some fun day-hiking or backpacking.

The final highlight of the day was the PCT’s ascent of a mountain known as The Nipple. The name lives up to the visuals, the mountain does look like a well-formed breast. As I scaled the slopes a cold wind began to howl against me. It made the climb tougher and, unless I’m mistaken, the end of The Nipple appeared to be a bit firmer and more erect the colder it got!

Day 10 – The Nipple to Bendon Meadows (18 Miles)

I met two more thru-hikers, Stretch and Grasshopper. Stretch is a girl from Seattle and Grasshopper a dude from Wisconsin. I didn’t get too much time hiking with either of them because they were in a rush to get to showers and meals in South Lake Tahoe.

At Carson Pass on Highway 88, I met two cyclists who had just summited and wanted their picture taken next to the sign. When I asked one of the guys where he was headed he replied with dramatic pause, that they were riding to Virginia. “Yorktown I gather?” I replied, catching he and his buddy completely off-guard. I went on to explain that I myself had ridden my bike across America before. Been there, done that. Yada yada yada. I told them hiking the PCT was a tougher endeavor. I can be mean sometimes.

I was also able to make a few calls at Carson Pass at the Welcome Center. Nice place and nice folks. They warned me about the Tahoe fire, though it looked like it was close to be contained at last word. The smoke was very evident throughout the area. I sure hope a backpacker didn’t start that fire.

The rest of the day was a relaxing hike. I was tempted to hurry and head to South Lake Tahoe as well, but I in the end I was happy to finish a little short. I found an incredible campsite just three miles from the Highway 50 summit. I’ll definitely be coming back here with friends. Are you my friend?

Day 11- Bendon Meadows to Gilmour Lake (15 Miles)

After an early start courtesy of a mosquito-driven alarm clock, I crossed Highway 50 and eventually found my way to the Echo Lake Resort, a trailside establishment located in South Lake Tahoe. The resort is a nice place with good sandwiches and milkshakes. I was able to mail and re-mail a package as well as pick up some groceries.

The real story at Echo Lakes was a chance to meet a bunch of thru-hikers at the same time. By far the most entertaining were a pair of brothers from Chelsea, Michigan, trail names Diesel and Hammer. Both had hiked all the way from Mexico and it was apparent that all of the miles had made them a little slap happy. Diesel has kind of a Jeff Foxworthy presence about him, and he was ranting and raving about why he should quit the trail. People were laughing so hard at his observations they couldn’t get a word in to convince him otherwise.

I made the long, hot climb at of Echo Lake at a decent pace, and decided to end the day a little early near Lake Gilmour. I am still having trouble sleeping and I’m experimenting with different padding configurations to make it work.

Day 12 – Gilmour Lake to Alpine Meadows (33 Miles – Personal Record!)

Some days everything comes together: an early start, a very light pack, strong legs, beautiful weather, nice trail, and the will to make something big happen. Today I set a personal record, backpacking 33 miles, while covering some amazing country. I think the biggest difference is that now I am really cutting unnecessary weight out of my pack (no more stove and cook kit for instance). This allows me to run up and down climbs in a very comfortable fashion. I plan on making even more changes in the upcoming break at the Clarks’ place in Sacramento.

The highlight of the day was a five mile hike along a knife-edge ridge approaching the Alpine Meadows ski resort. I witnessed amazing views of the lake and surrounding peaks the whole way. How different this place looks in the summertime compared to the winter when the slopes are packed with skiers!

The will to do such a long hike came from my eagerness in seeing Becky at Donner Pass. By finishing a day earlier than planned I will be able to take an extra day to heal up in Sacramento.

I hiked until after the sun set and used my headlamp to find a meadowy campsite. My sleeping bag got wet but held its temperature protection throughout the night.

Day 13 – Alpine Meadows to Donner Pass (21 Miles)

The dash to Donner Pass started at 5:30 in the morning. I was extremely sore from the long day before so I tossed in a Vicodin mid-morning to help out. Hiking along the slopes of Squaw Valley was cool. As I passed Granite Chief I paid homage to the many great snowboarding days I had experienced in his presence.

More amazing knife-edge hiking today, and all of this is just a few miles from Donner Pass – day hikers of the world get yourself out here! The descent down the slopes of Sugar Bowl was a tough one with ankle breaker rocks at every turn. I made it to Donner Pass Road and borrowed a girl’s cell phone to call Becky and let her know I would be at I-80 in around an hour.

I was expecting the remaining three miles would be easy but of course they were not. I met a day hiker named Gil towards the end who, seeing that I was in quite a bit of discomfort with the Vicodin wearing off, offered to drive me to the Boreal Inn rendezvous point once we were off the trail.

Becky at last! Damn it was good to see her! And we stopped at Ikeda’s in Auburn for burgers, pie, and good trail foods. I grabbed a shower at the Clarks in Granite Bay before I would let anyone greet me (Becky was quick to point out upon meeting me that my aroma was not fit for civilization). Dinner at the Clark’s was some delicious Chinese food, a lot of it.

Days 14, 15, 16 – Granite Bay, CA (0 Miles)

Yep, decided to take some time off. I have a lot of strategizing to do and my body needs the extra down time. It looks like I also caught a bout of Giardia on the trail (I’ll spare you the details), but fortunately the Kaiser doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics before the lab results came back!