I Saw a Bear - Days 68 - 75

Day 68

Sierra City to Mile 1184.7 ~ 10.7 Miles

After a fantastic night sleep in the hotel, I took my sweet time this morning. I showered for the second time, I watched some America’s Funniest Home Videos and I enjoyed some ice cream for breakfast. What a morning! Then I went to the general store and got some food for the next couple days to get me to Truckee. The reason to only do a couple day resupply was the general store in Sierra City was soooo expensive. So I bought enough food to get me to Truckee where there is a full grocery store. While at the general store, 8-Ball and I ran into Watson, Holmes and Skipper, some of the guys we flipped up to Northern CA with.

We hung out a bit and had lunch then all headed back on trail to do a small 10 mile day. We all got to camp at about 5:00pm and enjoyed hours around the campfire while eating dinner. Today was such a fun enjoyable day.

Tomorrow from all reports it sounds like we will be heading into the snow. Hopefully it’s not too bad because we all don’t have our snow gear with us.

Day 69

Mile 1184.7 to mile 1160.8 ~ 23.9 Miles

Today we hit the snow. The memories of the Sierras were all flowing back. My cold wet feet, post holing, and short lunch breaks are back. I was kind of excited to get back to the snow then I started hiking in it... It is very time consuming and takes up a lot more energy. Sometimes even finding the trail can be difficult. So much so that there are times where you are creating your own trail. But it is all a part of hiking this amazing trail. I was told what “type 2” fun is recently. Supposedly you are not having fun while doing the activity but looking back on it is fun and you’re glad you did it. I have a feeling that there are going to be days of type 2 fun ahead of me.

Tonight I am staying in the Peter Grub hut. This is a hut that is a backcountry ski lodge in the winter but is open for use in the summer. The walls are made of stones, there is a fire place and there are boxes hung from the ceiling so hikers can hide food from the mice. It has a downstairs with wood benches and a loft upstairs for sleeping. We were able to cram about 10 hikers on the wood floor of the loft. Unlike other long trails, which have lots of shelters, this is the only shelter on the PCT. I am super excited to spend the night in this hut!

Day 70

Mile 1160.8 to Truckee ~ 7.4 Miles

I got into town this morning by hitch hiking a different way. There was a rest stop near the trail so instead of sticking my thumb out I had to walk up to people and ask if they were going into Truckee and if they would give us a ride. I was with 8-Ball and Watson and because they are international hikers they thought it would be best if I did they talking. So after about 30 minutes of asking people for a ride I finally got someone to agree! It was very uncomfortable and I felt bad asking people to drive us into town, but it a part of life on the trail.

Once in town, I was lucky enough to meet up with a great friend on mine, Brooke. She drove up from Reno and met me for coffee. I got a hot chocolate and a lemon pastry and we enjoyed catching up. It was so nice of her to go out of her way to meet up with me. It can be difficult to meet up with people while I’m on the trail due to me never knowing when and where I’ll be. So I’m thankful for her being flexible and making it happen!

I am staying the night in Truckee and hitting the trail in the morning. I have 65 miles to Lake Tahoe where I am excited to spend some time.

Day 71

Truckee to mile 1129.7 ~ 23.7 Miles

After getting a hitch out of Truckee I hit the trail at about 8:30am. Today was a very warm but beautiful day. Temperatures were in the mid to high 70s and there was not a cloud in the sky. There was some steep and somewhat technical snow hiking in the middle of the day which was fun and got my heart pumping.

The highlight of the day was seeing my first bear!!! It was so spectacular! Holmes and 8-Ball spotted it first and yelled for me to come look. I literally ran to catch a glimpse of the beast. By the time I got there it had ran down the hill a bit but I was able to get a good look. It was an average sized black bear, with an absolutely stunning shimmering coat. Seeing a bear in its natural habitat has been a dream of mine for a long time and today it came true!

The day and the hiking was so spectacular that I didn’t even put in my headphones once. Usually after lunch or in the early afternoon I will listen to a podcast or some music, but today I had zero desire. The woods were enough for me.

Day 72

Mile 1129.7 to mile 1107.6 ~ 22.1 Miles

With 22 miles today myself and the 4 other guys have set ourself up perfect to go up and over Dick’s Pass early tomorrow morning. This is a pass that is up over 9,300 ft and will have some tough snow mountaineering. From there I am camped tonight it is about 2 miles to the summit of the pass. I am excited to go up and over this pass!

Because we only had 22 miles to do today we got into camp early and all hung out and enjoyed a early night in bed.

Day 73

Mile 1107.6 to mile 1092.4 ~ 15.2 Miles

I got up early and hit the trail to get up and over Dicks Pass. There was a decent amount of snow but it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. After getting up and over the pass it was a very easy hike down into Echo Lake where we got picked up by Sue to take us to South Lake Tahoe. Originally it was my plan to stay a couple night with the Shepack’s and the other 4 guys I was with we’re going to find a hostel or campground to stay, but Sue offered her house for ALL of us to stay! It was so nice of her and the guys were so happy. We all got to sprawl out on Sue’s living room floor and her balcony.

Later that night all of us guys went over to Mike’s for a bbq. We ate hot dogs, hamburgers, salad and all sorts of other goodies. We all had such a blast and enjoyed each other’s company. It was so nice to get to hangout and introduce my hiker friends to everyone.

Day 74

Zero Day

Today I had to get my passport. Before I left for the trail I tried to apply for my passport but realized in the process that I did not have the proper birth certificate. I guess they need the full page document and not the half page, but whatever. So I had to apply for an official birth certificate and then get it mailed to me in Tahoe. I was able to go to the DMV in Nevada and put it all my paperwork for my passport. Now that I officially have that done I can get in and out of Canada!

Taylor was not in town but she left me an amazing surprise, a massage! So I took my gift certificate and cashed in on an amazing deep tissue massage. After all those miles it felt incredible to have my feet and my legs rubbed out. I feel like a new man after my massage thanks to Tay!

We all wanted to enjoy a night out in Tahoe and boy did we ever. The whole group of us hikers and Jenny, went out to the casinos and had a blast. We went from casino to casino and lost a bunch of money. But it was all worth it! It was Jenny’s Birthday at midnight so we all got to help her start off her birthday celebration!

Day 75

Echo Lake to Mile 1081.9 ~ 10.4 Miles

Sue spoiled us with a pancake breakfast when we woke up this morning. As the hikers we are, we devoured the feast. After breakfast we all went to the grocery store to do our resupply. Because we kind of screwed up and didn’t send a box to Kennedy Meadow North (75 miles away), we now have to make it 150 miles to Yosemite. This means we did a 7-8 day resupply. That’s a lot of food to carry and my backpack is now sooooo heavy.

Sue dropped us off back on the trail at about 2pm and we cranked out 10 miles before setting up camp. I had such a great time in Lake Tahoe and I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with the whole Shepack family. No surprise they were so much fun and so welcoming to me and all my friends. I’m so blessed to have them in my life!