Week 11: Truckee to Tuolumne Meadows

September 14 - Tahoe National Forest

Walking along the exposed ridge line provides some amazing views!

We had breakfast at the inn before calling the local taxi service to take us down the road to Soda Springs, where our resupply box was waiting for us at the post office.

The ride was expensive, and we regretted our decision once we realized this woman was going to take every back road despite our protests to take the I-80.

However, we did arrive intact at our destination, just much poorer. We also got to see some cool climbing areas on the drive which was nice!

The post office at Soda Springs was very friendly and we quickly sorted through our extremely stocked boxes from Zero Day Resupply. Soda Springs seems very hiker friendly, and we got a lot of comments and questions about us thru-hiking. One old man stuck around for a while and gave us a ride back to the trailhead, which was really nice of him.

Just after rejoining the trail at Soda Springs, we walked through the world famous Squaw Valley ski area.

Weighted down by our packs and late start, we made it a short day and decided to do 16 miles, camping at a creek before the trail rejoined the windy, cold, ridge. Since the weather has been so unpredictable lately, we wanted to camp somewhere sheltered.

A couple of girls and a guy joined our campsite later, but we turned in early in anticipation of a bigger day the next day.

September 15

We planned to do 26 miles the next day, and breezed through the day. We chatted with the other three thru-hikers and had lunch by Richardson Lake. We continued on 9 more miles to another lake where we found this stunning tentsite at the end of the day.

Radio checking out the view from the tentsite.

Radio's Forty-Four

A few minutes later, we realize with horror that there is no tent to set up. We had taken it out at lunch to decide whether to dry it out or not, and due to the camouflage stuff sack doing its job a little too well, we went on without it. Our precious Z-Packs!

It was 6pm and starting to sprinkle. The last few nights have gotten into the low 30s/high 20s, and if all of our gear got wet we wouldn't be able to get warm again, making hypothermia a very real risk. Faced with our options, we decided the best plan of action would be for Radio to run back and get the tent, while I watch over our gear to keep it dry.

18 miles round trip starting at 6:30 pm was an epic undertaking, especially after having done a solid, 26 mile day. I gave him a five-hour energy, a Clif bar and a Snickers, and sent him on his night adventure in just shorts and his rain jacket.

Watching the clouds change color as the sun set, I tried to keep calm and distract myself with the beauty of it.

I was terrified for him. I sat restlessly, walking around the tent site too nervous to eat. Eventually I made my dinner and sat on my hands. I prayed constantly that the drizzle, which had slowed, would stop and that the clouds would continue to clear. I knew I had a long wait in front of me and tried to settle in with positive thoughts. I made dinner, and found out I had a small amount of service, which was comforting. I got my quilt out and wrapped myself in it as the temperatures dropped and looked up at the stars. A perfect shooting star shot across the sky and I wished for Vinny's safe and quick return.

At 11:30, I saw a headlamp flashing and I ran up to meet Vinny. I quickly poured him a water and gave him an electrolyte tablet, and got him warmed up. The irony of the night was we ended up cowboy camping under the stars, too tired to set up the tent. We fell asleep in each other's arms thankful that the adventure had ended.

September 16

The next morning we slept in until 8:30, and took the morning to assess and take care of ourselves, especially Vinny who was recovering from his epic adventure - 44 miles in under 24 hours. After a hearty breakfast and enjoying the lake, we set out for 17 miles to Echo Lake Chalet.

Thankfully, the next day was extremely beautiful.

Entering The Sierras

We passed by the gorgeous Lake Aloha and saw many people out enjoying the beautiful weekend day. As we descended down into Echo Lake we cooed over the cute waterfront cabins.

Reaching Echo Lake was a big milestone for us as it meant downloading a new set of maps - we had "officially" entered the Sierras, and walked through 3 of the 5 major sections of the PCT.

Funnily enough, when we made it to the lodge (which had closed for the season but still had a running outlet outside to charge devices on), we ran into Dan who had taken the day off in Tahoe to run errands. It was great to see him again and we ended up doing another 3 miles in the dark to a campsite across the highway.

September 17

The next day we did 27 miles with Dan, and enjoyed some trail magic from the ladies working at the trail head forest service office - they gave us soda, gummies and candy. We met up with the two girls we had seen earlier on the trail at the office as well.

We had a pretty good day and stopped at this lake for a quick lunch of instant mashed potatoes, which was perfect on this chilly day. We still had a lot of climbing to do.

We got to camp and met Dan's friends Lenny and Brian, who made a fire and had dinner with us. It was great to huddle around the fire and have some good company.

September 18

The next day was another 27 mile day and it was extremely windy and cold on the exposed ridges. We also finally ran into Mama Bear and Patchy completing their thru hike of the Sierras!

It was getting dark and cold and we had lost Dan earlier in the day as he walked ahead of us, but thankfully we kept pushing on to the next tent site and found him finding shelter in a small patch of trees slightly below the trail. The temperatures had gotten so cold we were doing anything to avoid having to make camp at the high altitude the trail was now rising to - regularly up to 9,000 feet when just a few days ago the highest point we had reached on the entire trail including Washington was 8,000 feet. The elevation really alters the exposure we experience and the temperatures we feel.

September 19

The next day we had 18 miles to do before trying to hitch into Kennedy Meadows North, where we needed to pick up our bear canisters that would be required on the trail from this point forward until Kennedy Meadows South.

We were surprised to see snow on the trail near this mountain pass!

While we were waiting for a hitch, Dan caught up and decided to join us for our short trip into town on the promise that we would make it to Tuolumne Meadows by Friday (our personal plan had been Saturday, the day before they close). We said sure, and soon a young couple on vacation picked us up in their rental car and dropped us at the lodge.

The lodge was small and had a very "hunter-lodge" feel to it. There was a small general store where we bought our resupply for the next few days and we picked up our bear canisters stocked with goodies and a sweet note from our friend Sean.

We made it just in time before the grill closed and bone and Vinny both got cheeseburgers and split an order of chicken fingers. Unfortunately there was nothing for Dan to eat except fries and candy...

We then tried to hitch out, our packs heavy and awkward with the bear canisters inside. After waiting on a road with no traffic for about 40 minutes, an Eastern European duo picked us up in their rental car and took us back to the trailhead. We took a selfie with them and were off!

There was a steep climb out of Sonora Pass so we only did about 1 mile before finding a slightly sheltered spot off of the ridge. The winds were blowing hard and we were gearing up for the possibility of rain and potentially snow on Thursday, so we tucked into bed and prayed for clear skies.

September 20

Starting our big climb out of Sonora Pass.

Leftover snow from last season. This section was impassable for most Northbounders, even those who made it through the Sierras due to high snow levels and dangerous river crossings. Luckily, there were only a few patches left.

We had a few patches of snow to traverse, but the steps were kicked in solid from hikers and we carefully made our way across.

Other side of the ridge looked like a barren Mars landscape. It was bitterly cold and extremely windy.

September 21

We did 29 miles the next day, and officially entered Yosemite Park, which was a great milestone. We started the day with a very intense mountain pass - the winds were so strong it literally knocked me off my feet. Arm in arm with Vinny, he braced the wind for me so we could get over the seemingly never ending ridgeline climb. The cold was bitter and intense, and I thought about giving up, for real, on the trail. This just wasn't fun anymore. I'm nervous about missing a step and falling down gravel, wind pushing me off balance, freezing to death, and any combination of the above. I didn't feel safe, the trail and weather felt ominous, and I prayed it would be over quickly. Thankfully I had Vinny and Dan there to support me, and we made it over that pass and another mountain pass before making camp at a relatively low point in Yosemite.

Dan's GPS device and conversations with his girlfriend back home have been our main source of weather updates. The storm which was passing through was supposed to hit tomorrow, and we had a forecast of a high of 27 degrees according to the Garmin. And a 30% chance of "Wintery Mix" - which is not a variety of Chex Mix released around the holidays with some extra mint chocolate thrown in, but instead a mix of everything horrible about winter: freezing rain, hail, and snow.

The First Snow

September 22

Not long after we went to bed did the "Wintery Mix" start. We woke up in the middle of the night to the tent sagging in front of our faces as we slept, and as we pushed up the cuben fabric, a big chunk of snow slid off. We started pushing snow off the top of the tent from all sides. Soon we heard Dan wake up to the same dilemma. We got out and re-pitched the tent and tried to sleep a few more hours.

At first we were mesmerized by the snow...

When we got out, the landscape had transformed and was completely snow covered.

Bewildered, we started hiking. We had two more mountain passes before Tuolumne Meadows. In the new snow, we were only able to make it up one of them. I think we did just under 20 miles, but it took us all day. We also ran into Signe and Sabine, women we had met at Burney Falls Ranch. Banded together, we found camp at the base of our next big climb in the morning.

Steam was rising off the lakes, making for beautiful scenery.

I do have to admire - the first dusting of snow on the mountains is incredibly gorgeous.

September 23

Because we had such a slow day, in order to make it to Tuolumne before close on Friday we not only had to do 30 miles before 8pm, we had to do it in snow and over Benson Pass.

As we climbed higher in elevation, the snow became deeper than a foot in some parts.

Making fresh tracks in the snow - not only did the snow physically slow our feet down, navigating also delayed our progress as we couldn't see the trail.

The crew at the top of our second climb. Left to Right: Vinny, Dan, Sabine, Signe, Me.

This day was one of the hardest days on trail. Doing 30 miles in a day is already very difficult and requires not stopping for barely any breaks, and keeping a fast walking pace. Adding in snow, starting off with frozen shoes (I literally had to bring a lighter to my shoes to try and thaw the laces enough so that I could try and wrench them onto my feet), including a sprinkling of a few icy river fords, the task seemed nearly impossible.

However, somehow we slogged through it. We made it into the valley literally 5 minutes after the store closed at 8, and the storekeeper nicely gave us some Gatorade. However, we still had to make camp in literally freezing temperatures. We found a couple making a fire in the car camping section behind the store and ambushed them, trying to warm up a little and dry some of our clothes before getting into bed. They amazingly made us some hot broth and helped us warm up by the fire.

As we lay in our tents, shaking, with every single layer we had on us, we braced for the cold night ahead. Thankfully we decided to hitch into Lee Vining to take a night in a motel and a much needed zero day - something we hadn't had in over a month and needed badly.