Life on the Trail - an Outsiders Perspective

I was lucky (crazy?) enough to meet Daphne and Miles at Donner Summit ski lodge and join them for hike to South Lake Tahoe. I was gearing up for what was to be my longest backpacking trip ever while trying to comprehend this is just daily life for the hikers. 

After a breakfast the lodge, where free 40s of bud light are given to PCT hikers, we were fueled up. Miles gave me a quick shake down of my gear to ensure I was as light as could be. Going against his ultra-light recommendation, I brought not only one change of boxers but also two extra pairs of socks. And boy was I glad I did. 

We were supposed to hike 15 miles that day; Miles and Daphne already having done 10 before we met up. We were greeted first by epic views hiking the ridge line until a hail storm rolled in. The trail turned white as the pea sized hail crunched under our feet. Then we descended off of the ridge. Crunching gave way to splashing, hail to rain, and the trail became a river. 

Huddled under a tree, following the trail’s “speaking our truths” sentiment, we agreed to cut the day short and setup camp early. My fingers were so cold I needed help to undo the buckles of my pack to take it off. We quickly setup camp, crammed into my “spacious” two person tent for dinner, and were in bed by 8pm hoping for better weather. 

The next morning presented us with some decision making. Do you put back on your dirty, wet, cold clothes from yesterday or stay in your dry sleeping clothes? I was lucky enough to have flaunted the ultra-light rules and at least had dry socks, but did follow the guidance of the hikers and adorning my wet pants, boxers, and shirt to start the day. There was some questioning of my life choices as I wrapped up my wet tent to put in my wet backpack wearing my wet clothes all while hearing the slosh of my wet shoes. 

Fortunately, the suffering was short lived once the sun started peaking through the trees. Smiles were back and vibes were high. We were optimistic about getting a few extra miles in to make up for the day prior. To make that happen, we don’t think about our 27 mile objective, just getting the next 5 miles done so we can eat. Food becomes everything. Activities, conversations, day dreams… We schemed crumbling my mom’s cookies we brought along into peanut butter and nutella tortillas, lentils in tortillas, even pasta bolognese in tortillas. We ate a lot of tortillas. 

Now, you may think that after a rain in the mountains everything would smell fresh. The only problem is a lack of showers and laundry combined with a surplus of dehydrated foods. The fresh scent of pines was overwhelmed by less pleasant odors. If whomever was walking in front became a little too effervescent, we’d yell “Caboose” to encourage them to walk in the back of our group. A motion was put forward for Miles to adopt this as his new trail name. 

We ran into many other sobos along the trail. Maps, Meat Wagon, Jock Strap, and Double Stuffed to name a few. Epsom and Daisy are pretty normal names in comparison. 

All three of us woke up with minor hiker hobbles on day 3, but the thought of a real bed and good meal was all we needed to push on. Desolation Wilderness gave us more stunning views of granite peaks and alpine lakes. We encountered a few weekend backpackers and day hikers as we closed in on the trailhead. Entertaining conversations ensued with some hikers asking us “Where are you coming from?” and Miles responding with, “Canada”. 

With free pizza promos on the horizon from a recommendation of other PCT hikers, we engaged “PoWa”, short for power walk. This phrase is used to hick into high gear. We finished strong and arrived at Echo lake trailhead. It took a few minutes waiting and asking around until a nice couple was brave enough to put 3 stinky hikers in their car and give us a lift to town. 

We each ordered our free, large pizza and had a feast. The hiker hunger hit so hard that substituting red sauce on a pizza for mac n cheese actually seemed like a good idea. It was the perfect 10,000 calorie celebration to mark the completion of our 62 miles and 10,000 foot elevation gain over the last 2 and a half days.