One of the main things you have to learn when joining the hiking community is that you have to roll with the punches. Unfortunately, my hiking buddy Stix decided the AT wasn’t for him this year, so he got off early and I’m not going to meet him up in Virginia anymore.
That’s ok. Plans change, people change, and you have to adjust. So I am now pushing my hike back this year to July and planning to meet up with another buddy from my 2024 PCT section hike on the west side of Lake Tahoe. I met Buffer in my trail maintenance class prior to my hike and she then picked me up at the other end at Echo Summit and I stayed in her spare room that she outfits specifically for hikers. Her and her boyfriend (fiancee?) Shawn are great people and I would love to see them again.
As of now, they are planning on starting at Sonora Pass on the PCT (just north of Yosemite) and going Nobo for a week or so, which would put me in perfect position to do about 75 miles and link up with my 2024 section, near South Lake Tahoe.
Let the chips fall where they may and let’s do another round of the PCT!
I spent today packing up my gear and laying out my food for the next week that I will be spending in the Lake Tahoe area. My plan is to take two days on Friday and Saturday participating in a Trail Maintenance course near Truckee, put on by the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), and then hike Section K of the PCT starting on Monday morning.
For those who don’t know, the PCT is divided into sections in each state. A, B, C, etc, going from south to north. I am going southbound (Sobo) this time, but I incidentally picked a start and end point that are exactly the boundaries of Section K in California. For me, that means Donner Peak (Interstate 80) near Truckee down to Echo Summit (near South Lake Tahoe). Total mileage is right at about 65 miles.
There is a fire about 12 miles to the west of the beginning of my trail right now (Royal Fire), but the US Forest Service and firefighters have done a phenomenal job so far of keeping it contained to only a couple of hundred acres. Hoping that the wind and weather cooperate over the weekend and the PCT stays unaffected. Worst case scenario, I could probably pivot and hike part of the Tahoe Rim Trail going east, but we’ll get to that if need be.
As I said, I went over inventory and laid out my food plans today. This section of the trail requires a bear canister, by law. Basically, it’s a big plastic can filled with your food that you place a couple hundred yards from your tent when you sleep at night, instead of keeping it all in your tent like in non-bear country (debateable).
Ubiquitous hiker food layout shot
I’m guessing it’s actually a bit too much food, but we shall see. Very excited about those Walking Tamales. It’s a different thing having to fit everything into a bear canister at night and you also have to put in any toiletries, sunblock, lip balm, etc. Anything that has a scent.
So here’s my bear canister, minus a couple of items I will buy in Truckee that will make up most of my dinners (tortillas, salami, and cheese). 8.13 pounds, so far. I’m going stove-less this hike and am very excited to not have to worry about the excruciating minutiae of dealing with cooking at the end of a long day. I will eat my bars and tortillas and trail mix and be very happy.
I am typing this as I wait for my final load of laundry to be done (I won’t have a shower for 7 days after tomorrow morning) and then it’s into the mountains! It will be interesting going solo, knowing it’s only going to be for 5 days this time. I am looking forward to seeing how I react mentally. I’m going to try and only average 10-13 miles a day, so I should be able to take my time.
I will do my best to blog from the trail, but if nothing else, I will get everything up when I get back next weekend. I’m also going to try and video a lot.
Mexico to Canada 2023 (and beyond) 