Hello Tahoe, You Big Beautiful Blue Lake!

After a little time off it was high time to get back to the trail. I loved seeing friends, celebrating a marriage, eating massive quantities of food, and getting a taste of the beach, but Canada beckons. Somehow you do grow to miss the long days and trying miles. After a while its even somewhat comfortable.

Tuesday night Kristin and I left San Diego to pick up friends in Longbeach that would accompany her all the way back to Seattle. We drove through the night playing games and singing along with the radio, arriving at Sanora Pass around 6a.m. in the morning. Sleepless and tired, I bid my friends farewell and hit the trail. The day became littered with sporadic naps. Early in the day I met a happy thru-hiking couple, True and Birdnut. They were very nice and we lunched together later that day. During the afternoon, on an attempted five minute water break, I was awakened after an unknown amount of time by a backpacker that was trying to pass by. Pack still strapped to my shoulders, I had rolled into the middle of the trail, desperately trying to acquire a few more "zzzz". Even with the constant napping I still managed over twenty miles and broke for camp. A familiar face awaited the next day.

I woke up the next morning feeling rested and ready to meet the trail. Taking off I quickly caught up to True and Birdnut who had also caught up to, none other than, Ancient Brit himself. I just keep running into this guy. Lucky he was clothed for this, our fourth meeting. Hiking on, I eventually left Ancient Brit behind though I'm sure we'll cross paths again. The stretch from Sanora to Tahoe is beautiful. Up and down between 8 and 9000 ft, you still encounter a little snow, streams, and lakes as the trail curves in and out of the forest.

The third day out of Sanora was filled with the weekenders and day-hikers. The day before the 4th, it seemed everyone was hitting the mountains for a nice hike. I crossed over Carson Pass at highway 88, chit-chatting with many hikers along the way. I ran into two weekenders Bill and Keith that were hiking with Keith's two yellow labs and we got to chatting about the trail. They're good guys out of Reno and I pulled up a little early to camp with them at Shower Lake. It was fun to camp with new friends but we picked a place that couldn't possibly have any more mosquito's. We were forced inside our tents and continued the conversation with raised voices from tent to tent for a time.

Up the next morning early, I had 10 miles to highway 50. I was thinking I would cruise through after getting my box in Echo Lake but I remember my friend Skivies said to give him a call because they would be in the area. I got a hold of him at the highway and he said to hitch into South Lake Tahoe because they met some friends of friends and I was welcome to come along. It turns out they ran into the parents of a friend of theirs from school, Tom and Shari Hochradel. We also found out the their son is good friends with Matt and Traci Wilson whom I know and adore from Point Loma. Anyways, long story short, we went out on Lake Tahoe for the day, cruised around and went for a swim. Then we went to their friend's gorgeous summerhouse overlooking the lake for a barbecue and then it was back out on the boat at night to watch the Fourth of July fireworks display. They are even letting us crash on the floor of their hotel room. Waking up that morning, I would have never believed I would have had such an eventful day or met such wonderful and generous people.

I regret to report that Hollywood, Skivies hiking partner, is no longer on the trail. A stress fracture in his knee sent him home for the rest of the summer but he is getting better. The other hiker I met is Homeschool, who is joining Skivies for the rest of their California hike. To refresh the memory, these are the boys from Cal Baptist University that are hiking to raise money to sink wells in India. If you want to check out more about their quest check out teamsweetwater.net. Its worth a least a few minutes of your time.

Well, I'll be getting back to the trail tomorrow. In about four days I'll be passing throug Sierra City and then Belden 4 more days after that. I doubt many of the hikers along the trail will believe the trail magic that I've come across. I'll certainly never forget my first trip to Tahoe. It was incredible, and remember, Keep Tahoe Blue!