Sonora Pass to South Lake Tahoe.

Miles 1,018 – 1,091.

Days 51 – 56.

After Sonora Pass, the PCT is finished with the high alpine passes of the Sierras. As the trail continues, it retreats to lower elevations. Massive peaks are replaced with spiny volcanic rock outcroppings. Over roughly 75 miles, the trail gradually works its way down to near Lake Tahoe where it briefly joins with the Tahoe Rim Trail. Hikers resupply in South Lake Tahoe at the end of this section, one of the larger resupply towns along the PCT.

Day 51

I woke up in my comfy bed in the cabin I’d shared with 6 other thru-hikers at the Kennedy Meadows North (KMN) Pack Station. Unfortunately, I was unable to sleep in. So I wandered to the Pack Station’s restaurant for an early breakfast – coffee, pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

After checking out of our cabin, my new friends and I caught the shuttle back to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from KMN and were hiking by 10 am. Not bad for a morning leaving town. If you can call the tiny pack station a “town”.

I hiked and chatted with Cheeky until lunchtime. It was lovely to walk and talk with another woman who goes my same pace – something I haven’t done much of since I parted ways with GTA and Miranda back around Agua Dulce.

After lunch, the trail was easy and gently rolling. I covered lots of miles quickly. That was, until I felt… A raindrop? That couldn’t be right. I was quite certain that it never rains on the PCT.

But it was raining. I quickly pulled over to the side of the trail to rearrange my gear inside my pack. I carry a trash bag to use as a water-resistant pack liner. But since it’s always sunny, I haven’t been in the habit of actually using my pack liner. It usually is just balled up at the bottom of my bag with a few other miscellaneous low-priority items.

I finished rearranging my pack and putting on my rain jacket. That’s when 100Grand, one of the hikers I shared the cabin with, walked up behind me. Together, we walked a short distance in the rain until we came upon a tarp pitched low to the ground just off the side of the trail. Inside, we found AC and Stag hiding from the rain.

Since it was thundering, and the next bit of trail would take us onto an exposed ridge, I decided to stop there and wait out the inclement weather. I pitched my tarp and put on my warm layers. Feeling cozy, there was only about a 50% chance I’d actually have the willpower to pack up and keep hiking if the thunder ever stopped.

Eventually, the rain stopped, though the thunder continued. AC started a fire in the fire ring at the campsite. More thru-hikers trickled in, and we all gathered around the fire, eating our dinners early. It wasn’t the afternoon I planned on, but it was lovely.

I did find the willpower to pack up and hike on, another 5 miles or so. I was rewarded for my efforts – as I hiked, I saw an owl!

I found a nice flat campsite on a saddle, though with a lot of cow poop, unfortunately. Stag, SnakeEyes, and I cowboy camped, and Cheeky and Cherry pitched their tent nearby. It was my first night of cowboy camping in about a week. After a long, cold spell, finally the temperatures are warming up. I’m not feeling the need to pitch my tarp just to trap some heat.

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Day 52

It was a remarkably uneventful day on the PCT.

I got up, packed up, and walked for several hours alone in the morning, mostly through a pine forest. There were occasional patches of snow in the forest, but no huge, steep snowfields like there were back in the taller mountains.

I don’t know exactly which part of the Sierras is considered “The High Sierra”, but it seems I’m past it. Perhaps I’m now in “The Low Sierra”. If such a place exists. These mountains are much smaller and shorter. The towering granite and diorite peaks have given way to green rolling hills and jagged volcanic rock outcroppings. Interesting to look at for sure – just smaller.

As a former geology student, I’ve been excited to recognize some of the rocks in this area. Today, I saw volcanic breccia! The geology, as well as the plant life, definitely changed again since Yosemite. There are many blooming wildflowers here, which I’m enjoying.

I stopped and ate lunch alone, then continued walking alone. Since the cold spell is over, it has actually gotten a bit hot in the middle of the day. I ran into Cherry taking a rest in the shade, and we hiked a few miles together until I stopped to camp early. In fact, I stopped hiking at 5:30 pm today, which is much earlier than usual. I enjoyed lounging around my campsite for several hours, not doing much at all. It was a pretty site on a little open ridge, and the sunset view was lovely.

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Day 53

One thing I love about thru-hiking is that each day brings new adventures – I just never know what they’ll be! That was how today went.

When I woke up at my campsite, I was roughly 29 miles from Highway 50 – the main access point for hitching into the resupply town of South Lake Tahoe. I was determined to break this distance up into two days to avoid overexerting myself at the end of a tough section. Even though many of my friends I’ve been hiking with are hoping to get there today.

I got a decently early start, hiking by 7:30 am. It wasn’t long, however, until I reached a road crossing and discovered trail magic! A woman (also named Valerie) was road tripping from California to Washington. Along the way, she’d decided to do trail magic for PCT thru-hikers. It was a wonderful surprise! In addition to snacks, she had a box of supplies for hikers. I helped myself to a refill of camp soap, some more duct tape to put around my water bottle, and some medical tape.

While I was stopped on the side of the road enjoying the trail magic and chatting with Valerie, a cyclist pulled over. He started asking many questions – what mileage was I doing? How much does my pack weigh? All standard things. Then he started telling me that I’m behind schedule and that I’d need to make up some miles and speed up my pace. I politely nodded, but wondered if he’d be surprised to find out that the “bubble” of most thru-hikers is actually slightly behind me at this point. In an average snow year like this one, anyone much further up on the trail likely went through the Sierras when there was still significant snowpack. Even though I know I’m right on schedule, my conversation with the cyclist got under my skin, and I returned to the trail feeling irked.

My mood improved going over Carson Pass – a beautiful climb with volcanic rock, some small snowfield crossings, and plenty of mountain views! Things got even better when I reached the visitor center at the Carson Pass Trailhead and received my second trail magic of the day. The volunteers at the visitor center were handing out snacks and refilling water bottles. They also had Wi-Fi available.

At the visitor center, I ran into AC and 100Grand. They were planning to hitchhike from the visitor center into South Lake Tahoe (SLT). This isn’t the normal place to hitch into SLT. But doing so would allow them to return the following day and hike the remaining 14 miles to the standard access point on highway 50 without their backpacking gear. This is called “slack-packing”.

Slack-packing can be logistically challenging, since it involves getting multiple rides to and from trailheads or road crossings and towns. But it didn’t take much for AC and 100Grand to convince me to join them in their slack-packing adventure. The three of us hitched from the visitor center down to South Lake Tahoe.

I stayed on the edge of South Lake Tahoe at the Tahoe Valley Campground – which offers free camping and showers for PCT thru-hikers! At the campground, I was reunited with Pip – a thru-hiker I haven’t seen since Idyllwild! It was great to catch up and share stories of our adventures since we last parted ways. Together, Pip, SnakeEyes, Stag, and I walked over to McDonalds for dinner. I had 3 double hamburgers, McNuggets, Fries, and 3 cookies. This may seem like a lot, but for a thru-hiker it is actually an unimpressive amount of food. Cherry once ate 10 McMcDonald’samburgers in one sitting.

After that, I chilled at the campground and made arrangements for a trail angel to give me a ride back to the Carson Pass Trailhead in the morning, so I could do my 14-mile slack-pack. It will be nice to hike with a lighter load tomorrow. Especially after hundreds of miles of long food hauls while also carrying extra heavy Sierra’s gear, like my bear canister and spikes.

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Day 54

I woke up early at the Tahoe Valley Campground. The campground was dead silent when my body naturally woke, just after 6 am. This was a stark contrast to last night – when the music and noise coming from the surrounding RVs continued until nearly midnight. Certainly not my best night of sleep while on the trail.

Five of us thru-hikers were planning to slack-pack the 14 miles between the Carson Pass Trailhead and highway 50. AC and 100Grand got an earlier start, so Stag, SnakeEyes, and I caught a second, later shuttle up to Carson Pass Trailhead. Our ride was courtesy of local trail angel David, who has provided countless rides to PCT thru-hikers traveling through the South Lake Tahoe area.

The three of us started hiking up the trail from Carson Pass. Since I was slack-packing today, I was only carrying my mostly empty pack, with just water, snacks, and a few other essentials. It felt fantastic to travel so light. Since I was feeling good, I decided to try and trail run the 14 miles to Highway 50.

The trail was perfect for trail running. Mostly gradual climbs and descents, with long open valleys and winding wooded paths on soft pine needles. It felt freeing and exhilarating to move so quickly and lightly over this terrain. SnakeEyes also ran this section. We were grinning and having a blast when we reached Highway 50, a few hours later.

The hitch on Highway 50 back to the Tahoe Valley Campground was a breeze. I had my thumb out for less than 2 minutes before we were picked up. I was back at the campground by noon and headed over to the nearby McDonald’s to get some cheap lunch. Like many thru-hikers, I’ve reached the point now where feeding myself has become an inconvenient chore. It’s just annoying to have to eat so much and so often. It takes up much of my day, especially while in town.

After McDonald’s, I took the free bus to the other side of South Lake Tahoe to an outdoor gear store. There, I purchased a new pair of Altra Lone Peaks – my hiking shoe of choice. I’m filthy and haven’t done laundry yet since reaching town, but I really couldn’t care less. I did get some weird looks on the bus and in the store, though, likely due to my crusty, sweat-stain-covered hiking dress.

I had tried to mail myself new Altras to the US Post Office in South Lake Tahoe, care of general delivery. Unfortunately, the company had sent the box via FedEx, and it was unable to be delivered. I felt very fortunate that I was able to find my shoes of choice in town, rather than having to wait to ship them to a different town further up the trail. My current shoes have nearly 600 miles on them at this point, and my feet are aching!

After the gear store, I headed to a grocery store, where I grabbed food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow: chicken and rice, salad, hummus, carrots, Gatorade, kombucha, wine, 6 doughnuts, and fruit. I’m not kidding when I say that keeping a thru-hiker fed is a chore!

I headed back to the campground and spent the next few hours slowly eating through my food, like a jungle snake slowly swallowing a whole deer. It was fun to sit at the picnic table in the campground and chat with the various thru-hikers coming through. There were many that I know, but also plenty of new faces. It’s a zoo here. Not just because it is crowded. Also, because the thru-hikers are sequestered in a little roped-off area within the campground, like the little spectacle that we are.

I stayed up later than usual socializing. That’s ok though, since tomorrow I won’t hike. Tomorrow and the next day, I will take two well-earned zero days to more fully recuperate after the Sierras, before tackling the next section of the trail.

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Day 55

I don’t think I ever have taken a double zero day before – that’s two back-to-back days off hiking on a thru-hike. But I know the challenges of the Sierras took a toll on my body. I want to preemptively rest, so I can tackle the next section feeling strong and replenished.

I sometimes find taking time off on a thru-hike mentally challenging. I want to hike! Even when my body needs rest to keep going. I tried to sleep in, but was up early because that’s what my body is now used to. Before I finished breakfast, I was antsy to move. I knew I’d need to come up with some activities for the day to distract myself.

Fortunately, town chores kept me busy for a bit. Pip and I walked to McDonald’s for the third time to enjoy some WiFi and charge our various devices. Horrifyingly, I have probably spent over $70 at the South Lake Tahoe McDonald’s at this point. Ah, the terrible things a thru-hiker must do to stay fed.

Next, I took the free bus to the post office. I need to mail my bear can, microspikes, fleece, and extra socks home. I won’t need them now that I’m through the Sierras.

When I arrived, I found a gaggle of hikers loitering on the steps of the post office. All in various stages of packing items for shipment – canisters, axes, spikes, etc… or just waiting on friends. The post office was only open for a few hours today, and I wasn’t the only hiker there to take advantage of the opportunity to offload some pack weight post-Sierras.

After I shipped my gear, Pip and I walked over to El Dorado Beach, a public swimming and boating area. I had a snow cone, talked to my parents on the phone, and took a dip in Lake Tahoe. While I was swimming, I ran into PacMan and Zamboni – two hikers I met on Kearsarge Pass and haven’t seen since. It was nice to see them again.

After our swim, Pip and I felt like being indoors and wanted to play some pool. For fun, we asked ChatGPT to find us the dirtiest, cheapest dive bar in the SLT area. ChatGPT delivered. And fortunately, this place was only a mile walk from the beach. We headed over.

In the middle of the day, this bar was almost fully deserted. Except for two visibly drunk patrons, who immediately recognized me and Pip as thru-hikers. They offered to buy us each a beer and asked us questions about our hike. I’ve answered lots of questions about my trip in this town. The locals are definitely aware of the PCT and like talking to hikers. While in line at the campground ladies’ room last night, I unintentionally ended up hosting a PCT Q&A session for all the other women waiting.

After that, Pip and I played our game of pool, then walked to the grocery store to buy dinner and breakfast for the morning. Then we headed back to the campground to meet up with Swish! After taking 4 days off the trail for a wedding, Swish actually managed to catch up. Today, he hiked 37 miles, and had covered a whopping 170 miles over the last 5 days! We were glad to have him back.

Wonderfully, my cousin’s family lives near the Tahoe area in Truckee. While my cousin and her two kids happened to be out of town, my cousin’s husband, Steven, graciously let me and my two hiking companions spend the night at their house, shower, and do laundry. He came and picked up me, Pip, and Swish from the campground. At my cousin’s house, we made salad with chicken for dinner and enjoyed hanging out with their great Pyrenees dog, Moose.

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Day 56

I woke up on my second consecutive zero day at my cousin’s house. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken a double zero before. But I was looking very much forward to what I had planned for the day. 

Steven fed us all a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and coffee. Afterwards, we loaded up into his car with three inner tubes. Steven dropped me, Pip, and Swish off on the Truckee River, and we floated downstream!

It was so much fun going through little mini rapids and waving at locals as we floated by. I was giggling and smiling nonstop the whole time – about 2 hours of floating total to make it to where Steven picked us up. It was the perfect day off activity for three thru-hikers.

After that, we packed up to head back. Pip was planning to spend another night or two with a trail angel in Truckee. So Steven took me and Swish back to the Tahoe Valley Campground where we could be close to the trailhead to start hiking the next morning. This was key, because tomorrow we’d need to hike across the Desolation Wilderness – an area that requires bear canisters to camp, but not to walk through during the daytime. Since I’ve mailed my bear can home already, I’d need to hike 25 miles across.

Somehow, even after spending 4 nights in the Tahoe area, I managed to put off grocery shopping until 9:30 pm the evening before leaving town. The day had been filled with so much fun that I almost forgot that I still needed to resupply. It was well past “hiker midnight” (8 pm) by the time I got to sleep. Oops. I probably wouldn’t be getting the earliest start to begin my first day of the new next section of trail: Northern California.