There are lots of ski resorts around Lake Tahoe and we went by a few today. It started with Squaw Valley, where I tried to score some GNAR points by yelling “I’m the best hiker on the mountain.” Walking down an icy black diamond in trail running shoes is actually pretty hard. I broke one of my microspikes trying to put it on to make the way down easier.
Next up, I think was Sugar Bowl. We followed that all the way to Donner Pass, site of the infamous Donner Party. (Look it up if you haven’t heard of it.) Just before getting to the road, a guy asks if I’m a thru hiker. I say yes and he pulls out a bear can full of pop and beer. I take a grape soda and hit the trail. I had run out of water an hour before, so this was amazing.
At the parking lot I caught up to some people I was hiking with where another guy was doing trail magic. He had a few coolers and some food. Another thing Donner Pass has is a ski resort, the Donner Ski Ranch. That ski resort has a restaurant that’s open in the summer. We went and had burgers and a slice of pie for lunch.
For a Wednesday, the trail was really busy. We saw rock climbers, overnight backpackers and lots of day hikers. One guy made a pretty creepy remark about how beautiful the girl I was hiking with was. Some people.
We also went under an interstate highway in a creepy tunnel.
After the highway, I was starting to get tired. After 30 miles yesterday and more than 20 today, I was ready to stop and camp. The plan was to do another 30, but that wasn’t gonna happen. I stopped around 27 miles at a creek and set up camp. The mosquitoes were the worst I’ve ever seen. While setting up my tent my legs were swarmed. Literally dozens of mosquitoes at a time were landing on me.
I got my tent up and rushed inside. I was followed by 50 mosquitoes. I spent the next -5 minutes killing them. Then I had to go get water and do it all over again. I didn’t make it to where my friends were camping and one of them doesn’t have a tent, so I hope the bugs are better where he is.
Not long after making camp I was joined by Gentleman, one of the guys I did most of the Sierra with. He also took a week off trail, so it was cool seeing him again.