South Lake Tahoe

Although snow levels were going down,
I still managed to misjudge the strength
of this "snow bridge" over the
trail and broke through.

July 9: I hiked a few miles out to where the trail crosses Highway 50 that leads into South Lake Tahoe--one of the major resupply points for PCT hikers. At the road, my cell phone (finally!) worked, and I gave ArtTrekker a call. She lives in the area and offered to pick me up and give me a nice place to crash. =)

While waiting for the ride, I checked e-mail on my Peek device and watched the cars zipping by.

ArtTrekker arrived a short while later, getting out of her car with her camera flashing. She wanted a photo or two of the beard I was growing.

First thing's first--I took a shower and cleaned up. =)

Then she took me out to eat at the Meyers Downtown Cafe, ran me down to the post office to pick up a maildrop, and picked up a six-pack of Coke. ArtTrekker wanted to learn how to make a soda can stove, and I suggested a six-pack would be a good idea rather than just a couple of individual cans. Mistakes can happen!

Back at the house, I caught up with more e-mail, message boards, and mostly wasted the rest of the afternoon on the computer. Not a particularly exciting day to write about, but a nice afternoon off the trail.

The best part, however, was that later in the afternoon, my mom came by for a visit. =) I showed off the pictures to ArtTrekker and Mom of my time in the High Sierras--particularly those hike naked day photos! My mom once again whacked off my hair and facial hair. And late in the evening, ArtTrekker and I made a couple of soda can stoves.

The first marker I found showing that
I've intersected the Tahoe Rim Trail--
another trail I'd like to hike someday....

I wait for my ride on Highway 50.

Dessert at the Meyers Downtown Cafe!

Life was good....

Many thanks to ArtTrekker for hosting my mom and me! Alas, I thoughtlessly got no photos of ArtTrekker (or even my mom for that matter), so you'll have to imagine what they look like in this entry. =)