Day 77, July 3: Mile 1077 to 1091 and into Lake Tahoe
Start: Mile 1076.9
End: Echo Lake/Lake Tahoe - Mile 1090.8
Miles: 13.9
Ascent: 1093 | Descent: 3017
I hiked out from camp, tired but excited for town. Most of the group hiked out earlier than me except for Squirrel and Stem, who were still in their tents when I left. It was chilly but the sun was peeking out now and then from behind the clouds. I finished my audiobook and was pleased with the surprise ending.
Squirrel and Stem caught up to me and we leapfrogged for a bit. Their group goes by the nickname The Cousins, but it has transformed into The Calzones for some reason. We agreed that we would try to hitch together into town since I would be staying on the floor of their hotel room, but I managed to get enough service to find a ride with a trail angel on Facebook. I was also texting Squirrel Daddy, who camped farther and thus got to the road much earlier. He had been trying to hitch into Tahoe with no luck. Our trail angel, OutsideJay, happened to pick him up and they waited for us.
We finally arrived at the highway and OutsideJay drove us and one more hiker named Shower Shakedown into town. We were all pretty hungry and trying to find a place to eat. We landed on a barbecue restaurant and I ordered a full rack of ribs and a beer.
We (the hikers) had agreed on the side to pay for Jay’s meal, but at the end, the waitress dropped off an unpaid check to us and a paid check to him. He had not only paid for his meal, but also half of all of our meals and the entire tip. We were speechless. Not only had he gone out of his way, spending his own money on gas to pick us up, refusing reimbursement, but he also paid for our meal, for us?? Trail magic indeed.
Jay dropped us off at the hotel and Squirrel Daddy decided he would crash on the floor of The Calzones’ room as well. The four of us walked to 7-Eleven to get a bevy of snacks and conditioner for showers. We took turns showering and then SD and I walked to the laundromat. While we were there, I got a tasty, sugary boba tea from a place next door and worked on my blog.
A bit later, we got dinner at Panda Express and I actually found my sugar limit for the day, a task I thought impossible. I could only eat half of the tasty tasty orange chicken before I felt a little sick. Afterwards, we walked to Nevada (lol), where a huge Harrah’s casino sits immediately on the first block across the state line. Squirrel Daddy promptly lost $100 on a $25 blackjack table. A bit sore, we walked around and tried to find some cheaper entertainment. We landed on a virtual $5 blackjack table and had fun for a bit. I only managed to lose $5 as I put in $40 and won back $35! A great ending to a first town day.