Day 8 - MAAR-VIIN!! — Walking People Out of Poverty

Start mile 1153.38

End mile 1164.44

Total miles 11.06

We were up at 5:30 AM and I jumped in the shower while Marv enjoyed the comfort of his bed for a few more precious minutes.

We were leaving town today and wanted to get on the road as quickly as possible however, things don’t always work out as we would like.

We went to breakfast a little after 6 am and were surprised there were a number of people ahead of us. I guess they, like us, were also on a busy schedule. Although we wanted to get back on the trail as quickly as possible, we were also reluctant to leave the comfort of the hotel. That is because we know what lies ahead snow, hills, snow and more hills, oh and a hot baking sun!

We checked out of the hotel at about 6:45 AM and promptly called our Uber driver who we had used exclusively since our time in Truckee. It turns out our driver was enjoying a coffee and said she would be there as soon as possible, but it would not take more than five minutes. At right about 7 AM our driver arrived, and we dropped our bags in the car trunk and jump in ready for the drive up to Donner Pass. On the way out of town, we asked our driver if it would be at all possible for her to make a quick stop at Safeway, as we still needed to get a couple of items for the next stage of our trip. The driver was very accommodating and once we were in Safeway Marvin went one way, and I went the other. We were in and out in 10 minutes and resumed our journey up Donna pass. The trailhead is at Mile 1153.38 and popular with both hikers and climbers, with the latter no doubt looking to follow in the footsteps of those climbing titans of Yosemite, Alex Honnold, and Tommy Caldwell. If you are interested in climbing, I can highly recommend Free Solo and The Dawn Wall.

We arrived at the parking lot at the Summit at around 7-45 am, and by the time we got organized, we hit the trail 5 minutes later. As seems to be customary on most of our morning starts, we set off uphill. Fortunately, the walking was not torturous and more than manageable. Soon however, we ran into our nemesis, SNOW, and it was back to our Apps to find directions. I’m guessing right now, but I don’t think I would be too wide of the mark if I said all the delays have cost us a least a day in travel. Eventually, we found the trail and started to move at a quicker pace and met a middle-aged couple, coming in the opposite direction, who was out for a day walk. It turns out they live in Truckee and enjoy getting out for walks in the area. Marvin and I both congratulated them on the beautiful country they get to play in. It really is spectacular. The golf courses looked pretty darn good too.

Further up the trail, we met some young fellows who were accessing the wilderness from a lay-by, and who were heading out on day hike. We asked if there might be a restaurant open, but they said all that was available were slot machines and most of those were empty.

We carried on our way and started to make good progress, and it was turning into a pretty good day. Eventually, our luck ran out as we ran into more snow, and right around the lunch hour. By now Marvin and I have developed a strategy to deal with wayfinding in the snow. Basically, we look at our apps and get a feel for if the trail runs to our left and right, then we start to angle upwards, (it’s never downwards), and more often than not we find the trail. In a matter of no time, we found our lunch spot, which was the Peter Grubb Hut, which is made of stone with a tin roof. I would recommend researching the Peter Grubb Hut via Google as I think it would be a neat story.

The afternoon was very similar to the morning, and the day was turning into one of the best so far. Unfortunately, just when I think we are making good progress, we run into more snow! It’s incredible how much of the white stuff we encounter.

Finally, around 5 PM, we came to a campsite and called it a day. Marvin said he was feeling under the weather and requested we stop early, so he rests up. We each selected a campsite with Marvin opting to be closer to the water, whereas I preferred the opposite to try and escape the mosquitoes! As it was my turn to cook our sumptuous meal, I told Marvin it would be at least an hour before it was done, plus I also had to set up camp. Marvin arrived at around 6-30pm but still had to wait another 20 minutes or so. I was cooking Risotto, and it takes a while to cook and is not a meal that can be rushed. Even though I do say myself, I think I cooked a pretty good meal. After dinner, we cleaned our pots and decided we should make up our water for breakfast now, rather than waiting until morning. I said to Marvin I still had a few things to do before going to do the water and asked if I could collect him in 3-4 minutes. To this, Marvin agreed. After several minutes I got my Sawyer Water Purification kit and two empty water bottles and wandered over to Marvin’s campsite to collect him. When I arrived, there was no sign of Marvin and assumed he had gone to the bathroom. So I wandered around to the bridge to get water. Unfortunately, my water system doesn’t work too well unless there is water pouring from a waterfall or some other method of free-falling water. In this instance, the water was coming out of a plastic pipe right at water level. At this time I could hear this shouting which seemed to be coming from up the trail. As I was getting my water treatment stuff together, a young lady sauntered over the bridge in search of a campsite, and I told her there were several in the vicinity of my tent. Before departing, we discussed the shouting we had heard and then dismissed it. The young lady was Australian and came from Katoomba, which is in the Blue Mountains. Liz and I have visited there in the past, and so there was a connection of sorts. I returned to Marvin’s camp, and there was still no sign of him, so I borrowed his water purification system and went back to the stream to get water. This time I was successful and even filled Marvin’s water bag to save him the trip. Upon returning to Marvin’s camp, there was still no sign of him, and now I was concerned. I checked his camp, and everything was in place, even his toilet paper! Where could he be? I set off, calling Marvin at frequent intervals, but nothing. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, I returned to my camp and asked Coog’s (the young Aussie girl) if she could help me in the search. There was also a young Belgian camper who had arrived in camp earlier that evening, and I enlisted his help too. Coogs asked if there was any chance Marvin could have gone back over the bridge and I said “absolutely not,” and that Marvin prefers to move forward rather than back. We spread out and set off in the same direction I had gone earlier, being careful to remain in close contact with each other. The cry, Marvin! Marvin! rang out periodically. I was beginning to get concerned and kept asking the same question over and over, “what is the next step if we can’t find him? Finally, after about 12 minutes, we got a response, and there was Marvin sitting forlornly on a rock. Marvin is an experienced outdoorsman and knew that his best course of action was to sit still. I’m not sure who was more relieved, Marvin or the search party.

It was a very relieved group that returned to camp.

Marvin and I both thanked the young couple for their help, and it was time for bed. It had undoubtedly been a very interesting end to the day.

Wanderer

Looking down on Donner Lake from Donner Pass as we were preparing to set off.

The terrain we sometimes have to travel through to find the trail.

Peter Grubb Hut where stopped for lunch.

One of the numerous lakes we have seen coming through the Northern end of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.