Day 2 - A Long Day

Start Mile 1098.99

End Mile 1107.44

Miles Walked 8.45

Last night we camped at Aloha Lake and we were up and on the trail by 8 am. We were greeted with a brilliant blue sky and glorious sunshine and it looked like it was going to be another hot one!

Unfortunately, due to the dreadful conditions we encountered late yesterday afternoon, we were unable to reach our campsite. We were forced to camp approximately 1.1 miles short of our targeted goal, which meant we had to try and make it up today.

The winter of 2018/19 has played havoc in the mountains, especially the Sierra Nevada's where my trip ended last year and where we are heading once we have reached Ashland. According to the locals we have met, the amount of snow the South Lake Tahoe area has received should, for the most part, have been gone by now. My guess is there will be patches of snow that will still be on the ground when winter returns to the area.

Straight off the bat we had difficulty finding the trail, even with our electronic PCT Apps, but the nice thing is someone will come by who has a better sense of which way to go, and its usually the young kids who have no fear and have an uncanny knack of where the trail is. It could be we are over thinking things.

For most of the morning the walking and way finding was very sketchy at best, but we did experience a walk around a glorious blue lake that looked very enticing in the heat. We eventually found a very nice trail that was devoid of snow and thought we would be on our way when we were faced with a huge 2000 foot climb up to Dick's Pass. As it usually takes 7-10 days to get your walking legs under you, this seemed a very harsh way to be introduced to the trail. It's a bit like a golfer starting their round on a very difficult hole instead of easing into their game with something less challenging. We were also into the heat of the day, and as we were just at the beginning of our journey we were forced to take a number of breaks for water and a short rest. The heat and elevation completely zapped our energy and it was a long hard slog. Along the way we met a number of hikers and at one point we must have passed 20-30 young people out for a day hike, and I guess they would be in their late 20's or early 30's and they all seemed to be carrying just their water bottles. Oh to be you young and in shape like these kids who were having the time of their lives!!. As we climbed Dick's Pass we enjoyed glorious views back of Echo and Aloha Lakes and marvelled at the beautiful scenery that the Tahoe area enjoys.

Finally we crested Dick's Pass and now the fun began as we tried to find the trail down to the lake below. Marvin had read that you do not go straight down as it is considered extremely dangerous, and so we were intent on finding the switchbacks, unfortunately this was impossible and so we decided if we were to go down we would try to angle our way from tree to tree and in the general direction of where we though the trail would go. Even wearing our Kahtoola spikes we felt very uncomfortable and one slip could have been catastrophic, as you could have slipped into a tree or large rock. Fortunately, after couple of hours we were able to locate the trail which was basically full of running water but it certainly beat the alternative. On our way down we met several young hikers trying to come up, none of whom had spikes, and we still wonder if they made it up and over to the safety of the dry path that awaited. We continued down our watery trail and eventually found a campsite which we were only too eager to claim, and hastily set up our tents. It had been a long arduous day and all we wanted was a hot meal and an early night. Over dinner Marvin and I had a frank discussion about the journey ahead, and we both arrived at the same conclusion that we were not going to be able to walk 877 miles, that we had set originally, in the time we had allotted to this journey. We believe a more realistic target is to go as far as Ashland, where this quest will end. This decision was not taken lightly, but the fact is the elevations we would be walking in the Sierra Nevada's is in the region of 10- 12000 feet with a lot more snow than we are now experiencing. It is way too risky a challenge to undertake, and both Marvin and I have loved ones that are precious to us and it is not fair to have them worrying unduly as we try to achieve our goals.