Day: 223

Direction: Southbound

Trail location: 1554

Cumulative miles hiked 2019/2021: 2273

Cumulative miles hiked 2021: 257

Miles hiked today: 10.25

Elevation: 8123

High/low temp humidity: 65/55/40

Spinning on the turntable: LP: Live in Moscow

I hit snooze a couple of times this morning, and still managed to hit the trail by about 6:30. The first portion of the hike up Dick’s was pretty easy, but soon the soft and cushy trail transitioned into a roughly rock base. Have I mentioned my dislike of apple/cantaloupe rock based trails??? Anyway, so up I climbed.

I stopped to chat with three young men, I’m guessing their ages at 15, 16 and 18 years old. They were backpacking with their 69 year old grandpa. Grandpa was carrying his small dog (well, actually grandpa was sitting on a rock, holding his small dog) while they hiked and the grandsons were carrying all of grandpa’s stuff. It was super cool that they were out with their grandpa, and even carrying his stuff for him.

One of the things that I’ve really liked about the Tahoe Rim Trail is the number of elder/aged hikers that are out here, backpacking with their families. It’s really nice to see friends/family hiking/backpacking together. So much of my time on the PCT as been as a solo hiker, that I tend to forget that folks may choose to travel together. I’m spotting, kind of like wild prey, “herds” of six or eight folks, friend/family/whatever, hiking together. I can’t say that it makes me nostalgic, because I’ve never hiked in a group like that, but it does mildly tickle my fancy.

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I chatted with one couple who had experienced a bear raid the evening before. They, as well as their neighbors, lost one hanging bear bag each.

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The couple told me that the bear had gnawed through their branch to drop it, and the delicious bear goodies, to the ground. They said they had thrown rocks, shouted and clapped to no avail. The bear sat, in their camp, and enjoyed the spoils of the bear bag. I’m appreciative that I have the bear canister. The other hiker thought that rubber bullets might be the answer. I’m not sure about the answer, but my solution is to try to put a lot of distance between myself and other hikers/campers. That’s not really possible on this part of the trail.

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I have no idea why, but I’m now sporting two new hot spots. I’ve wasted no time in applying Leuko tape once again. I leave the tape on for four or five days, air out, and then reapply it if necessary.

I stopped hiking after about 10 miles today. If I kept pushing forward I could reach Noelle at mile 18, but I opted to just relax and not push it so much. I have a tent/camping area all to myself, so I enjoyed a little bit of peace after a day full of talking with other hikers. I’m not sure that I’ve hiked anywhere that had the sheer number of hikers that I’ve experienced on the PCT/LTT. It’s been a little busy. (I’ve been leery of popping into the woods to poop out of sheer terror that someone is nearby and will walk by right when I drop my shorts.)