PCT Day 16 – Donner Pass

I slept well again. Credit Bob whose tent was 20 feet from mine for part of that. But I was also less anxious about the deer that kept scraping outside my tent for 45 minutes while I wrote. By the time I retired, it was gone.

I awaken at 5:20. I could have slept later but I wanted to get in and out of Truckee quickly. As I leave camp I take one last look around. These trees have been dead for years, yet they do not look out of place. Out here, the dead and the living are part of the same tapestry.

The campsite sits slightly above this meadow. There are signs around to not walk out on the meadow. These areas are environmentally sensitive. The mountain above the meadow is called Basin Peak.

The trail is quiet. My trekking poles on the trail are the only sound. I stop using them so it is even more quiet.

I climb over Castle Pass and then go one mile down to I-80.

The plan

At Bob’s suggestion last night I had checked the local trail angel Facebook pages and got good information about where to get a hitch in and how to get a ride out. By this morning someone had agreed to meet me and take me into town. I stop hating Facebook momentarily.

The trail angel’s name is John Chapman. He has been shuttling people for many years. I asked him why he does this. He said many years ago he hiked a section of the PCT and really needed a ride down the road to get something to eat. No one stopped and offered him a ride. That stayed with him. He never wants that to happen to anyone and so he is doing his part to make that happen. Here’s John.

Resupply

In Safeway the locals give me a wide berth. Could be my Oder could be the trekking poles sticking out sideways from my shopping cart like those spiked chariot wheels in Ben Hur. I chat with a lady whose son graduated from the same school in Florida as my daughter. She gives me good information about where to catch the bus toward the trail.

There is an outfitter nearby. The employee and I devise a way to modify my pack for the Sierras where I will have to carry an extra large bear can. They also exchange my damaged Darn Tough sock for new ones for free! They have a lifetime warranty and the store honors that. My new socks are black. You will see them eventually. Then it’s back to Safeway for the deli special. I eat at the bus stop.

Back to the top

The bus driver is really nice. We chat on the way to the far end of Donner Lake where I will try to hitch the final 5 miles to Donner Ski Lodge. She is a hiker, too. She would love to someday thru-hike the PCT with her husband. She drops me off at the road to the ski lodge.

I am in luck. The road to the ski lodge is normally closed, but today it is open. I put my thumb out and within 10 minutes I get a ride. His name is Jeff and he says he can get me part of the way to the top. I turn on the charm offensive to get him to go all the way. Shameless, I know but would you want to walk four miles up a paved road? He is super nice and before you know it we are at the ski lodge.

Donner Ski Ranch

Most ski lodges look bad in the summer. This one is no exception, although it does have some rough-hewn charm. There is a small hostel to the right of the lodge. The pass code to the door is probably the year the hostel was built. Ok kids, if the hostel is 84 years old, what is the pass code to the door?

Inside the lodge there is a Firestone Walker beer for me and I also find Bob who is chowing down on some good but very expensive chow. I upload some blog posts while we wait for our room in the hostel to be ready.

There is a guy eating an enormous pie in the hiker lounge. It is a rhubarb pie – my favorite. He gives me a piece even though the pie cast him $30! (I give him some of my orange later). His name is Gandalf the gray. He is staying at the hostel too. Tomorrow he gets off trail and goes home to Salt Lake City. He hiked here from Walker Pass.

We go to the hostel. It is about what you would expect. We check out the fridge. I make French fries and thaw out some frozen fruit. Then we head to dinner.

We learn that thru-hikers get a free beer. But no, it’s not just any beer. It’s a 44-oz bottle of King Cobra malt liquor. Bob and I tell the waitress that we will share a bottle I take one sip and that’s it. It’s clearly the worst beer I have had in at least 10 years.

It was a productive and restful day. Tomorrow morning Bob and I are off to South Lake Tahoe. We should get there in less than four days. I am ready to get back out there. First we must hike through an area where there has been a real bear problem. But I think we are prepared for that too.

• August 12
• Starting mile marker: 1160.8
• Ending mile marker: 1157
• Miles today: 4
• Total PCT miles: 198
• Vehicles occupied: 3