Frozen toes and other pretty things
What a weird day today turned out to be. We spent last night getting pummeled by wind at Gilmore Lake, with the plan to get an early start down the hill so we wouldn’t get caught in the impending rainstorm. I woke up to my 5:20 am alarm and checked the weather. Not only was it supposed to rain, but that rain was going to turn into snow later in the morning.
The weather seemed to be on our side for most of the hike. The wind was intense at times, but we had sun and blue skies. By the time we had about 3 miles to go, the sky darkened and in came the rain. Then the rain turned to snow. My toes almost froze. Nature has a sick and twisted sense of humor, because our winter layers were just a few hours away from us at the post office in South Lake Tahoe.
Luckily the snow didn’t really start sticking until we reached the Echo Lake Chalet, which is where we had planned on hitching to South Lake from. Then there was nobody to hitch in with. Then both of our phones died. That was a fun little semi stressful moment. A few more frozen hikers eventually showed up, one of whom offered to get a Lyft for the 3 of us from his phone. Getting into a heated vehicle has never felt so amazing. So yeah, neither of us lost any toes and we’re picking up our winter layers tomorrow.
We ended the day in a motel room with pizza in bed and the heat turned way up.
Other than that…
We lucked out with a magical sunset from near the top of Tinker Knob on our way to camp. Even more lucky was seeing the harvest moonrise over the mountains.
We spent the night before arriving in Truckee at the Peter Grubb Hut with Fluffy Bunny and two weekend backpackers. The hut is a nifty little ski hut in the woods, built in memory of Peter who died when he was 18. Such a cool little place, with two sleeping areas, a wood burning stove and two huge tables. And it’s open to hikers for free. I felt so civilized cooking my dinner at a table.
Desolation Wilderness was cold, windy, and absolutely beautiful. I didn’t even know we would go through the area on the PCT until we were there.
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Glad you were able to thaw out! Hope you got your warm clothes!
I can’t believe you had to endure walking in snow! Thankfully you came across someone who had a cell phone that had service so you could call for a ride. That warm room and cozy bed probably never felt so good! Not to mention pizza to boot!
The pictures are amazing, and that scenery is just gorgeous!
How fun! Great photos! You seem to be enjoying yourself. Glad you got winter layers, being cold is the worst!
Glad you didn’t freeze and praying to the goddess of PCT that the Sierra snow season starts late this year so you have nice weather. How many miles to go? (i clicked on the link that’s supposed to track where you are but it isn’t working.)
I’m near Sonora Pass tonight. I just checked and we have 1014 miles to go. I didn’t realize we were so close to being back down in the triple digits again. Yippeeee!!