Day 82

Day 82, 28 miles, endpoint PCT mile 1132

We did a lot of miles today. More than we planned on. I'm tired.

The day started off with a 1,500 foot climb to the top of Dick's Pass, where the view was phenomenal. Now very small, we could see the lake we camped next to last night, along with multitudes of other lakes and mountains near and far.

From there we descended to Dick's Lake (who is this guy? A pass and a lake named after him!?) which was nice enough that we stopped for a break on its shore. That was the end of the nice scenery for most of the day.

We left the lake and spent hours and hours and hours walking through wooded forests with mosquitoes and no views. For the first time in awhile I was actually bored. Finally, at about 6pm, we topped out of a climb and were rewarded with a stunning view of Lake Tahoe. I almost forgot that we spent the entire day on the outskirts of the lake's western shore. 

We filled up on water at a nearby creek and intended to walk for another mile or two. The problem was, we were stuck on a steep cliffside with no place to set up camp. Helpless, we followed the trail, knowing it would flatten out eventually. And it did, just as we entered the Granite Chief Wilderness, at a spot with a nice view of a valley that we could still just barely make out in the 9pm light.

I haven't done this many miles in a very long time and my legs are feeling it! It's definitely bedtime.

Sunrise from camp.

Trail views

Trail views

Beard views

Trail views

Trail views

The PCT and the Tahoe Rim Trail are the same in this section.

Lake Tahoe

Storm to the east 

We just missed sunset but still got some amazing light.  We were stuck on the east side of this ridge... we found a place to scramble up to the top of it and were treated with this view.  The light was gone less than 5 minutes after we got to the top. 

Sunset

Granite Chief Wilderness