Tuolomne Day:
Reunited! We found Heaps, however, our dear comrade Todd has left the trail for a week to attend a wedding, and Monologue is still a couple days back. And we've gained a crew member (temporarily), a dude named Willy from Boston. After an afternoon spent at the Tuolomne General Store eating ice cream sandwiches and other snacks, we spent the night at a prime Yosemite campsite with Willy, Heaps, Carlos, and Gabe and had a few beers and a few laughs.
Day 1 out of Tuolomne:
We got a late start in the morning after the beers last night (but an excellent breakfast which began with an ice cream sandwich). And yes, Yosemite National Park is truly as beautiful as the pictures (and we didn't even get to the famous valley).
Day 2 out of Tuolomne:
Heaps and Ben see their first bear on the trail, a moderately sized adult with a golden brown coat. It snorted at Heaps and then proceeded to do some sort of yoga move, balancing on three legs. Heaps seems to think the bear was urinating, but he's also from Australia let's not forget.
Day 3 out of Tuolomne:
How many mosquitos does it take to drive a man insane? We've discovered the answer but we don't want to talk about it. Res assured that you DO NOT want to hike through meadows during the first hatch. The trade-off: cowboy camping at 10,000 feet on a volcanic ridge of the Sierra Crest watching a brilliant "fire sunset."
Day 4 out of Tuolomne:
The 4th of July! What a fine holiday. How us hikers celebrate: stumble upon trail magic in the morning. "The Sonora Pass Cafe" where we ate fresh fruit and Independence Day cake supplied bye "The Owl." Next we hike a total of 31 miles and go to bed surrounded by mosquitos.
Day 5 out of Tuolomne:
Heaps, Paul, and Ben, all tuckered out from the day before, forge ahead. Heaps has the bright idea of a 32 mile day, and since Ben is running out of food, he joins. Paul hangs back, enjoying the beautiful lakes, volcanic ridges, and wildflowers while hiking just a measly 25 miles.
Day 6 out of Tuolomne:
Ben and Heaps head into Echo Lake for resupply, and the Heaps ditches Ben for South Lake Tahoe. All 3 are separated. But shortly afterwards, Ben experiences the most incredible trail magic - on his hike to Echo Lake he meets a Richard Lyman, a man who stops Ben on the trail after his German Sheppard runs out to meet him. Suddenly he offers Ben the option of sleeping on the porch of his lake house, not even aware that Ben needs to meet Paul that following morning and that it's illegal to camp within 4 miles of Echo Lake. Oh, the serenity of sleeping on a lake (not to mention a nice evening swim to wash that hiker scum away. Its been more than 2 weeks with out a shower!!!)
Day 7 out of Tuolomne:
A lazy day in Echo Lake. Ben and Paul reunite over milkshakes and Doritos with nacho cheese (what a breakfast!). Then they proceeded to hike past one lake after another, sometimes stopping for a snack or a swim. They arrive to camp in the evening, a granite boulder field with a clear view of the sky, in preparation for the full lunar eclipse. Alas, both Ben and Paul were too tired to stay awake and fall asleep before it even gets dark. (However, Paul says he saw it happen in the middle of the night, twice.)
Day 8 out of Tuolomne:
We have come to our final supper, Paul and I. Tomorrow is to be our final day hiking together. So how do we spend it? Why of course hiking 28 miles, eating dinner at separate times, talking intermittantly, but sharing a final dessert of one StarBurst a piece and cowboy camping atop a mountain saddle that is part of Squaw Valley Ski Resort. There was no better way to spend our final night out in the woods together.
Day 9 out of Tuolomne:
Into Truckee, CA! Our home away from home! Thanks to Josh Bennett and his lovely girlfriend Nicole (and their amazing golden retriever puppy, Chompers), who doesn't seem to cast judgement on two hobos, and kindly opened their home to the two of us. And what's more, they invite us to a Snoop Dogg concert in Reno. And of course we said yes - you most certainly cannot get Snoop Dogg out in the mountains.
Day 10 0ut of Tuolomne:
What madness we found in Reno, Nevada. Casinos, Stephen Marley, Snoop Dogg, lights everywhere, and a level of noise that we didn't exactly know how to handle. What we ended up deciding: just dance. And now today we rest, watch Labrynth, try and post pictures, and whatever else our hearts desire. Tomorrow we split - Ben goes North towards the Oregon border and Paul hangs around Tahoe doing some more hiking and camping with Josh around the area.
Our heart's desire turned out to be rafting down the Truckee River in Reno, a two hour affair filled with bags of wine, beers, and malt liquor energy drinks. Contrary to Josh and Paul's other buddy Orlie's description of a nice relaxing "float" down the river, we were left exhausted from the sun and from paddling to avoid perpetual boulders in the whitewater rapids. Still, all we can say is awesome.
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