July 5th
Today we took a zero day in South Lake Tahoe, a town somewhat returned to its own version of normal with the most of the masses having left last night following the fireworks. With the “official” July 4th holiday being celebrated today banks and post office are closed and weekend tourists are traveling home. Summer vacationers still fill the streets and the town still feels like very foreign land compared to the natural pace and rhythms of the trail.
We have a few chores to do but mostly concentrate on eating and relaxing. At a coffee shop near the hotel we share counter space with a couple of locals for breakfast. They are so fascinated with our tales from the trail that they insist on buying our meal; food for entertainment.
Most of the hikers at the hotel are also resting up and/or waiting for the post office to open Tuesday, and several more arrive. Again, we see more hikers in town than on the trail, since in town is where the hikers take extended time and congregate in the same place.
We are delighted to see “Tall Paul’s” Linda (“Born to be Wild”.) He is about ten days ahead of us and she is on her way back from resuppling him. We have dinner with her and get caught up on all that has happened since we last saw her two months ago at Warner Springs. We also get to find out about all the hiker happenings involving those who are ahead of us. And we get status reports on towns and stops up ahead. Trail news travels in such ways, both up and down the trail.
