July 8th
A large boulder shields us from the direct light of sunrise, allowing us to sleep later than anticipated. The body rejoices at ten full hours of rest.
Most of the first couple hours are a glorious ridge walk with sweeping views of the Tahoe basin. The crater like shape of the eastern edge of the rim suggests the outline of an ancient volcano. The upheaval of rocks and ancient lava flows and formations tells a story of the cycle of activity shaping this area.
To the west the mountain ridges drop away into canyons. In many places and ways, the peaks are less interesting than the sheer walls of rock falling away on their sides. Peering into the depths below and the distant reaches of the canyons it’s hard to grasp the sheer scale of land rising from the west which forms these mountains and meets this crest.
We are in and out of the heads of several canyons. Dry slopes. Water drains quickly from the volcanic soils. No standing water = fewer mossies and we take our breaks in peace. The dry slopes also seem to favor the “Mules Ears” with their long elongated leaves ad bright yellow flowers. We hike through vast fields of them; some times whole hillsides of 50 to 100 acres or more are dominated by these distinctive plants. Tears, rips and wholes suggest that recent hailstorms have ravaged some of these slopes.
We cross the upper reaches of several ski areas including Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl, looking down on the lifts and runs. One of the lifts, although we don’t see which one, must be running. We come across several day hikers who don’t even look like they have broken a sweat.
Perhaps realizing that its protest was in vain, my ankle has quieted down. Or maybe it is too tired, or waiting for a more vital opportunity to go out on strike. Or perhaps it is the ankle brace. Either way, despite being a little puffy and tender, there is no real pain.
We do the last ten miles in one push trying to get to old Highway 40 in order to call “Pooh’s Corner” at a reasonable hour. We look for the phone at Donner Ski Ranch but cannot find it. Walking back to the trail we come across Strut and Trainwreck. We stop at the only nearby residence to ask for assistance and he directs us to the phones location, hidden inside a dark “tunnel” entrance used in winter.
Bill Pearson picks us up and takes us back to his cabin on Donner Lake and we all enjoy the wonderful hospitality that he, his wife Molly and their two helpers, Erin and Rachel provide. Dinner, shower, laundry and a hot tub…what a treat!!
