PCT Days 146, 147 & 148
Wednesday, September 6 – Friday, September 8
My two days at home were a blur of activity as I prepared to travel to the Sierras.
Ok, to be totally honest, the first day I was so worn out that I just layed around all day on the couch. I was physically tired, but more than that, I was mentally and emotionally drained by dodging forest fires.
Leaving on a Jet Plane. Again.
My second day at home, I flew into high gear. I reworked my resupply boxes for the Sierras, found my bear can (which is required when hiking the Sierras), and planned out how to handle resupplying my medication. I also figured out transportation back to Lone Pine and bought a plane ticket for the following morning (the airline miles I’ve saved over the past few years are now certainly coming in handy…)
It’s Mt. Hood! As Seen from the Airplane Window.
I bid farewell to Daniel, yet again, and was in Reno by 10:00 am on Friday morning. I had a few hours to kill before my bus arrived so I wandered the airport. Burning Man, an annual arts festival that takes place near Nevada over Labor Day every year, had just concluded and the airport had artwork and signs all over the place commemorating the event. I’ve attended Burning Man 3 times in years past and was amused by the commercial recognition the festival is now receiving.
For my Burner Friends. A Burning Man Art Exhibit? Weird. I Kinda Want to Go.
A Replica of The Man in Baggage Claim.
You think Hikers are Dirty? Try Living through a Dust Storm at Burning Man…
While waiting for the bus, I ran into Totes – another PCT hiker that I met in Northern California. She is also traveling to the Sierras to make up miles previously skipped, except she’s hiking southbound. Totes is one of the friendliest and funniest people I’ve met on the trail and I thoroughly enjoyed her company as we rode the bus throughout the afternoon. I’m looking forward to passing her when we cross paths in the middle of the Sierras.
Totes Boards the Eastern Sierra Transit Bus
The bus ride from Reno to Lone Pine is 7 hours long, with one bus change in Bishop, and I was exhausted by the time I arrived. It was good to be back in Lone Pine again.
The one piece of logistics that I hadn’t figured out yet was how to get back to the trailhead tomorrow morning. If you’ll recall from this blog post, I had such a hard time hitching a ride from the Horseshoe Meadow Campground to Lone Pine that I was more than a little concerned about how to get back there again. But I shouldn’t have worried. Both the employee at the local outfitters and the clerk at my hostel offered to help arrange transportation. And I soon had a ride arranged for 8:30 am the following morning for only $25, which is a pretty good deal compared to the other prices I’d been seeing. Yay!
Eating Chinese Food at the Merry Go Round Restaurant
I checked into the Whitney Portal Hostel and settled into the women’s dorm room for the night. It was already getting late, but I went next door for dinner at the only Chinese restaurant in town which came highly recommended. Soon I was tucked into bed and mentally preparing myself for the next leg of my hike.
View of the Sierras from my Room at the Whitney Portal Hostel
For more on my experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, visit my Pacific Crest Trail 2017 Blog page:
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