Day 112: Off Again

7/6/20; mile: 1,026; elevation 8,123 ft.

The dare I say relaxing and enjoyable night with Sarah ended way too soon. We had breakfast alone in our cabin, I did my laundry, and was kind enough to her to not leave too early. Plus, I still needed to finish getting organized and packed. Vader had helped some of his friends organize rides back to the trail, leaving himself without a seat, so we offered up a ride to him back to the trail.

It was midday by the time we got back to Sonora Pass. Sarah made me a goodbye BLAT (quite awesome, even if the toast wasn’t fresh), but I couldn’t get myself that motivated to move. Leaving “town” and more importantly, Sarah, was a difficult thing to pull off. Having Vader there to keep me “on task” certainly helped, but once we started walking, I turned my attention inward and started to get melancholy. As the trail passed close to the road again, I was able to see Sarah driving away and I started to lose it. Maybe it’s a good thing the trail is climbing, making me focus my energy and trying to keep up with Vader. Have I mentioned this guy is fast? Well, I will.

I’m lucky on this stretch because I don’t have to carry a lot of food like the others. I have arranged another personal trail angel to resupply me at Carson Pass, only three days away, so my food carry is light. Despite our late start, the ten miles we complete today start with views as it climbs for the first couple of miles. The trail then descends into the headwaters of the East Fork of the Carson River. The gentle descent makes the miles go quickly. We choose a site before sunset and before a climb that we’ll tackle the next morning. Before we’re set up, a new hiker arrives to join us. His name is Biodiesel for his being a vegetarian that is known for his ability to hike efficiently (and big miles!). If only I could pull that off.