Day Five – 19 July 2018 – Thursday
Picnic Rock above Tahoe Vista (7544ft; mile 22) to Marlette Peak Campground (8228ft; mile 54)
33.8 miles today of 161.8 miles total
5,581ft gain
This morning was a dream! The weather was beautiful, views were stunning, the trail was easy moving. I loved it! I felt great. After the onset of tired feet, this morning I felt like a new woman.
On trail I met a nice man named Rich. He was carrying a 30 lbs pack for training hiking in preparation to summit Mount Whitney. He said it had been 20 years since he last summited. I hope his training goes well!
Then I hiked upon a surprise waterfall in Mt Rose Wilderness. While stopped by the cool water in the shade, I met Jean and Betty Friedberg from Boulder, Colorado. They were incredibly nice people. They even invited me to wine whenever I visit the Boulder area next. Betty even shared a freshet towel with me for an impromptu trail shower. They seem like genuinely welcoming people with very interesting lives.
After such a strong morning, the afternoon heat wore me out. I felt like I was riding the struggle bus to an extreme. It felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace. Mt Rose Wilderness was so hot, exposed, and with little water. Because of this, I carried way more water than I should have, which didn’t help with the onset of soreness, tiredness, and crankiness. To top it off, I tripped and kicked a rock really hard with the kind of power that I could feel my big toe nail disconnect from its root. Looking at is tonight, my nail bed is very swollen and red. And somehow I lost my safety pins this morning packing up. I had two pinned against my hip belt pocket this whole time. So now I cannot even drain the blood blister fluid. I have a pocket knife, but it seems too coarse for the job. Plus it hurt really bad just to press on the skin even with my fingers.
Anyway, I will longer miles tomorrow than I wanted. I didn’t plan much food for my last day. I hope to get a super early start and make most the distance before the heat kicks in. Sleep now.
Elizabeth Erickson 