July 1

1140-1155

We take a long, undulating, ridge the entire 14 miles into Donner Pass, our access point for Truckee, CA.  

Along the way we pass under another ski area. It is a novelty to see these areas transformed under the heat of the summer.

Donner Pass is, of course, a historically interesting area.  At a little over 7,000 feet, Nearly 30% of the California bound wagon trains crossed the Sierra at this point, as it is much lower than the surrounding crest. Still, it would have been a formidable sight.  The entire area contains large granite cliffs and boulders.  Pioneers had to disassemble their wagons and haul them up piece by piece to get around.  It had to be an absolutely monumental effort, particularly after having already traveled over 1000 miles and being low on supplies.  

It is interesting to imagine this mountain range being such an obstacle in history, similar to how it was an obstacle for us on this this trip. Geography is only mildly tamed by time and technological advances.

In Truckee we make a beeline for the post office.  Now that we are beyond the wilderness areas surrounding lake Tahoe, our bear cans are no longer required.  We also send out our heavier tent and replace it with our summer tarp.  All told I lose nearly 4 pounds from my backpack. Amber gets a pair of new shoes and a care package from her sister, and I have my lighter tent sent to me from my buddy Nick.  They creatively decorated the boxes to make it easy to pick ours out from the pile of boxes sent to the post office.  

Back up at the pass, we make a final stop before getting back on trail.  A bar and grill that serves skiers in the winter offers a free beer for PCT hikers.   We show up and hand over our permits for verification, and we receive a 40 oz bottle of malt liquor.  This is not quite what we were imagining, but we enjoy it just the same.  

We stumble a few miles down the trail and end another day.