Day 68
24.3 miles
Today we went over Carson pass. The southern side we climbed up had a couple places of snow that were east to get through. It felt cooler on that side until we went up and over the pass and could feel a heat wave on the northern side. We immediately went to Frog lake which is just over the summit and went swimming! I say “swimming” in the loosest of terms. Really I stood knee deep in the water for ten minutes gathering courage to plunge in. I wanted to at least get a bit washed off before going into town tomorrow, to mitigate the smell. Finally I dove in and stayed in the water for about thirty seconds. People always tell me that you can’t test the water you must just jump right in. I probably give them a dirty look as I have lived by lakes and Lake Michigan for much of my life and have found their method to be inferior. Why try to explain how to swim to a person from a peninsula? (😬)
On the other side of the pass, there was a small forest service visitors center where the volunteers brought drinks and fresh fruit for the hikers! We were so grateful for them and it was great timing since it was hot!
The rest of the afternoon was very sentimental. Kevin and I had thru hiked around Lake Tahoe in 2018. This afternoon the PCT joined the Tahoe Rim Trail as it wound around the west side of the lake! We spotted the first campsite we had on a thru hike! It was really the TRT that began our whole journey of hiking long distances! We talked about our favorite parts of that hike, the wildflowers, the mountains, planning out the days. We chuckled at our perception of “long” days being 16 or 18 miles and our concept of long water carries being 15 miles. Our longest water carry in the desert was 26 miles.
It was great to contemplate who we were then and what we have learned in our journeys since then. I feel stronger in my knowledge of what my body can do, how Kevin and I can take care of each other and work together, and seeing beauty in the things along the way.
ashleyisoutside 