July 18, 2017
Mile 1077.5 to TAHOE!!
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike: Day 74

We made it! What an exhausting FUCKING slog. With wildfire smoke and snow and dry mouth (endless) and exhaustion from 30 & 20 mile days but we MADE IT!

Once at the trailhead, trail magic swooped down on us. Another hikers girlfriend was dropping him back off at the trailhead, and she offered to give us a ride into Tahoe. YES! NO HITCHING!

They still had some packing up to do, but told us there were sandwiches and orange juice at ‘that car over there’. We walked over to the car and a man and a woman had their trunk open, with pre-made sandwiches, Milano cookies, cold soda and water, bags and bags of crunchy chips, fresh fruit, and candy. A whole friggin picnic. They urged us to eat, and then to eat more. And as we got chatting, we asked them why they were doing trail magic. They said their son was hiking and they had just brought him back to trail and thought they’d bring some sandwiches to the trailhead for hungry hikers. Naturally, we asked who their son was. They said 'Evan, Evan Muscat’? Well, I didn’t recognize that name. Oh well.

“He also has a trail name, Vice?”

WHAATT!!!! Vice is only two days ahead of us?!?!?!?!?!?

Yes, we knew their son, and were elated to find out we weren’t as far behind as we thought we were. He was still hiking with Boathouse, and they were only planning to go to Lake Aloha tonight. Not that far! Whenever I find out how far I am behind a friendly face, I immediately start running the numbers on what we’d have to do to catch them. Not that far, not that far at all!

Goodwill Customer Tips Hikers Off on Where to Camp in South Lake Tahoe

We are eating pizza at Slice of Sierra and it’s f-ing perfect thin crust. Red Wagon good. We can free camp in any national forest (right outside town)—thanks lady in Goodwill parking lot for the tip!

We were standing outside of Goodwill, haggard, smelly, with bags of used clothes and dirty trail equipment, when a woman stopped and asked if we had a place to stay. We told her we had looked up the campgrounds but they were all full or way too expensive. She told us that they don’t make it very public knowledge, but you can camp on any National Forest land, which is right next to the high school. Creepy, yet convenient.

We already got our package from the post office, went and got town clothes at Goodwill, and are having dinner. Tomorrow, we’ll have breakfast, shower in the lake (I already got shampoo, conditioner, hairbrush, and deoderant), go to the second thrift store, go grocery shopping for crunchy and sweet resupply additions, buy deet and new shoes for me (hopefully at the thrift store), and then start tackling our long to-do list of getting ready for Northern California.

Things that go Bump in the Night

We camped by the high school and had a marmot visit us. I yelled at it to fuck off. Actually, it turns out it was a raccoon and I had pizza in the tent. Hard time falling asleep with only walking 12 miles today. We’re in full view of the road where it fully feels like we are squatters. I keep imagining the raccoon is a South Lake Tahoe cop coming to ticket us for illegal camping.