It was certainly nice to wake up in a warm hut on a cushy mattress, but then we hit the trail and all feelings of comfort dissolved. It was a pretty harmless day. We passed a total of about 30 women on horseback, all coming from a nearby ranch and out riding for the week. They tossed us delicious apples as they passed by, which definitely made the day.

Unfortunately that afternoon we walked through the worst clear-cut we had come across since the border. It was a hideous site, with the ground torn up everywhere and huge bare acres of land all around us.

We did make camp at Jackson Reservoir, which was a much more scenic setting. We had a refreshing dip while the sun was still up, cooked some dinner, and happily retired to our tents.

Cool Mama Breeze

7/20-7/22... Tahoe Round 2!

From Jackson Reservoir, we bolted into Sierra City. We only had about 9 or so miles to go, and we were eager for town food. That being said, we of course spent the entire morning talking about food and even dreaming up a scheme of a future winery/bar project involving all of us in some shape or form. We settled on the name "Gaby & Co.".

When we reached the road, it was officially scorching hot, and of course no one was willing to pick us up. Fortunately, it was only a mile and a half into town, so we took to the asphalt.

Sierra City is a fantastic little town. Emphasis on little. It consists of one 1/2 mile strip with 2 restaurants, a general store, a post office, an inn, and a church. But the Red Moose Cafe serves up a mean milkshake, so this was obviously our first stop in town.

The highlight of town, however, was that we ran into our friend Nadine and her dog Pacha. And, as the vortex gods would have it, she convinced us all to head back to Truckee with her for the weekend. Her friend was coming to collect her and could fit the boys, but Sage and I were going to have to hitch the 60 miles. Not a problem for 2 innocent-looking young ladies, right? Wrong. It took us a grand total of over 3 hours and 3 different rides to make it. We stood on the side of the road for almost 2 hours before a truck pulled over. It was loaded with three guys in their 50's, out for a boys’ weekend in the mountains. They had apparently driven by an hour and a half earlier, went up to the crest for a view and to take in the sights, and then came back down to find us still desperately working the passing cars. Feeling badly for us, they decided to stop... They took us all the way into Truckee though, so we did get lucky in the end.

Our weekend with Nadine's friends was absolutely divine. We stayed in a beautiful house in the Donner area and lived the life of luxury for a few days. Her friends were all amazing in the kitchen, serving up fresh vegetables from their gardens and gourmet dishes to accompany them. More importantly, several of her friends were in the wine business, and came armed with an arsenal of delicious wines. Essentially, we were spoiled rotten.

Believe it or not, we spent our zero day floating down the Truckee River for the second time in 5 days. This round was much more subdued, but still loads of fun. Post river, we made a beeline trip to the local bookstore so that Gaby, Nadine and Sage could get copies of the new Harry Potter. Yes, they are so obsessed with these books that they were willing to carry the 5-pound rock of pages with them up the trail. Gaby and Nadine did share a copy, and ripped off the cover and split the pages... still serious devotion though.

The final great news for the weekend was that about 20 of my friends from home were in Tahoe for a swim relay across the lake, so I got to visit with them for a bit. It was only a quick visit, but I was thrilled to be able to see everyone.

But the weekend turned out to be bittersweet in the end, as Sunday rolled around, and I had to face what I had been dreading for the whole summer... the day Sage left. It was finally time for her to head home and start law school, but it meant that my cherished hiking partner was disappearing. I was so incredibly fortunate to have convinced her to hike with me in the first place, and in Sage I found the most compatible companion for the trail I could have ever hoped for. As we parted ways that day, I found myself truly upset. We had such an amazing 3 months together and I'm going to miss her terribly.