6/1 - Last night we had more adventures in bear bag hanging, when I tossed the bottle up into the tree I accidentally let go of the rope and it all got stuck in the tree.  I tried to use a branch to get it down, but to no avail. Eventually I got it down by throwing Richie’s bottle at it.  It’s a beautiful morning with the stream flowing by and the sunrays streaming thru the foliage. I bathed and washed my clothes, aired out my tent and sleeping bag…peeuuww.  I don’t know of anything as refreshing as being totally immersed in a cold stream while the sun warms me, I wish everyone would take the chance to enjoy the peace of nature.  Lots of butterflies around, when I went in my tent it was like a butterfly house.  There were 18 butterflies hanging out on the walls of my tent!  (look in the gallery 2).  Hiked up and over Devils Thumb to Last Chance. The mosquitoes are horrendous.  I can’t stop moving or I’ll go insane.  It requires non-stop swatting and moving in place when getting water.  Found a windy spot for lunch that blew the mosquitoes away. Went swimming in a beautiful green river, the north fork of the middle fork of the American River .  It was very cooold, I dived in and then sat in the water for about 10 minutes, it felt perfect, I wasn’t cold but thought I should’ve been.  I didn’t even shiver but once I got out my eyes started seeing wavering spots and then I felt cold.  It took over a mile of quick uphill hiking before my eyes went back to normal and I felt warm. I should’ve been sweating after a hard uphill, I had signs of hypothermia and definitely should’ve known better than to sit in the cold stream for as long as I did.  It was weird though how I felt totally comfortable, even warm, in the water.  One other time in my hiking experience I had the first signs of hypothermia during some nasty sleeting and cold conditions where I couldn’t make my hands function.  We found a mine in the hill, went inside, inside was a rattlesnake coiled, but to our surprise it was dead.  It probably fell in the mine and then froze in the water.  Camped at an old mining camp, the mosquitoes were horrendous, after setting up my tent I climbed in and stayed in until the sun went down.

6/2 - Lovely hike thru an evergreen forest with great views of canyons and a rushing stream.  We used binoculars that had been given to me by an ultra-runner to better see where we are going and where we’ve been.  Richie had found a Frisbee outside of Sacramento that has been a lot of fun to toss around when we take a break and set down our packs.  New flowers every day, walked in snow today.

6/3 - Wore the snowshoes for the first time, am getting out of the foothills and am in the mountains.  Have gotten some water from the snow runoff, it is nice to be able to find little water fountain type streams and smaller pouring from the snow.  I discovered a white worm the length of my nail and the width of a couple of hairs in the water. It was very hard to spot, I only saw it after staring at the water searching for any bits of leaves etc.  Will be iodineing the water.  I am confused as to where exactly I am, due to the snow the trail is not able to be seen.  Plus we are not following the ADT, but following Jacks ( from Forsthill) directions.  The ADT goes thru the valley, that way hikers would be able to get water in the summer.  But, since there is snow melt, we can use the ridges and enjoy the incredible views.  It just makes it more challenging to know where we are and where we need to go.  You can look at where you plan to go and areas are out of sight that you think you should be able to see.  It is great that Richie has great map and compass skills.  He is very patient with me and is trying to teach me better navigation skills.  I can be a slow learner at times, repetition is great, I will keep trying to understand and practice using the maps. 

6/4 -Found another “worm” in water.  Have noticed that the iodine does not seem to affect the worm.  Incredible day of hiking on a snowy ridge and boot skiing down the hills.  I have never skied on my boots before while using my hiking sticks as ski poles.  On one super large hill I got to the bottom and discovered my water bottle missing, hiked back up but couldn’t find it. Well, it gave me an excuse to go back and have a super ski down again! J 

6/5 -Magnificent climbs on the ridge of Lyons peak.  Preparing for a cold and possibly stormy night; settling in on top.  Saw bear and mountain lion tracks in the snow paralleling the ridge going the same direction we are. Got out the binoculars to make sure we were not accidentally going to be right behind them but didn’t see them. Both sets of tracks are very fresh.  The mountain lion tracks have some dirt in them, must’ve come up from down below, probably to check out our campsite last night.  We have had no problems with animals getting our food, we make sure to get it as securely away from animals as possible.

6/6 - Have come down the ridge into Squaw valley and am tented outside of town.  Woke to grapple (Styrofoam like snow) and am going to bed to grapple falling.  Had a great hike down, snow was frozen on top and slippery, however; the grapple made for good traction.  Had to slide on my butt for a section.  It was challenging to determine how to get off the peak, the north side was not possible due to cornices and south side was rocky with slick snow.  Found more mountain lion prints.  Yesterday had a scary experience coming off Needles Peak was a rocky cliff.  Richie and I were split about how we wanted to go down, I backtracked and ended up on some scary precarious rock ledge that I shimmied against. I pressed myself against the rock side wall and a wall of snow.  Richie went off the north side, took a step of faith on a cornice but then decided to backtrack as well.  My hand is swollen and hurting, am unsure why. It is interesting comparing my aches to Richies aches, often we are feeling the same sorenesses… his right hand is also swollen and hurting.  After meeting back up, I worriedly chided him for going on the cornice, he proudly showed me his footsteps through the binoculars. We made an agreement not to split up again in perilous situations.  It is fun to go our own ways and meet up somewhere down the trail, but I was worried about him and knew that if something happened to either of us it would’ve been extremely difficult to help each other.  Sometimes I do some stupid things, the important thing is that I learn a lesson and not do it again! I am craving a large salad once I get into town.  It’s snowing and I am glad we are not on top of the ridge anymore.  As I was coming down I was very thankful for some thigh/chest high bushes to give me something to walk on.  It is interesting how perspectives can change in just one day, how different circumstances can change a view.  Yesterday I was wishing the bushes weren’t there because they made walking extremely difficult, I was tangled up and avoiding them.

6/7 - Woke to 2 to 3 inches of snow on the outskirts of Squaw Valley .  Caught a bus to Tahoe City , got a big salad at the grocery store, went to the library and got some map info for the Tahoe Rim Trail at the visitors center.  The center handed out goodies for hikers, little samples of toothpaste and granola bars.  I am so thankful that Richie is so good at maps.  He has great camping skills and is a mentor to me.  He is a minimalist not only in hiking but in living his life, he has much to share and teach to others.  It is a blessing to have such a wonderful, trustworthy friend.  Later we walked to a Catholic church, part of my hiking is that I am raising funds to build a library in Kenya where I had volunteered.  My hike is about placing my trust in the Lord, trying to follow where God is leading me.  I am a Roman Catholic and deeply love my faith, I believe that all different faiths have much to learn and teach to one another.  It fascinates me and I want to learn why people believe what they do.  We are all created so uniquely, how could we ever be expected to believe the same thing and live the same ways?  When we got to the church, I explained what I was doing and asked for a shower and/or lodging.  The priest didn’t even blink, he just said that he couldn’t help.  Disappointment and sorrow flooded my heart, not for myself, but for that priest.  I was not worried about where I would sleep, I knew I would find a place somewhere even if it meant walking all night. I felt let down because the priest missed an opportunity to help someone, our faith is about helping (loving) one another.  We continued walking to an Episcopal church, there the Vicor immediately told us of a place of lodging 9 miles away.  When I explained my mission, he repeated what he said and added that, “it is taken care of”.  We thanked him and he said, “that is what we do”.  We used our transfer bus tickets to go to Kings Beach . We had the same bus driver as earlier today and when we told him our destination he informed us that he had lived in the area a long time and had never heard of the place.  He said we had been taken.  Feeling dejected we got off the bus in Kings Beach and walked until we found a similar sounding place of lodging. Thinking that we may have misunderstood the name we entered and asked if we were expected there.  We were welcomed in with a smile that lit up my heart, and an overflowing amount of enthusiasm to brighten our spirits.  We were not at the correct Inn, but she made a call and found where we were to be, our reservation was affirmed.  We stood around and talked for awhile with her and her husband.  She is a champion wind surfer and totally exhuberant about life.  She glowed with life, love and optimism.  When she asked about our hike, I told her my mission and she was so excited that she had me read my mission letter word for word out loud to them.  We spoke about how important it is for people to have faith in one another.   As we walked out the door she said, “try not to let others disappoint you”.  She totally lifted me up, it was exactly what I needed to hear and I had not even shared with her what had happened earlier in the day.  It was amazing to have someone tell me exactly what I needed to hear at just the right time.  She was an angel to me, glowing with faith.  I want to stay positive as I get older, what an inspiration!  As we walked to where we were to stay I felt light on my feet and light in my heart.

6/8 - Was able to clean up at the laundromat next door, got to waterproof my boots again and rest my feet.  Have decided that once I am East of the Sierras I will go back home and then continue my hike in late summer when the temperatures are cooler.  There are a lot of activities happening with my family this summer, and once I miss them, that’s it. I have an awesome family, this will be the last summer that I’ll be home for quite a while so I want to take advantage of it.  It is hard to take a break from my hike, especially now that my body is in hiking shape, but I realize the wise decision is to go home.  I’ll be back when it’s cooler! J It is raining today, it makes it hard to pull ourselves out of the security of being dry and into the rain.  We are contentedly sitting in a small bakery with the sweet aromas surrounding us.  I write, enticing us to eat some sweets and sip some steamy coffee.  After satisfying my sweet tooth/teeth, we continue through town only to stop at another café for hot chocolate and lunch.  What a lovely and contented mood I am in.  As we continue outside in the rain, we walk to the main road and put out our thumbs, smiling broadly and laughing as we splash one another.  In a couple of minutes a nice guy pulls over to give us a ride back to the trail.

6/9 - First day on the Tahoe Rim Trail.  Rained all day yesterday and is drizzly today.  The forest reminds me of one of my most favorite states, Maine, by the look of the trees, rocks and lakes.  Spent the first part of the morning heading South instead of North on the trail…ooops J Just meant we were able to stay out a little longer and see things we wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise.  Met a biker, Kip, who assured us that after we had turned around we were going the correct way.  Spent the day being goofy, singing and playing the game where we would try and knock water off the branches with our hiking sticks onto one another, as if we weren’t already soaking wet! Richie is always much better at this than I am.  Sometimes I resort to just throwing pinecones at him.

6/10 - Rainy, hiked into Kings Beach to resupply. hmmm…awfully familiar, I usually do not hike into the same town twice.  Ate another large salad.  Lake Tahoe is incredibly blue, more rain.  As we continued on in the rain we put out our thumbs and smile broadly, laughing as we try to splash one another.  Received a ride back to the trailhead from a guy, Kenny, who went to the same small school in Wisconsin that Richie went to, about 10 yrs later.  They even know some of the same people, it’s a small world!  I am getting into a habit of having coffee in town during these rainy days, I am not used to much caffeine and really feel it.  Richie and I are hiking like speed demons! 

6/11 - Tired today, ate a lot but my body is slow.  Could be altitude, am camping above 9,000 feet tonight.  Richie reminded me about focusing on taking deeper breaths and a slower pace.  Ran out of water, no water melting as runoff so am melting it over the fire (see photo in gallery), takes awhile to melt enough to fill both of our containers.  Reached Nevada today! 

6/12 - Beautifully warm sunny day.  I thought it would be much colder this morning.  Definitely a shorts day, it has been over a week since these legs have seen the sun. My right hand is still swollen and hurting,, don’t know why but am trying to ignore it. I have an ace bandage on it, was wearing during the day, but now am wearing when I sleep.  Last night I ate the last of some nasty pasta I had accidentally bought on sale.  The obvious clue was that it was on sale.  I bought 3 boxes for super cheap, I didn’t realize it was low carb, and regretted it with every bite, it was like cardboard.  I tried doctoring it up but I couldn’t fool myself.  Went over some beautiful mountains: Rose Knob, Rose Peak and Mt. Riley .  Could see Mt. Rose but the trail did not go over it.  At the top of the ridge were lots of butterflies (probably migrating) that we watched as they came up the East side of the ridge, as they would come over the pass they would almost make it over when they would hit a wall off wind where they would get pushed directly straight up into the sky and back.  It was a literal wall of wind.  We watched as dozens of butterflies tried to get across, rooting for them to make it.  Often they would stop and take breaks in the snowcups ( small cupshaped bowls of melted out snow).  We witnessed one butterfly that kept at it and finally made it across.  We were like two cheerleaders ecstatic with its victory.   

6/13 - Another beautiful day, sunny blue skies.  I am confused as to where exactly I am, due to the snow the trail is not able to be seen.  Today have had glimpses of the trail intermittently as there are open patches.  It makes it tougher going by climbing in and out of snow.  It feels good and I appreciate when I can walk on solid ground, I can zoom!

6/14 - Decided to split up today to take different routes and meet up later.  Saw a deer and a coyote, or fox, I couldn’t tell and forgot about the binoculars in my pack.  Awesome views of Lake Tahoe and of Marlette Lake. Before I met up again with Richie I met two hikers, Jennifer and Craig.  Shared with them what I was doing and they told me that when I come back in the autumn to continue the trail to call them and they’d be happy to help me with my water drops. J Once I met up again with Richie.  I was in search of water, I had run out and Iget cranky when I’m thirsty.  I was preparing to melt some snow when Richie noticed a patch of fresh green plants.  It looked like there would be water, went over and was thrilled with a sweet spring.  A shallow layer of water flowing from the ground widely spread out, it was a haven!  We happily filled our water bottles, ate lunch and took turns soaking in the clear cool running water.  I felt it couldn’t have been a more perfect ending to the CA section of my hike, the mountains as the backdrop, the sunshine coming thru a windscreen of willows as the water gurgled over my feet…aahhhhh J  Ended at Spooner Summit and will continue in the fall. Headed back home to spend the summer in Illinois.