Water Cache - Rock Creek Spring 8/8/10 26 miles

Twenty six miles to go over our first marathon. We got up earlyish, had some breakfast with Dude and Trouble and then started the day loaded up on water. Hat Creek Rim is a Plateau over a volcanic rock covered valley between Lassen Peak and Mt. Shasta. It is a really wierd geological place. The rim is at he edge of a cliff and at 45 degree angle. Lots of sand and tatally exposed with little shade and no water. Sounds fun right? We got about 6 miles and took a break in a smaill area of woods and then continued on to the next water cache. People bring water out in gallon jugs on the dry stretches. We got there about lunch. Dude and Trouble were already there and disappointed with no water. Twenty four water jugs and all empty. It was a nice shady spot and we had lunch there. Luckily I started with a gallon of water, so I still had two quarts left and twelve miles to go. WE crossed our 750 mile mark and our half way point. Exciting! We came down off the rim. It was still dry and we had to waqlk over ancient lava fields. It was wild! We ran out of water about 2 miles before camp, but the sun was low and the trees were funally giving shade, so we were okay. We finally got to camp about 7:30pm. Would have been earlier, but we took a nap at mile 18 under an awesome shade tree withthe craziest breeze. Camp was close to a hydro power plant and there was a huge water pipe that someone had drilled a hole in to make a sprinkler. It was heaven after a "dehydrated marathon" as Kristi put it. We had dinner and went to bed, suprisingly, not too terribly exhausted. -CM

The Heitman's - Hat creek Rim 8/7/10 7 miles

Veggie came through the back yard this morning letting everyone know that breakfast was ready. That's a good way to wake up!! She and Warner Springs Monty had made a breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls and my favorite- biscuits and REAL gravy!! He had promised last night he would make some since we were southerners in need of it! Total approval! Loved it!! We hung there until about lunchtime getting our laundry finisthed up, making phone calls home and using trhe internet. It was a fairly chlly morning. We thanked everyone for the awesome hospitality and caught a ride to the store from Dennis, the owner fo the house. He told us a littel history of he and Georgie and how they moved around for a while and later found the property and built their cabin. We bought some lunch at the store and of course had to have some ice cream to get us going. We then caught a ride to the trailhad by antoher very nice man and started walking. We checked out the "Subway Caves" that are huge caves formed by lava many years ago. It was pretty amazing. We decided to camp close to the water cache, since our 26mile stretch tomorrow has no water. Set up, hung out with Dude and Trouble for a bit and time for bed. -KB

Drakesbad Ranch - The Heitman's 8/6/10 23.6 miles

We woke up early with our bellies still full from lst night. The mornings are getting much cooler already. We had alittle climb in the morning and took a break after about 8 miles. I realized I had lost my Jade necklace from New Zealand. I was not happy. Hopefully it will come back to me. We had lunch after a very hot stretch. Had a nice view of Lassen park. Ten miles to go. Everyone was so excit4d about staying with the Heitman's. There was about 9 people including up when we got to the store where they picked up up. It was abot 5 pm and they said they would have dinner ready by 6pm. Perfect timing! It took a couple of rides to get everyone there. Sugar Mama took us las and we rolled up as everyone wqas eating. There was still plenty of food left. Lasagna, corn on the cob and bread pudding with whipped cream. A good dinner two nights in a row and it was nice. They had a great set up with an outdoor kitchen and garge with hiker supplies, shower, laundry, hiker camping with tents already set up and a treehouse with beds!! It doesn't get much better than this! Unfortunately the treehouse was already claimed. Kristi worked late getting the blog caught up and we finally went to bed at 11pm. Lat night for us. -CM

N. Fork Feather River - Drakesbad Ranch!! 8/5/10 9.4 miles

After laying around in the tent with until about 8am (very late for us) we finally got out and hiking by 8;20am. The 9 mile walk to Drakesbad was moderately easy, but we were both so anxious to arrive, that it seemed to take a little longer. At the end of the hke, we were able to check out a hot spring lake that was bubbling, with steam surrounding it. Definitely a first! Rolled into Drakesbad Ranch right a lunchtime, the right time : ) This place was very historic. Several cabins for guests, a small store and a main dining cabin, and a hot springs pool area. The owner, Ed, was very welcoming as we followed the delicious lunchtime aroma into the dining area. I'm aware that we had to be smelly at this point. We had walked and sweated for about four days without showers. Ed shook Chris's hand and hugged me. As I resisted, stating that I may not smell great, he then laughing said with his German accent, "It's okay. I'm used to you all's smell." We had an all-you-can-eat lunch with Kiwi, Bacon and Meander, and then headed to the showers. What an amazing shower!! next stop-hot springs pool. We all hung out in the and by the pool for a while. The water was very therapeutic for a tired, achy, hiker body. It was soooo relaxing! We were all, ALL-SMILES, all day! As we sat around the pool, a few more hikers rolled in, Trouble, Dude, Frog and Curly. Chris and I hung out for a while and then to the front porch of the small store for a few cold ones. Dinner time arrived. We had turkey, REAL mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and fresh bread. It was delicious, but the portions were arranged all fancy, and a little small, especially when challenged against our raging appetites. Never fear, Ed is here! He informed us that there were a "few" leftovers and brought us huge family style bowls of everything! We ate even more this time around! Today was a good day! -KB

Carter Meadow - N. Fork Feather River 8/4/10 23.4 miles

Woke up early and were out by 7am. We had a really pretty climb to a ridge with views of the foggy valley. We took our first break at the half way point of the trail and helped Kiwi, Bacon and Meander celebrate with a little whiskey at 9:30am. I promise this is not becoming a habit, haha. We walked some clean trail to an early lunch at Soldier Creek and then took a nice nap on the terraced campsite. Thirteen miles to go at 2pm. We had a long downhill to Rt. 36 where we found some trail magic from "Piper's Mom!" Sodas and chips! It definitely helped get us the last 9miles to camp. The last section was dry and kind of boring until we came around a corner and saw Lassen up close. We had been seeing it in the distance, but where we had been in the woods all day we hadn't realized how close we were getting. Came down the last mile to the Feather River and ran into Choc. Bandito going south. She had gotten bored so she hitched up and was going against the flow to see some old and new faces. She told us the scoop on Drakesbad Guest Ranch. We have been dreaming about it for a while. We were going there tomorrow for some showers and swimming and lots of food. Can't wait. -CM

Chip River - Carter Meadow 8/3/10 21.4 miles

Our "Eric the Black" map seemed to lead us wrong several different times today. There were several jeep roads and water sources listed in there, that were apparently imaginary. Water was the issue today. We filled up before we left camp and again about 12 miles into the day. I filled up my bladder and Chris filled up his two 32 oz. bottles at a nice spigot spring, that was shooting out fresh, ice cold water. Since the map indicated that there were at least two more water sources before lunch, Chris dumped one bottle in order to lighten the load a bit. We walked in nice, shaded forests wit good climbs and then on bare, dusty desert-like terrain. We had lunch at a nice overlook, about 15 miles into the day. Since we had found no water on our way to lunch, we noticed on our map, that there was a creek off the trail. We left our packs up top and walked about 1/2 mile down a forest road, and then green blazed down the hill in hopes to locate the creek. We walked for a while and no creek to be found. After an hour wasted, we put our packs on with no other option but to go 6.5 MORE miles with no water. As we were leaving, Kiwi appeared. We talked with him, Meander and Bacon for a moment, complained of our waterless struggles and headed on. I have to admit, those miles with no water were rough for me. The combination of being already thirsty plus just the simple fact of knowing we had no water, made me dream of ice cold water, the entire walk. My mouth was so dry and Chris and kept talking about the bottle that he had dumped earlier, wishing we were chugging it. The map indicated that the terrain for this section would be flat. We knew better, due to being mislead by promising profiles before. We walked up and down until we reached water. It never tasted so good! Kiwi, Bacon and Meander neighbored us tonight. We had good dinner, good conversation and actually were in the tent before dark. -KB

Belden - Chip River 8/2/10 10 miles

We slept in a bit, waiting for the P.O. to open. Walked down the hill with Burley's owner and accidentally fell into a bar. Haha! 9:30am whiskey and beer. We talked to the nice bartender about their weekly music festivals and such. We got to the P.O., made some pone calls planning our departure from the trail, even though we still have a ways to go. Got our awesome box from Sarah, with SO much food to keep up going.The P.O. we were at was actually a house. The lady that ran it was hilarious, stuck in the 70's and definitely from CA. It was definitely the most eccentric place I'd ever been. We sat outside and sorted out our boxes. We finally got on the trail about 12:30pm and walked a couple of hours. It was soo hot! The section had been hit by a fire. We had a large snack/lunch with Stealth, Hmmm and others. We saw our first rattlesnake as it crawled out from under Stealth's tent. Wow. We packed up for another 5 mile to camp.l Saw another rattler and did a whole lot of climbing, 3500' in 10 miles and were still not at the top. had a nice dinner. Crunched some numbers for the next week's hiking. It was a fun, hard day. -CM

Buck's Lake - Bleden 8/1/10 23 miles

It felt so amazing to sleep in an actual bed last night at the Williams's, have a full belly of real food, have new shoes and most of all be refreshed by the company of such an extremely fantastic family that made us feel at home!We woke up this morning to a nice, hot breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and deliciously locally grown, fresh, juicy peaches. And we though our stay with them couldn't get any better than last night! Chris, Picks Up Stones ad I ate and shared some laughs with Terry and Dennis. We began packing up and said our goodbyes to Picks Up Stones, as he left for his southbound adventures. I really enjoyed meeting him, such a sweet soul. He is 60 years old, and doesn't look a day over 45. One of the nicest, most genuine folks we've met on the trail. Time for us to go now. We were so thankful for everything the Williams's had done for us! There are wonderful people! Nancy drove us to the trailhead, we thanked her and went on our way. For our first few hours of walking, I continued to think about all of the hospitality that that family had shown us and they asked for nothing in return. That's what it's all about, just helping others out when you can. I have witnessed more of this while on the trail than I have seen in a very long time. Just like Bill and Margaret at the Red Moose, the Williams's kindness will positively impact all of us who stayed with them, and we will show the same to others. We had some beautiful views today, but saw the smoke of a forest fire in the distance for most of the day. It didn't seem to be slowing down. Many helicopters carrying water were in and out. We began our walk down into Belden, an endless section of switchbacks down the ridge. Chris was on poison oak patrol, as he pointed out every bit that he saw. We decided to camp at the bottom, at the equestrian camp, and we would get our resupply box from Sarah H. in the morning. As we got comfy and made dinner from the tent, a hiker with his companion, Burley the Donkey, walked up. No, that's not a trail name, it was a real donkey : ) This guy was hiking southbound with Burley and told us all about it. I got out of the tent and had to pet him! My next pet may now be a donkey! I fell in love. He was so gentle and calm! Box tomorrow!! -KB

Feather River - Buck's Lake 7/31/10 11 miles

had a good time last night and an even better morning. We slept in and talked to Chris and he said he would give us a ride to town. His truck was parked 1/4 mile up the trail. Yes, we cheated because we didn't walk to Buck's Lake, but I got to go four wheeling, which I'd been wanting to do for so long. It saved our sore Croc'ed feet and got us to our new shoes faster. We got to Buck's Lake, went by the store and got some refreshments and then headed to the Williams, the local trail angels. These folks were the greatest family we'd met yet! They gave us our new shoes that we had had mailed there. Sweet! The first question they asked was if we were hungry. Always. We had cheese burgers with fresh tomatoes and had some good company with their huge family. Nice cabin, free lunch and showers. We hopped on the computer for a wile and then it was dinner time. Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic bread and topped of with homemade ice cream and strawberry cheesecake. I hurt myself eating as usual. We had some drinks by the fire after dinner with the family. They were farmers, so we swapped stories. I had to lay down and rest my belly. Kristi lost me and they were asking her where her husband was, haha. We got to sleep in a real bed with our bellies nice and full, dreaming of our new shoes. What a great family! -CM

Nelson Creek - Feather River 7/30/10 25.6 miles

We woke up to a rather chilly morning, therefore we took our time and built a fire to help get us going. We knew that we had a long day ahead of us, so we got started. Today really was an eventful day. The hiking itself wasn't difficult, although the section of the Plumas Forest that we walked through involved jumping over many hurdles, literally. There were hundreds of fallen trees still covering the trail. This slowed us down a bit and gave me a few nice scratches. Te majority of the day, we walked through flat, shaded forest, which was nice. The second half of the day, we crossed many forest roads on the trail and did a lot of uphill ridge walking. Te dirt on this section is very fine and seems to somehow end up on every inch of your body. We stopped and took several snack breaks today and consumed a good amount of junk food in order to keep us moving. At the end of the day, we were becoming really tired. Our feet were ready to retire the Crocs. I had now been walking in mine for about 60 miles and Chris had been walking in his for about 90 miles. Every now again we would shout out the number of miles it was until we arrived at Buck's Lake to get our new ones. So anxious to have happy feet again. We were almost to camp. We spotted the Feather River and walked over a nice bridge to get to our campsite. As we walked up the trial to camp, a huge dog began to bark There was guy, Chris, camping in one of the spots with his dog. He gladly welcomed us to come on down, and so did his dog. It felt great to wash off at the river. My feet and legs were filthy. We sat up camp and ate dinner while we talked to Chris. He and my Chris discussed good tips on how to get your foot in the door with the forest service, since this Chris currently worked for them. Moto, his dog, was very cute, but kept trying to hump my arm, so I had to distract him with a game of fetch..haha. Chris gave us some more good advice and we had some laughs with him. This is one of our best camping spots yet and the stars never shined so bright :) -KB

Sierra Buttes - Nelson Creek 7/29/10 21miles

We got a pretty good start to have drank a bottle of wine . We winded down the backside of the Buttes and enjoyed views of the beautiful fire tower at the top. We came to a gravel road and wondered around in circles for a while trying to find where the trail picked back up. A pile of cars pulled up and the man in the first car jumped out and asked if we needed anything. He was super nice. We told him that we had just gotten our resupply and that we were okay. We talked for a while and he told the group of hikers that he was leading, what we were doing. As we were leaving, he slipped us some cash. Wow, that's never happened. As we were leaving, Kristi laughed and asked me, "Do we look that bad?" We continued following the gravel road for a ways and then dropped back into the woods. The ridge was beautiful, overlooking 10's of beautiful blue lakes. We had lunch next to a pond and took a little snooze in the shade. WE woke up in the sun dripping with sweat and got on our way. My Crocs were holding up to the test, but my heel is still sliding out..? We took another break at the "A Tree" (long story), nice spring. A trail crew was working on the trail ahead and we passed them on the way up. The trail was dusty, wide and clear, with views of the Butte's fifteen miles away. We got cell signal at the top and Kristi called and checked on her mom. We headed down to camp on a nice creek. We got in early so we had a little fire with dinner. Pretty and pretty lucky day. -CM

Sierra City - Sierra Buttes Trail 7/28/10 7 miles

We slept in this morning (7am woo hoo) and it felt great! Did I mention that waking up clean felt great?! We got semi-packed up and headed into the restaurant for breakfast. There were several hikers sitting around the bar eating. Ahhh, the aroma of freshly cooked breakfast (other than oatmeal and pop tarts) smelled fantastic! We ordered eggs and bacon AND all-you-can-eat pancakes! So delicious! Margaret kept the pancakes coming until we were finished. On a nice full belly we finished up our laundry, made phone calls home and used the internet for quite some time- all compliments of Bill and Margaret. Chris called Sierra Trading Post and explained the problems with his shoes. They agreed to allow him to ship them back and reimburse him for them! He's really getting good at this stuff! First my pack and now free shoes! We then picked out some new ones for the both of us and he arranged to have them shipped to Buck's Lake, about 60 miles up the trail. We were thrilled to be getting new ones! My $35 TJ Maxx special Sauconey's held up well for the money, for almost 600 miles, but it was time to allow them to rest. We then picked up our AMAZING box from Kara and Don at the P.O. She had us all sorts of special goodies and even a CARTON of red wine and some brownies! We couldn't wait to break into this! We sorted through our food and had some extra, so we gave a few things to Bacon and Meander, since they were a little short. Next, we headed to the General Store before we headed out. We had heard about their enormous Deli Sandwiches and had to try them out. Before leaving, ice cream was a must. We sat out on the cozy, covered front porch surrounded by wild flowers, ate our pint of Cherry Garcia and chatted with an older local man. It was now about 3:30pm and time to get back to walking. We said our goodbyes to the hikers and Margaret at the Red Moose. She insisted on giving us a ride back up to the trail. We couldn't resist. This lady and her husband Bill are truly angels and we can't thank them enough for their hospitality and generosity. I hope to keep in touch with hem. Once again, I feel so blessed to be able to meet people like Bill and Margaret. Their gratitude towards us and others will certainly go a long way. The hike up the mountain was relatively steep, rocky and very sweaty. We were glad we waited until the evening to get started. We arrived at the top around 7:30pm, as we anxiously set up camp with hopes to get started on the wine : ) We watched a gorgeous sunset across the mountain range, with a bright orange shadow all across as it set. The best yet! The wine went down just right as we both had some good laughs over dinner. I feel so refreshed to have met some amazing people, relate with some fellow hiker friends and to have had some more good times and laughs. It doesn't get much better than this. I truly love this place. -KB

Meadow Lake - Sierra City 7/27/10 23 miles

Woke up to everyone rolling out of camp. They were headed into town and were excited. We planned on camping close and going in tomorrow. IT was a pretty easy day. We ate lunch under a nice bride on the creek to avoid the sun. WE took a little snooze to let our food settle. My Crocs are doing alright as my temporary hiking shoes, but it sucks having to carry my real ones. Eleven miles to go. We crossed a road that lead to town and debated on hitching on in. No luck. We continued our walk, supposedly all downhill. It was a winding roller coaster, but still easy walking. We got to the 2 mile road shortcut to town at about 6pm and decided to go on in. It was a steep downhill on a gravel road to a campground. Nice campground. The burgers and beer being consumed only made us more ready for town. The road turned to pavement and went through a nice residential/vacation cabin area. It's fun to look at houses after not seeing any for five days. The walk seemed to take forever, but we coasted the hill and saw main street. Population 220! It was an old gold mining town! We ran into Walking Flower coming out as we were going in. She said the store had just closed, but there was a place called the Red Moose. Ribs, shower, laundry and a place to stay. We were so excited! WE rolled up to twelve stuffed thru hikers. We walked in and met Bill and Margaret, the owners. They were present day gold miners and had bought the building just six weeks earlier. it was half bar and half hotel with apartments upstairs. They had bought it to store their equipment in the giant basement. They planned to lease the bar out, but had no takers and decided to take car of hikers in their spare time. We ate all-you-can-eat ribs, beans, potatoes and carrots for $12, for the two of us. Free shower and laundry and we were able to camp in their back yard. Super nice couple. They would had given us the shirts of their backs and free run of their house, which they did. Thanks!! -CM

Rt. 40 - Meadow Lake 7/26/10 19 miles

Hitched a ride into "town" this morning since we were camped near the road. Breakfast at the small store a couple of miles from the trail as the pan. We waited for about 20 minutes and a really nice lady picked us up. She gave us her info and told us to give her a call when we get to Lassen if we needed anything. Her cute lap dog, Shasta, sat on me on the way there, which really made me miss my little Scout man. We arrived at eh store at about 8:30am. Kiwi, Bacon and Meander, were already sitting on the front porch, enjoying breakfast. Kiwi was downing some ice cream before his sausage biscuits. Chris and I both had sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits and some other snacks. I topped my breakfast off with two chocolate milks and a Guiness- a first but not a last : ) Chris's breakfast dessert was an early morning yuegar bomb. We hitched a quick ride back to the trail, by a cool fella in a huge SUV, who picked up the five of us. WE hiked with our friends for a while and they passed us up, as we were both having some show problems. The day as nice with some good climbs and pretty views. We arrived at our destination with a nice fire that Kiwi, Meander and Bacon had going to help shew away the mosquitoes. had some good talking and laughing with everyone and headed to bed. We were all woken up by a loud crashing through the forest, with sticks cracking and leaves crushing. Meander, Bacon and Chris and I all shined lights simultaneously from our tents in the direction of the disturbing noise, all with fear of a bear in mind. Big relief, just a deer!! Sigh : ) -KB

Alpine Meadows - Rt 40 7/24/10 19 miles

Woke up to a dreary sky. Kristi said it was going to rain, but I didn't believe her. "Walking Flower" walked up as we were packing up. We chatted for a moment. WE walked about 7 miles before our first break. It felt good to get some miles out of the way early. We talked about our plans for Bend, OR, for when we complete the hike. WE continued on and got across our first ridge right as it began thundering. I sat down to smoke a cigarette before it started raining and it began. Our first rain in 40 days on the trail. It sucked, but was kind of exciting. It only lasted for about an hour but there was a good bit of thundering and lightning to go with it. It stopped right as we got to our lunch spot on the creek. "Walking Flower" was there along with a bunch of day hikers. We ate our lunch and were finishing up as about eight more day hikers walked up. They asked us if we were thru hiking. We said yes, and as usual they started pulling food from their packs. We were caught totally off guard. Roast beer and roasted bell pepper sandwich, cantaloupe, cherries and a whole cucumber. We were So thankful. We took a little nap to let our food settle. Kiwi walked up right as we were getting ready to go. We talked and then headed up to Tinker and Anderson Peaks. The trail angels had told us of a nice hut on the backside of Anderson. I was excited. I miss the shelters on the AT so much. WE found it and took a break there. It was a ski hut with six bunks, a loft, a wood stove, rock floors and windows. It was beautiful. We continued on the rest of o9ur day and crossed our 500 mile mark!! Set up camp at a ski slope and are looking to get some breakfast at the store down the hill. It was a nice relaxing day topped off by a nice sunset. -CM

Camper Flats - Alpine Meadows 7/24/10 23 miles

Today's walking was pretty hilly, but we had beautiful views of Lake Tahoe all day. We got some really good pics, which of course won't do it any justice. WE took a break in the a.m. on some rocks to escape the vampires. Kiwi stopped in and chatted for a while and bacon and Meander stopped in as we were leaving. We covered ourselves in bugspray and headed out again. I found that listening to music helps preserve sanity while the mosquitoes are vicious. WE came upon a nice lake and had another break. Kiwi, Meander and Bacon again stopped by for a chat. Lots of sunshine and sweating today. I was happy to dip in some stream water during our relaxing lunch and got nice and cooled off. We enjoyed some spectacular of Tahoe from above. We were both happy to relax in the tent, after a hot, but awesome and gorgeous day. -KB

Echo Lake - Camper Flats 7/23/10 17 miles

woke up early. We camped on a hill, just above the general store, so we stashed our packs and headed down to get some muffins, ice cream, fruit, Cheetos and a quart of milk for breakfast. The walk around Echo lake was beautiful! Lots of vacation cabins to look at. They were rustic and I loved it. We climbed up to Aloha Lake and ran into Kiwi, Low, Meander and Bacon along the way. We all stopped and had lunch together and enjoyed the lake. We headed out. My water bladder sprang a leak. Boo. We continued on around more lakes and headed up to Dick's Pass. Thunder rolled behind us so we high tailed it up the climb and made it across the ridge. We took a break at the top. The thunder was further off than we though. Kiwi stopped by and talked and then we headed down to our camp. There weren't many options. The mosquitoes were awful, but we jumped in the tent and listened to music while we cooked dinner. Seventeen miles and a late start. It was a good relaxing day. -CM

South Lake Tahoe - Echo lake 7/22/0 0.2 miles : )

It felt good this morning to wake up with our chores taken car of. We decided that since we didn't get to see much of Tahoe yesterday that we would take it easy and be tourists today. Ate a ridiculous amount of continental breakfast, got our last good hot showers for a few days, packed up and caught the BlueGo bus to shopping and casinos. Didn't have exact change for the bus (still getting used to this type of transportation) and a super nice passenger covered our $3. We keep randomly meeting such nice folks willing to go out their way to do favors. I love it! We mad our way down to the "Heavenly Shopping Center." Oh, how I have missed a little shopping. We went in Patagonia and Chris tried on some vests. He also looked for some new shoes since his Asolos were failing him, but no luck this time. I bought some souvenirs and postcards for my family. We then made our way to the casino, just a step into Nevada. We walked around inside and of course stuck out like a soar thumb : ) Bar time for a drink. I had the bartender give me a preview of how the place worked. Gambling equals free drinks. here we come penny slot machines! WE stayed for about an hour and I realized that I was really bored. Went to the post office and then caught the BlueGo bus for Sushi. Began our hitch and got quickly picked up by a really nice couple, Margie and Steve, who just so happened to be already stopped, making a phone call. Had a really nice ride with them to Echo Lake. They were awesome trail angels and even gave us their number to call if we ever needed anything! We then began walking to the resort parking lot. It was now 7:30pm and we chatted with some new faces, Alien March, Jim Beam and others. We walked up to the top of the lake and camped there. We had such a fun day, with no guilt involved due to our lack of mileage. -KB

Showers Lake - South lake Tahoe 7/21/10 9 miles

had a great short walk this morning. We met "Hmmm." She is finishing up the triple crown (AT, CDT, PCT.) We walked with her and Kiwi after they stopped and talked with us at break. We walked into Echo lake at about 11:30am. Kristi and I raced to find the post office. She won. I got my smaller pack and some other gear from mom. We got our great box from Janeen, Kristi's cousin, though it took some work to find it. They had listed under the sender's name instead of ours. Wow. We ate a whole lot of junk food from the store and they caught a ride with Kiwi, a friend of his picked us up. We got dropped off at the Coyote's Den, which was super reasonable for Tahoe. The lady was very sweet, let Kristi use the Internet while I did the laundry and went shopping. A hot trip in rain pants. The owner then gave us a beer and a rum and coke. We went and ate at Tahoe pizza and it was great. I got stuffed off of spaghetti, and the salad bar. We talked about going to the casino, but went back to the room to let our food settle and passed out hard. It was a good and eventful day. -CM