We started our morning packing up to leave just to eat BF 10 mins down the trail from our camp. We finally found the overlook that people were talking about on the way up. It had a wooden bench built into an outcropping of rock. This told us that we really hadn't hiked as far as we though we had the day before, probably 16 miles, still a good ways. After the bench, we headed downhill for about 3 miles. Then the path started rolling. We met many mountain bikers on Kingsbury Grade, rumored to be among the best trails in the Tahoe area. Lots of great thin paths with rocks and roots to jump/climb/roll/fall over. After 7 miles we hit the next trailhead and started walking on pavement. It so fitting that we made our two biggest mistakes of the trip while on pavement walking through a subdivision.
Mistake #1
I had asked a guy on a mountain bike how far it was to the trail head. He said 20 minutes. It really turned out to be 40 but it is hard to tell when you're on a bike. He was going the other way. He must have reached his turn around point, came back to his car, and then he stopped by us as we were walking. He asked if he was right on the time. We told him no in a polite way. He then asked us if we wanted a ride to the next trailhead so we could continue on our way. I really really wanted to say yes. The pavement was hurting my feet. But to respect my husband and our mission, I declined. We kept walking down the pavement. We should have said yes, and this is why...
Mistake #2
We walked past a house and a woman came out, called to us and asked if we wanted any water. We happily said yes, Grant was almost out and I was a liter or less. I guess this is something that she does fairly after for TRT hikers. The woman's husband said he was working on a building near the next trailhead (construction) and offered us a ride. Being that the pavement was exposed to the sun, it was afternoon, we were hot and tired, and needed to catch up after not getting as far as we had wanted to yesterday, we said yes. As I tried to get into the truck, the man (dim) let the truck roll backwards. The open truck door pinned my hand between it and the side mirror of the car parked next to it. It hurt. I had all of the symptoms of someone about to faint. Dizziness and needing to lie down. We ended up taking the ride from the woman. Grant was awesome and very patient.
About a mile in from the trailhead we stopped for dinner. It was soma noodles with a sun dried tomatos, spices, and olive oil sauce. It was pretty good. We are finding that we packed slightly too much food. We thought we would be hungrier.
About 3 miles in from the trailhead was the first time we found a flat spot. Everywhere is windy. Even in the valley where we camped. The wind seems to accelerate down the hill and through the trees. We only did 11 miles today (14 if you count driving) Tonight bed is early. Hopefully a bright eastern sunrise will get us off to an early start. I'm finding that mornings are the best time for me to hike. It's still cool and I'm still feeling rested.
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