Day 71: Almost Stormy

Miles: 6.36
Camping: PCT mile 1024.86

I slept in until 6:15 in the hotel, but was too excited for breakfast to sleep further. The cafe in Bridgeport is one of my favorites, and getting to eat there twice in a row is a real treat. Blisster and I went to the coffee shop first, as everyone else was still asleep. We had coffee and pastries to hold us over until the group were ready to eat together. It's an overcast day, slightly cool, the forecast giving a 30% chance of thunderstorms every day this week.

Breakfast was wonderful, and it left us feeling quite satisfied, making it the perfect opportunity to resupply. All 7 of us raided the subpar shelves of the local market in order to keep ourselves fed until Tahoe. I'm trying to make healthier choices, but it is hard to do in a tiny towns tiny market. I did my best though, which is all one can do. We then packed up and checked out of the hotel before mailing our bear canisters away. My pack is so much lighter and easier to wear without it, I truly appreciate not having it.

Blisster, CrackerJack and I had already completed our chores at this point, so we found some lunch before heading out of town. We all had big salads, relishing our chance to eat fresh vegetables, and then followed up with an ice cream cone. The best of both worlds. We stood by the road for a while having little luck with hitchhiking, when finally a woman pulled over for us. She was going to Reno with her daughter, and they stuffed us in a towed trailer behind their truck. It was pitch black, but we had fun taking pictures and listening to music on Blisster's phone. Thankfully, she remembered to let us out at our turnoff where we would then have to hitch 18 miles up the mountain. Very few people drove by, but a man very interested in the trail got us to our destination. He seemed proud to pick us up, and he was genuinely interested in us. It was a good ride.

We had only planned a 6 mile day, just to get us back on trail. We have 76 miles to Tahoe, and plan to make it in 4 days. The sky remained dark with clouds, and even gave us some rain to hike in. It was never a very significant rain, but we kept our eyes on the sky just in case. We walked easily, if not groggy from town, and set up next to the river in the woods. We ate dinner, while Blisster and I worked on a NYT Sunday crossword together. We made good progess before he mosquitoes chased us ino our tents for the night. I'm happy to grab some early evening alone time (it's only 7), and am working on the puzzle some more before dark. We have easy terrain coming up, so we are planning big days. Time to start putting in the miles we lost in the high Sierra...and on to the next section. Life is good.