Pct day 79

August 17

1123 – 1141

Why did I pick that awful campsite? I know better than to camp in tall grass. It was so cold and I woke up wet with dew. I should have pushed on, found a good spot in the trees. I had to dry out my sleeping bag and tent before leaving. 

And my other big problem of the day was the failure of my new chapstick. Lip balm, you had one job. Balm my lip. How did my lips get so chapped in one day? And why can’t I think about anything else besides my minorly dry lips?

The views opened up today. No more Bigfoot woods. Maybe I saw the top of Lake Tahoe? I passed a turnoff for Tahoe City. 

Then I was passing the chair lifts of off-season ski resorts. Maybe I’ve even been skiing here before, back in high school. The trail followed the ridge tops, exposed and windy. Day hikers passed me. I tried to get by with just saying hi. It seems weird to stop on a windy ridge for a big chat. When I tell people I’m walking to Canada, they tend to make a huge loud deal about it. So embarrassing and I always feel like I should qualify my goal. Explain a little more. I’d rather just not talk. This trip is doing nothing for my social skills. 

Around sunset, I was under some chair lifts. I had a cell signal and I was messing around on my phone. My mom called and I told her I was on track to meet the next day. So I guess that 60 miles wasn’t so impossible after all.