Mile 1094 to 1159

Section K

Middle Velma Lake in the morning

Echo Lake to I-80 (Donner's Summit) – Sobo

Miles: 65 

Hiking with: Solo

Lodging:  We spent the night at the Truckee Donner Lodge.

Shuttle: Taxis.

Dining: Taco Bell next to the hotel.  Echo Chalet (milkshake heaven).

Start:  Donners Summit rest area along I-80.  There is a spur trail about 1/4 mile long that gets you on the PCT.

End:  Echo Chalet on the south end of Echo Lake.

People along the trail: About 20 people a day until I got to the Desolation Wilderness then it doubled.   And even more around Echo Lake.

Description: I left Phoenix early Thursday morning and drove 12 hours to Echo Lake.  There was a lot of parking for hikers although there were only a few spaces left and it was not signed as trail head parking.  I had called South Tahoe Taxi to pick me up at 5 pm.  They were right on time and found me promptly.  I changed into my hiking clothes, threw my backpack into the taxi and off we went.  We drove up the west side of Lake Tahoe to the Truckee Donner Lodge (an old Holiday Inn which was pretty nice).  They charged me $100 for about a 1.5 hour ride.  I walked next across the street to Taco Bell and ate dinner.  I also discovered I forgot my belt so I bought a baby blue kids purse that had a long thin blue strap for $8, took the strap off and gave them back the purse.  The strap worked well for my belt.

I got up early the next morning and called High Sierra Taxi who came and got me to the trail head by 6:45 for $30 (8 miles).  I started at the Donner's Summit rest area and followed a trail going NE.  I knew it would quickly cross the PCT & I was correct.  The PCT had a large sign and I headed south.  The first 4 miles to Donner's Pass & Hwy 40 was really nice with pine trees and large granite boulders and a lot of shade.  South of Hwy 40 the PCT climbed up to the mountain ridge onto Squaw Valley Ski Resort.  I was pretty tired after 14 miles at 8,000' elevation but I decided to continue on another 3 miles and 1,000' elevation gain to the next campsite.  I probably average 2 miles per hour but the campsite was worth (it was protected from the wind and had a nice stream flowing 10 yards from it).

On the second day it was light by 6 am and by the time I ate and packed up camp and hit the trail it was  6:45.  The trail followed the ridge line the whole day with spectacular views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierras to the west.  Although the temperature was comfortable there was a lot of sun pounding down on me all day.  After 14 miles I came to my planned campsite next to a creek and with a great view of Lake Tahoe.  I say views of Tahoe -- it is at least 5 miles away.

On the third day I was on the trail again by 6:45 and had planned only 8 miles but I came across several hikers that said the place was Middle Velma Lake  which would make it a 17 mile day.  I decided I would go for it and was glad I did as this was the highlight of my trip.  The lake was gorgeous and I was able to bath in it.  Other campers went swimming.

On the fourth day I only had 17 miles left and decided to go all the way out.  I knew it would be slow but all I had was time.  This area was covered in lakes and was very scenic (although Middle Velma Lake was the best).  By 2 pm I finally got to Lake Aloha which I thought would be really cool...however unlike Middle Velma there were no trees around it.  From this point on the hike got hotter and I slowed down to a couple miles / hour.  I know the hike was mostly down hill from this point on but as it go lower it also got hotter.  Once I got within a mile of Echo Lake there were a lot of people.  This is a popular hiking trail for tourists and I understand why - it's beautiful.  You can hike from the South end of Echo lake to the north end and then ride a boat taxi back.  I was tempted to take the boat taxi but I though it might be as fast to hike (I think I was wrong).

I finally got to the Echo Chalet and people were lined up for their Milk Shakes.  I got a chocolate one with a turkey sandwich -- excellent!!!!  I jumped in my car and drove down the road to a KOA campground, paid $5 for a shower -- money well spent!!!!  I drove onto Tonopah, NV where I spent the night in a hotel and then drove onto Phoenix the next morning.  Enjoy the Pics!!!!

Building at the I-80 rest area where I started.

Where the trail goes under I-80.

The trail next to large granite boulders near Donner's Summit

Donner's Lake

Donner's Pass -- where people ate people.

The Sierras to the West.

The PCT followed the ridge line for most of the first 2.5 days.

Camp on Day 1

The ski lift just above my campsite on Day 1.

View of Lake Tahoe early in the morning from Camp #1.

A trash can with "hiker trash talk" written on it.
This was on the edge of the ski resort and the trash was probably from skiers.

The trail on the Squaw Valley Ski resort edge and along the Ridge.

Camp site day 2.

View of lake tahoe in the morning from Camp site #2.

My fashionable belt / purse strap.

Barker Pass -- with an outhouse...Yahoo!!!!

A giant mushroom.  Note my backpack for size comparison.

Lake Richardson.

Middle Velma Lake.

Middle Velma Lake.

Middle Velma Lake.

Campsite at Middle Velma Lake.

Middle Velma Lake in the morning.

Middle Velma Lake in the morning.

My Shadow.

Champlain Lake (south and higher than M. Velma Lake).

From Dick's Pass looking down (north) at all the lakes.

Dick's Pass.

A view from Dick's Pass looking south.

Lake Aloha.

Lake Aloha.  It was pretty barren.
Almost desert like with the sun reflecting off the granite and no shade.

Coming over the pass looking down at upper Echo and Echo Lakes.

The dam at Echo Lake.

Echo Chalet at Echo Lake.  Milkshakes....mmmmmm.

I took this photo of area 51 driving back through Nevada.
If you look at the enlarged version of this photo you will see a drone.

Mile 374 to 386

Section D

Gary, Chris, Myself & Marvin at the Summit of Baden-Powell

Vincent Gap (Mt. Baden-Powell) to Islip Saddle – Nobo

Miles: 12 
Hiking with: Tennis Friend Dan C., Health Club Friend Marvin D., Father-in-Law Gary, & my son Chris.

Lodging:  We spent the night at the Cajon Pass Best Western.

Shuttle: A Dual Sport Bike (Kawasaki 250) that I put on the back of my Excursion & shuttle myself!!!

Dining: We ate at the Fisherman's Market in Banning on the way in and at the Grizzley Cafe in Wrightwood.

Start:  Vincent Gap.  The PCT crosses the road at this point.

End:  Islip Saddle.  The PCT crosses the road at this point.

People along the trail: About 40 -- a record!!!  This included about 10 through hikers.

Description: We left Phoenix Friday mid afternoon and stopped in Banning at the Fisherman's Market for dinner -- they just about know my name by now.  We spent the night at the Cajon Pass Best Western.  I was rather surprised the manager said they do about 15 thru hiker rooms a night.  They even had a food dump/share box for hikers at breakfast.  Most of the thru hikers I talked mailed their packages to Wrightwood....which is 3.6 miles and 2,400' elevation drop detour to pick up their packages.

Saturday we drove up to Vincent Gap where I dropped of everyone & took some pics then I drove onto Islip Saddle, parked the car and drove my motorbike back to Vincent Gap.  Everyone started hiking when I dropped them off except my son Chris.  Chris is a quick strong hiker and we caught up with the other after 1-1/2 hours.  The trail is consistently steep the whole way up with pine trees shading you all the way.  I can see why this is such a popular local hike.  At the top there was a monument to Lord Baden-Powell....founder of the Boy Scouts of America (and also the first census taker of India to include all classes of people).  The hike down also had a moderate amount of shade but it was a cool day so even with the sun shining we never go hot.  The up was about 4 miles and the down 8 miles.  If I lived in the LA area I would make this a regular hike -- a great workout.  We decided to return home early on Sunday and so I deferred my hike planned on Sunday.

Dan C. with a thru hiker.

The Crew -- Dan C., Myself, Chris & Marvin.

Chris just starting up the trail.

A gnarly tree along the path.

Wow -- a patch of snow close to the summit.

Junction sign about 1/2 from the top.

Gary, Chris, & Myself at the Summit.

Dan C. resting on the Baden-Powell monument.

Trail graffiti on the way down.

Chris.

Gary and Dan C. on the final descent to Islip Saddle.

Yahoo -- mission accomplished!!!

Mile 486 to 520

Section D
Hiker Town to Hughes Road – Sobo

Wall of Hiker Town Lounge

Miles: 34
Hiking with: Gary B. & Rob H.

Lodging:  We spent the night at the Palmdale Springhill Suites and camped one night on the trail.

Shuttle: A Dual Sport Bike (Kawasaki 250) that we put on the back of Gary's F150 Truck to shuttle ourselves!!!

Dining: We at the Coyote Taco Stand in Banning -- I think they know me by name.

Start:  Hiker Town.

End:  Hughes Road.

People along the trail: About 0!!!

Description: We left Phoenix Friday mid afternoon and stopped in Banning at the Fisherman's Market for dinner -- they just about know my name by now.  We spent the night at the Palmdale Springhill Suites.  It was really windy and cool in the morning as we left Palmdale and drove to hikertown.  I dropped off Gary and Rob then drove the truck to where the PCT crosses Hughes Road and parked it along side the road, unloaded my motorbike, and rode back to hikertown -- it was cold and windy!!!  We finally got on the trail about 9:30 am.  At first you hike next to a private hunting club and up and down some hills bordering the desert.  Then we finally started a major ascent up the mountains -- wow -- this was a very steep trail.  It was windy the whole way and clouds were blowing around but it never looked like it would rain.  We got about 1/2 way and camped close to the ridge line near a guzzler.  We had great views of the mountains while we ate super.  That night the wind blew pretty good and the fog came in.  Where I pitched my tent the fog had condensed on the neighboring tree and the was blowing off on my tent -- I thought it was raining.

The next day we continued our hike.  This part was really pretty as we were often going though pine trees as we traversed along the mountain side.  We got back to the truck around noon and headed back to hikertown and took a shower and then headed back to Phoenix.  Hiker town was cool as it was the first "trail angel" stop I stayed at.  It definitely adds to the "culture" of the PCT.

Since this hike there have been a pretty bad forest fire in this area and to the east.  I'm glad I got this section in before the fire.

Me at the PCT 500 mile marker

Gary B.

Typical Trail on the second day.

Rob & Gary

Rob and Gary were easily amused by the toy someone left in a tree.

Rob H.

We're all smiles after the hike.

Special decor on the ceiling of the Hiker Town Lounge.

Me in the Hiker Town Lounge.

Hiker Town -- Hikers sleep in these little cottages.

The start of the hike.

A view down to the Mohave Desert.

A view from the campsite.

Me reading in my tent.

Super hikers.

A very nice guzzler along the trail.