Today I was keen to get back to the trail after 3 nights in South Lake Tahoe. At the same time I was a bit anxious about the conditions ahead as I did expect at least some snow. As I am now hiking alone I do not exactly have a plan for each day but will rather just see how the day goes.

I wanted to get back to the PCT as early as possible but obviously wanted to take advantage of the hotel’s breakfast one last time. So I got up well before the breakfast started at 0630 so I had everything packed and was at the breakfast when it opened.

After breakfast I checked out and headed to the bus stop. I had decided to use a bus and then Uber back to the trail. The bus was to reduce the price of the Uber a bit. All in all I was back at the trail and started hiking at 0812.

 The beautiful Echo Lake which I passed just after leaving South Lake Tahoe
The beautiful Echo Lake which I passed just after leaving South Lake Tahoe

Once again I had bought too many snacks while in town so I had packed some out. I had also packed out some fruit from breakfast that I ate at the last trash cans which was at Echo Lake.

After Echo Lake the trail climbed a bit to reach Lake Aloha. I met a lot of non PCT hikers today so I am guessing this is a very popular area to hike in.

 Lots of water on the trail in places
Lots of water on the trail in places

As I approached Lake Aloha I started having to cross more and more snow patches. Because of all the footprints they were easy to cross and I did not have to spend any time on navigation.

 Lake Aloha is beautiful with the snow covered mountains as a backdrop
Lake Aloha is beautiful with the snow covered mountains as a backdrop

After Lake Aloha the trail descended a bit and I passed the 1100 miles marker which was covered in snow so I could not find it. I did not really have a lunch break and only stopped for a minute to eat. Slowly I saw fewer and fewer other hikers.

 The snow does make sure beautiful scenery and walking on it was not too bad in this section
The snow does make sure beautiful scenery and walking on it was not too bad in this section

Next up was to cross Dicks Pass which I believe is the highest point in this section at 9300 ft. Most of the ascent was good and snow free but the last 400-500 ft of ascent had quite a bit of snow. There were not nearly as many footprints now but still enough that I could easily follow the trail.

The descent was also snow covered but quickly the snow became patchy and I could see more and more trail. After a while there was hardly any snow and I started moving really fast. I quickly realised that I would be making almost 30 miles today which is a lot with my late start.

As was also the case before South Lake Tahoe the trail was often under water or very muddy. Mostly I could avoid getting my feet wet in the later half of the day and I ended the day with mostly dry feet.

 Lake Richardson where I considered camping
Lake Richardson where I considered camping

I started looking for camp and thought about staying at Lake Richardson. Once I got there I decided to push further on to Miller Creek. The camp had a lot of mosquitos so I quickly retreated to my bivy.

Even though there was snow today was a really good day.