Day 73
Start: 0715 - PCT mile 1072.5
End: 1630 - South Lake Tahoe (Motel 6)
Miles (today): 17.5
Miles (cumulative): 1127 (982 PCT, 91.5 alternate, 53.5 off)

Thank goodness for Coppertone - he saved the day.  :)

The silly leg injury seemed to be ok this morning - I was able to hike almost normally (albeit still slower than I prefer).  I did my best to enjoy being in nature and, for the first several hours, it worked.  

I stopped at the Carson Pass Information Center  (to use the bathroom facilities) and we stumbled upon some trail magic - the lovely people at the information center left fresh fruit (apples, watermelon, cuties), cookies, and chips in coolers by the front door for PCT hikers.  It was awesome!  Equally awesome was how good my leg felt after the break - I felt great.

A few miles after leaving the trail magic, I became complacent and foolishly paid more attention to the beautiful scenery than to the trail; This caused me to step into a hole which made my injury more than a little mad.  I stopped, massaged it, and was able to continue.  Alas, a few hours later, I slipped/tripped during a section of the trail that was gravelly, rocky, and downhill (not the best combination for me, obviously) and was unable to mentally overcome the discomfort after that.  It's so so so exhausting to have to pay strict attention to where you step and it really takes away from the whole enjoying nature thing when you are just staring down at the trail.  (Woe is me, right?)

Around noon there was another downer to the day: I took my phone off airplane mode because I couldn't get the Halfmile App to work right and some texts came through.  One of them was from Special K with shocking, horrible news - he said he was off the trail and planning to complete it next year.  I was (and still am) in shock - he can't be off trail!  I spent the rest of the afternoon wondering what happened.  I need to call him.

Then.  Then we met some folks who do trail maintenance and they confirmed that Coppertone was still at the trailhead!  This gave me something to look forward to... Only it seemed to take forever to get there (and the trail was so unforgiving!).  A day hiker saw me at my worst - I was coming down some steep rock steps and wanted to throw my poles to let off some stream... And then I saw Bob.   I apologetically explained my situation and he made me feel a little better (and prevented me from doing something rash and ridiculous).  

When we finally saw Coopertone's sign at the Echo Lake trailhead I cried tears of happiness (I had previously been crying tears of frustration).  I was so happy to see him that I gave him a huge hug.  Nick and I sat and chatted with Coppertone while we ate our reward - Nick had a root beer float, I had ice cream mixed with a banana and chocolate muffin (it horrifies me that I'm eating like this, but the calorie deficit we experience on the trail is crazy and I want to try to stay on top of it).  Coppertone said he was waiting for us to show up (and I think that's partly why he was still there) - I love that man!

Because of my injury, we decided to zero in South Lake Tahoe (we had to pick up a resupply there, anyway).  While I was talking with some section hikers as we made our way highway 50 (from where we were hitching), a truck stopped for the three hikers ahead of us (they had just gotten to the road so I was really surprised!).  Happily, the couple who stopped had room for Nick and me, too.  It turns out their daughter and son-in-law are also hiking the PCT this year (hence the willingness to give us dirty, smelly, disheveled hikers a ride).  They were great! (Their daughter, Legs, is way ahead of us, though).

At the motel, Nick and I showered and did laundry.  Then we walked across the street to get food from the Grocery Outlet, to include ice cream, celery, blueberries, Chinese, chips, beer, milk, and cereal.  (The pre-trail Beth is in shock and denial.)

It's been too long since I slept in a legit bed - I'm excited!!

Along the trail: