Day 64: Work Hard, Play Hard
July 3, 2015
Carson Pass – Reno/Tahoe (1078.7)
0 miles today
1123.2 miles total
Today’s Elevation Gain/Loss: + 0 ft, – 0 ft
Today was good for the soul. Pickles and I woke this morning and indulged once again in our hotel’s delicious breakfast before heading back to the room and diving into the massive project that is rationing. We were supposed to be out of the room by noon, but fortunately got an extension until 2pm so that we could finish our project. We still felt the time crunch and worked in a feverish flurry right up until we pushed our last luggage out of the room at 1:58pm. This morning’s project can not be explained in words. It is one of those experiences that I desperately wish had somehow been recorded because without seeing it for yourself, there is no way to understand all that we did to make it happen. Pickles and I pushed our teamwork skills to the limit, barely exchanging words and instead using intuition and non-verbal cues to split up the work and get the rations packaged just how we wanted them. At one point food, cardboard boxes, and plastic bags covered every inch of the floor, and hours later it looked as if nothing had happened at all. Our rations are now completely boxed up, with the appropriate number of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners and all the variety we could muster.
We left the hotel with Mama Bear and after making one stop at REI we were treated to a tasty, and slow paced, lunch at a great sports bar in South Reno. From there we drove up the mountain to begin the long-awaited “play” portion of our 4th of July weekend.
Nearly all of our closest friends have come up to Tahoe for the 4th of July weekend and we had such an incredible evening reconnecting and catching up with all our favorite people. Also, my maid of honor in our upcoming wedding, Laura, was wonderful enough to plan a bridal shower for me this weekend so tomorrow I’ll get to see all the girls together and enjoy some bride-to-be time. This afternoon we made 3 stops. First we unloaded some of our stuff at Laura’s mom’s house (where we are staying the next couple nights), then headed over to our friend Meghan’s house for a get-together, and then made our way to Kings Beach for a 4th of July tradition, a huge party on the lake at my friend Erin’s parents’ house.
Besides the pure enjoyment that comes from seeing old friends, eating, and drinking, one the this afternoon’s highlights was learning that so many friends and their families have been following this blog and actually knew quite a lot about our PCT adventure. Everyone had great questions, inspiring words of encouragement, and kind words of praise for the blog, which was huge motivation for me to get back out on the trail when Monday rolls around and continue to keep up on this blog.
By the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing and my feet hurt almost as bad as they do at the end of a day of hiking. We rolled home by 11pm, the fireworks, good conversations, cooing of babies, and tastes of homemade treats already forming into lifelong memories in our grateful, sleepy minds.
Today was an important reminder for me of all I have to come home to when we complete this hike. It feels so good to be home, and as much as we love the trail, it is nice to know that there is still so much to look forward to after we reach Canada.
