Tahoe to Sierra City

7/16: After spending three and a half days with our loved ones, leaving Tahoe was really tough. We lacked any motivation to hike because our bodies had gone into recovery mode over the break, everything feeling stiff and fatigued, and we were feeling particularly home sick. We only made it three miles before our first extended break. After pushing ourselves another six miles, we convinced ourselves that we needed a three hour siesta at Aloha Lake. In order to keep ourselves from setting up camp right then and there, we decided to start summiting Dicks Pass to force us to hike at least six more miles. The bare minimum was exactly what we accomplished that day for our first day back on trail. We camped that night at Dicks Lake, mile 1109.5. At least we didn't have to carry those dreaded bear canisters anymore.
7/17: To make up for our poor performance, we decided to hike 28 miles. Since our low mile day wore us out the day before, we didn't break down camp until 8:30am, forcing us to night hike later that night. With Golden Boy ahead of her unable to hear any potential screams, Explagrance had horrific visions of a mountain lion tearing her limb from limb. She made it to camp alive and intact.
7/18: The next 25 miles, we experienced quite a bit of unexpected magic. When we arrived at Donner Pass, named for the emigrating Donner Party famous for their cannibalism, we found warm Rolling Rocks in the hiker box. As we were passing a major highway only a couple miles from town, Explagrance tried to have Pizza delivered to the rest stop to go with the beer; however, she was shot down by three different companies. Taking our road sodas, we hiked five miles from highway 40 to highway 80, where we discovered real sodas beneath the overpass. We hung out at the rest stop making phone calls when Rainmaker showed up and told us where to meet the rest of the crew. Explagrance insisted upon taking a hobo bath in the restroom sink before hiking out, feeling like true hiker trash for the first time when she received a very nasty look from a traveler trying to use the bathroom. We both sped through four miles in an hour to meet up with our group at Grubb Hut, a creepy public use house that resembles an old farm house's cellar with ropes and tools hanging from the walls and ceiling. After sharing wine that Rainmaker packed out, Golden Boy slept with a sledge hammer by his side to protect the girls from the axe murderer they expected to break down the door.
The next two days, we worked toward getting to Sierra City where Rainmaker and her parents intended to host more trail magic. Our first stop in Sierra City was the General Store for milkshakes and pizza made with fresh fruits and vegetables from their garden. It was the best pizza we have had on trail! To escape from the hundred degree heat, we hung out at the Red Moose Inn drinking and socializing. We ate a pint of ice cream while we waited to be seated for dinner at the local Garden Restaurant. Although Golden Boy decided to retire early that night, Explagrance went for an ice moonlight swim with Chops and Solstice. Even though we had intended to hike out he following morning, we got sucked in to town; Golden Boy worked on troubleshooting his iPod while Explagrance hung out at the river with a group of ten other hiker trash. Because we were working on updating our blog, we missed the last shuttle to Rainmaker's magic and were forced to walk the two miles to the campground. We shared free food, drinks, and laughs with our fellow hikers and cowboy camped under the stars.