May 22 | SOBO Miles 1197 - 1217

Waking up in the cabin to the smell of mold and rodent excrement, we remembered our twist of fate and counted our blessings for the gift of shelter.

It took us a while to get motivated, get our soggy shoes on, and thrust ourselves once more into the snow, but we did it. 

This morning was a tough one–quite possibly the hardest one I’ve had out here. Miles of postholing and trail-finding (and breaking, as usual) took a toll on my physical and emotional state. But it was the morning’s big climb that did me in.

A guy in snowshoes had forged a path that we followed up and down a ridge, through the forest, and all the way up to our high point for the day. Only he had taken an extremely steep and strenuous route that required us to match his long gait if we wanted to step on packed snow and avoid sinking 3 feet deep. Nevertheless, every fourth step or so, one of my feet would plunge in, the icy layer atop the snow slicing into my ankles like a million tiny razor blades. The wind ripped across the ridge as we climbed, threatening my balance and the structural integrity of my trekking poles as I braced myself forcefully with each step. My feet were completely numb all the way to mid-calf before 9AM.

Miles and miles of uninterrupted snow later, we found the holy grail: respite in the form of a dry, sunny spot alongside the road. We dried our gear (properly this time) and cameled up on water as we hadn’t seen any in its liquid form all morning. We missed our old friend The Sun, and basked in his warmth for an hour or so as I reaped a bit more charge with my solar panel.

The rest of the afternoon was small pennies in comparison. As it drizzled on and off, we all reminisced on the morning’s ordeal and agreed how bleak it was. We did meet two couples heading Northbound and seized the opportunity not only to warn them of the snow but also the advertise the cabin. NorCal’s hottest new luxury vacation rental. It saved our lives!! Again, today was not our day to go.

Camp for the night is a dry spot on a dirt road. We arrived just in time to catch a stellar sunset. An unexpectedly beautiful way to end a grueling 48 hours of inclement weather.