July 15

7.15
17 miles, 1138 to 1155 hwy 40 Donner Pass Road
We got a fairly late start this morning, all tired and sore from yesterdays long day.  We hiked about 200 yards down the trail and I saw a sign made out of rocks in the trail reading "look, beth v.".  My mind raced trying to find an explanation of why my name was written in the trail and i looked up to hear "surprise!".  Our friends Mary and Ryan, in cahoots with Emmett and Magui, hiked in to surprise us and spend the day hiking together.  None of us realized how closely we were camped to each other.  They fed us homemade banana bread and trail cooked breakfast sausage and we all headed out to complete the 17 miles to Truckee together.  It was not an easy day, but they all did great, and Clay and I were so happy to have their company.
We hiked up out of the creek valley where we camped passing meadows of sunburnt mules ear and ending up nearly at the top of Squaw Valley ski resort.  We passed under chairlifts winding down and around to gain another ridge for a long walk with beautiful views.  We stopped at another backcountry ski hut, the Benson hut, for a long snack break.  Almost all of the climbing for the day was done, but there were still 6 miles to go and blisters were growing and energy dissipating.  We dropped down the ridge, walked up to the backside of another ski resort, Sugar Bowl and ended the day with a rocky downhill, not the easiest way to finish a long day. We all made it and our friend Claire who lives in Truckee met us at the trailhead with beers!  Magui joined us as we chowed down well deserved burgers.  It was the best 3 days I've had on the trail yet, I had so been looking forward to seeing everybody and it was even better than Id expected.  I don't want to leave but we have a mission to complete, but i have very much looking forward to returning at the end.