Section 12 - Echo Summit to Donner Pass June 30 12 miles. A pretty, relaxing walk after a day of gastronomic bingeing on the South Lake Tahoe strip. Eric and Mike dropped me off at the Echo Summit Sno Park a little after 1 p.m. and I walked the two remaining miles to Echo Lake. Echo Lake sits in a beautiful granite basin some 1,500 feet above Lake Tahoe. It's the major gateway to Desolation Wilderness and is home to summer cabins and a small resort. The parking lot was filled with the vehicles of dayhikers, fishermen, and families on vacation. I bought a half gallon of orange juice and sent off a couple of last minute e-mails. Just as I was shouldering my pack, Shirt and Packrat drove up with some friends. We chatted for a few minutes before I left and we will probably meet along the trail in the next few days. I hiked up and out of the basin and dropped into large, beautiful Lake Aloha--its half-frozen waters a long way from tropical. The snow-mantled Crystal Range filled the western skyline. After dinner by the lake, I followed the outlet stream out, traversing several smaller lakes along the way. I'm camped tonight on a picturesque but rocky spot under a juniper tree near Lake Gilmore. It's a 3-day walk to Donner Summit and I'm looking forward to spending the 4th of July with Cynthia. July 1 24 miles. It's finally July and after 25 consecutive trail-days on snow I may be nearing the end. The meadows and south slopes are clear and only the shady north slopes above 8,000 feet are still snowed-in. The snowpack is well above normal from the Tahoe Basin all the way to Canada but in another week I'll be down and out of it for many days or weeks to come. I left Desolation Wilderness today after the morning ascent and descent of snowy Dicks Pass (9,400 feet). Dicks also has both a peak and a lake named after him/her but what he/she did to deserve that I have no idea. I followed fresh bear tracks all the way up and over the pass and it's clear that Dicks matters to the bears. I saw another rattlesnake today and I'm still in a state of disbelief. It rattled at me from a grassy knoll--just a few feet from a snowbank--at an elevation of 7,200 feet. In all my years of hiking the Sierra I'd never seen a rattler. Late this morning I came upon fresh tracks in the snow and hurried to catch the owner. I thought it might be another PCTer but instead they belonged to a hiker who had just come up a side trail from Lake Tahoe. "Tom" looked to be about 50 and asked if he could hike with me for a while as he had no map and was not prepared for the snow. I said sure and he followed for some 2 hours until we got through the snow and I stopped at a stream for lunch. We talked and he told me he had hiked the PCT in 1978 when he was in his 20s. He then shared something with me that I'll never forget. He said that he had recently gambled away his life savings of $175,000 and had stopped eating to prepare to die. He said he had screwed up his life and was too old to start over. "Don't feel sorry for me," he said, "I've had a good life." There was no anger or despair in his voice or his eyes. There was just resignation, almost a deep sense of relief, that his "soul was going to a better place" and the end was coming soon. He hadn't eaten in many days and he said he was just going to eat a few candies and drink some water until the end. His only hope was that he'd make it to his 46th birthday in a couple of weeks. He politely refused my offers of food and just smiled when I told him I thought that he was still young and had plenty of time to start over. I didn't know what else to say or do so I packed up to start hiking again. He said he would follow for a while but he soon lagged behind and I didn't see him again. Today will haunt me for a long time. I'm camped tonight on another windy saddle above Barker Pass at 8,200 feet with great views south to the Crystal Range and east down to Lake Tahoe. Tomorrow I should reach Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley ski areas on my way to Donner Summit. July 2 18 Miles. It was the windiest day of the trip. I could barely steer the ship when the wind caught the "sail" on my back. I'm quite sure that some of the gusts over the ridges were at least 50 mph. The wind came up dramatically during the night. My little campsite turned into a wind tunnel and between the roar and the blowing dust I slept little. It's still extremely windy tonight here in a high meadow just below Tinker's Knob though the line of spruce trees blocks all but the highest gusts. After an icy traverse, I crossed into Granite Chief Wilderness Area early this morning. Aside from the howling wind, it was a beautiful hike. I walked the rim above the west side of Lake Tahoe for many miles and had stupendous views of the lake. The trail then ran right over the top of Alpine Meadows Ski Area. I stopped at the top of a run for a snack break. Wild onion plants pushed up where the snow had just receded from the ridgeline. I could see the lodge below and though the lifts were silent the upper runs were still skiable. A few miles later-- after a drop into a valley and a visit with a wilderness ranger--I climbed to near the summit of Squaw Valley Ski Area. I crossed the ridge by Granite Chief and boot skied down a black diamond run called "High Voltage." Like the run at Alpine Meadows, it too was still skiable--at least by a PCT hiker in running shoes. I headed north from Squaw Valley and crossed into the headwaters of the American River. The snow patches I crossed this afternoon will turn to water and flow past Sacramento in a few days. Soon the first crop of summer backpackers appeared: clean, well-fed, and eager to enjoy the 4th of July holiday weekend. It's only 10 miles from here to Interstate 80 at Donner Summit and I'm looking forward to seeing Cynthia. She's meeting me there tomorrow and we'll go to Truckee for a couple of days. A family friend, Betsy Carpenter, is graciously lending us her Truckee home and I suspect that the hot tub will be put to good use.