Pictures from last post

Having trouble with updating this stupid thing from my phone. The last post got chopped off including all the pictures.

Tahoe update

<p>Hiked into the infamous Donner pass last night and stayed in the wonderful tinkers station hostel (if they only had laundry it would be one of the best trail stops). I'm not too familiar with the Donner party story other than that they ate eachother but all things considered this is the most gentle crossing over the sierra I've seen in a while. The hiking is still gorgeous by most standards but its hard to compete with the incredible beauty of the high sierra I'm leaving. Mentally I'm slowly sailing into the norcal doldrums, I still have 500 of relatively unsenic miles to make it out of California. <br>
Getting back on the trail in Yosemite after 9 days off was much tougher than I had anticipated. I didn't make it any easier by trying to do 5 straight 30 mile days in new shoes on what I later found out is the toughest section on the entire trail. Needles to say my feet quickly transformed into open sore covered instruments of torture and are just now beginning to recover thanks to a new duct taping method I discovered. One nice thing about getting back on after the extended time off is the newness of everything again. The vulnerable feeling of sleeping alone among the nightly noises of the woods without the comfort of a tent, the feeling of accomplishment at the top of a long climb, and the simplicity of dunking a water bottle in an icy mountian stream and gulping down fresh sensations once again. <br>
I also had the best swim yet on the trail. Right at the top of a pass sat a gorgeous glacial lake with a large sunny rock. After a convincing myself I could afford a break and still make my mileage I quickly changed into my birthday suit and dove deep and wide into the crystal blue water. After a few laps I climbed out and dried out on the sunny rock. The light breeze was enough to keep the mosquitos at bay and it was truly one of the best trail experiences so far.
A few nasty trail days remained between me and the buffets of Tahoe. They included tough, windy, and epic ridge walk into sonora pass where a trail angel awaited with cookies and soda =). My