PCT Day 86 – PCT Mile 1073.8 to South Lake Tahoe (1091.1)

June 29, 2026

Total PCT miles: 17.3

Non PCT miles: 0.0

Total: 17.3 miles / 27.8 km

Total elevation gain: 2927 ft

Total elevation loss: 3983 ft

Steps: 39899

It was another cold night but not as cold as last night. There was also no wind so I again slept with the door of my tent open. I wasn’t in a huge hurry to start the day and surprisingly I wasn’t overly sore from yesterdays efforts. I waited for the sun to start peaking over the mountains before I headed on my way. Today is a town day but before I get to town to enjoy all it has to offer I have 17.3 miles to hike. Less than ideal as it means I won’t get into town until the late afternoon. But the fact that I will have covered over 75 miles in two full days and 2 partial days of hiking is pretty darn good.

Today started with a climb up and over Carson Pass (9068 ft). Really it was less than 1000ft climb from where I was and I made pretty good time. On the other side I arrived at the Carson Pass Information Centre around 730. The volunteers that work here are amazing and provide trail magic to PCT hikers. I waited for them to open at 8 but one of the volunteers was there early and gave me a can of sprite!2 I was joined by the group I’ve been leapfrogging and a few other hikers here.

The trail from here to South Lake Tahoe is mostly downhill. It starts relatively flat through meadows of wildflowers and eventually joining the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). The PCT and TRT follow the same path for about 50 miles. There were a few spots that provided amazing views of Tahoe – well mostly the lake and the airport far of in the distance.

The last part of my day was a steep 2000 ft decent on my way to the Echo Summit trail head. This was mostly stone steps and you really need to watch out for ankle busting rocks. I passed a few TRT hikers on the way and stop and chatted with Merlot who just got on the PCT as she is starting where she left off.

I arrived at the trail head at around 1400 and managed to get a hitch into town pretty quickly. I was dropped off near the transit centre and immediately spotted the Golden Arches and couldn’t resist.

Tahoe is really spread out But fortunately there is a free bus that takes you from one end of town to the other. But since there was a Big 5 sporting store here I decided to do one of my town chores before going to my hotel. Both my pairs of underwear have some significant holes in them and are now causing some significant discomfort so it’s time they get replaced. They didn’t have much to choose from but hopefully what I got will do the job. At least they had a July 4th 25% off any one item sale!

I hopped on the bus all the way to the other end of town where most of the hotels are. Tahoe borders Nevada and literally a few blocks from me are giant casinos and a lot of other touristic things. So this is where the majority of the hotels are. I splurged a little and got a hotel that has a hot tub because I deserve it. It was also one of the only ones I could find that had laundry on site. Fortunately it also has the most comfortable bed I’ve slept on this entire trip. Unfortunately there is also a full length mirror so I’ve finally had a good look at what Thruhiking and associated weight/muscle loss is doing to my body.

Im hoping I can get my resupply done early tomorrow so I can enjoy at least some relaxation. I don’t see to many zeros in my immediate future. Probably more Nero sandwiches (two Nero’s in a row where you resupply and get out of town faster).