We are here! Emily and I arrived in South Lake Tahoe this afternoon to do some final prep and get acclimatized before we head out in the morning. However, our adventure began before we even got here! About 15 miles outside of Tahoe we got our first opportunity to pay back some hitch hiking karma by picking up a female mountain biker in need. She had taken a big fall and was lost and disoriented, so we scooped her up and helped her get her bearings back before dropping her off with some locals. We have a lot more paying back to do, but it was a start!
We then arrived at our hotel for the night and quickly got the last of our food and gear organized. This was made a lot easier because we had been given a free upgrade to a suite with a separate sitting room and kitchen! We enjoyed the sitting room by doing Emily’s pre-race and pre-trail tradition- painting our toenails to increase our speed and stamina. It is scientifically proven. Try it.
Then we grabbed a bite at Stateline Brewery, known for its play on the “Keep Tahoe Blue” bumper stickers. The food was good and the beer was even better. We finished the night off with some sweets from the Nestle Tollhouse Bakery in town- something I couldn’t possibly miss out on! Now it is off to sleep so we can send our drop off in the AM and then hit the trail.