We got dropped off around 4:30 pm at the Americas Best Value Inn in Tahoe City and we were able to check in and grab our resupply boxes from the hotel and get everything sorted from them that we would need to hike the next few days. The plan was to get an Uber to Brockway Summit Trailhead and then hike counterclockwise back to Tahoe City, taking two days and then if time permitted continue to hike out of Tahoe City toward Twin Peaks and back as much as possible before out time was up and we had to head over to the ALDHA-West Gathering in Nevada City, CA. Unfortunately all this last bit of planning was to be for nought as I got a call at around midnight local time that my father had passed away suddenly. He had been suffering from some flu and minor pneumonia over the last few days but nothing that was not expected to clear up and I had been getting updates on my Garmin inReach, text and phone when possible, but it seems that he had taken a bad turn that evening. Now it was just changing plans to get home as soon as I could.
There is no direct flight from Reno back to St. Louis it was going to take a full day to arrange flights home, but that was accomplished easily (thanks Southwest) with little else to do in Tahoe City but sit or walk around. We did manage to get packages mailed home and walk around a bit, but the spirit and fun for the trip had now gone, so it was a bit of going through the motions until it was time to return to Reno for the plane. Gary our Uber driver for the last half of the week was fantastic. He actually collected our bags from the Econolodge in SLT that we had left behind to retrieve later and drove them to Tahoe City to get us and then drove us on to Reno so we could catch our planes in the morning. He really went above and beyond to help me get home with as little difficulty as possible. Bobbi also could have stayed and hiked and gone on to the Gathering but decided to cut her time short to support me getting home as soon as possible.
I suspect that one day I will return to finish the eastern portion of the loop, maybe a week or two earlier in September or end of August when the weather might be a bit more stable.
Just a couple of random shots of Tahoe City
and a picture of my Dad a couple of weeks ago.
Ronald D Gulley
March 4, 1937- Sept 23, 2019
That was such a sad moment for you, honey! I wish I could have been there when you heard. Dad wasn't ill when you left, but things didn't go well. He would have understood that you could not get home fast enough. He always enjoyed your pictures in the blogs. He loved you more than you will ever know. Keep hiking!!!
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