I don't know if I'm gonna post this video. This hike is terrible. Like, I'm just so fucking
over it. I wish I hadn't done it. Ugh.
My morning started off like any other, excited for my hike and making one of my favorite
breakfasts, which is banana pancakes made with just two eggs and one banana. It kind
of feels like somehow I'm cheating and getting a healthy dessert breakfast.
I found myself in this precarious situation after deciding that I would casually solo-hike
12 miles in the snow to one of the highest peaks around Lake Tahoe. I promise this isn't
my first time trying something like this. I've backpacked solo plenty of times and sometimes
even in the snow. But since I do have a fear of driving and sort of living in the snow,
it was important to me to do this hike alone. I wanted to get to know my surroundings better
near Lake Tahoe where I live, and since hiking is one of my favorite things, I figured this
would be a piece of cake, right? Right?
I just picked up my sandwich. I'm honestly so fucking nervous. I have very little experience
driving in the winter. I've only done it a few times and that's really helped me back
from going hiking this winter, but I have to get over it at some point. So I'm going
up the mountain now.
I made it up the mountain in one piece, but I did observe some ice on the way down and
my head was already off to a rough start, imagining all of the horrible ways that I
might slide off the road on my way back down after the hike. But no matter, I figured I
would just give it a try and see what happened.
The snow was deeper than I thought. The footprints were easy to follow at first, and the hike
that I'd previously done with no problem in September seemed within my reach. I was actually
enjoying the solitude. I loved the way that the snow made patterns on the ground. Everything
seemed to be going pretty nice until it wasn't.
Well, I definitely followed the wrong trail despite my best efforts. I ended up climbing
most of the way up Tamarack Peak, which is up there, before realizing that I just wasn't
on the right trail. So that'll definitely set me back a bit. And I don't know how fucking
long this trail is gonna take me.
I kept trying to find the trail, but every time I did, it seemed way too narrow. My feet
were pitched to the side and even though I was using a GPS, there were so many footprints
in the backcountry trails that I was hopelessly lost.
I think I have found the trail, but it took me about an hour to right that wrong. You
can see here, there's just trails absolutely everywhere, and this is the first trail marker
I've seen in miles. So you just never know if you're going the right way.
I almost climbed another peak. I was wondering why I was, like, climbing so high. I didn't
remember that about this hike. So I'm way behind now. It's about 1:00, four more hours
of daylight and about 4 miles to go. Fuck me.
I don't see, with it as misty as it is. Like, there's supposed to be a mountain up there,
the mountain I was gonna summit. So this is the first hike in my life that I have ever
quit. I have to turn around. It just seems stupid to keep going.
When I decided to make my way back, I got even more lost. I tried to follow the path
of least resistance, but then I realized that I would have to climb a nearly vertical hill
to get back up to the parking lot.
I don't know if I'm gonna post this video, but this hike is terrible. My feet kept getting,
like, forced in so many different directions and making, like, no progress. It's getting
dark. I'm just so fucking over it. I wish I hadn't done it. Ugh.
I keep... Oh, it's so hard to keep track of the trail. I keep falling and my feet are,
like, pitched this way and, like, it's really hard for me to tell where I'm supposed to
be going because there's so many social trails from the backcountry ski lines. And so yeah,
it's just impossible to tell where I'm supposed to go and I'm trying to track it on both maps.me
and AllTrails, but it still just seems like too narrow in parts and very deep. I don't
know. I'm gonna take a little break at this waterfall and see how I feel.
I was, like, hating everything a few minutes ago, but now it's beautiful.
I don't think I've ever been so happy to see this guy.
All right. Well, that's not exactly how I thought it was gonna go. Maybe I'm insane
for thinking I could just casually hike one of the tallest mountains in the area in winter.
I just... People do it so I thought I could do it too and I can. So it was just not how
I thought it was gonna go today, but I still saw a beautiful sunset, got home safely, didn't
have to worry about too much ice. The road had mostly dried. The videos on this channel
are usually not this dramatic. I'm usually successful when I hike, but I'm just really
not very experienced with winter and I'm doing my best. So I'm gonna keep going and keep
putting videos up of solo hiking and there's more for you to watch. So I hope that you
enjoy and I'll see you all next week.