Getting used to wet feet isn’t as hard as you’d think. Eventually, it’s more suprising when your feet are dry. All the river crossings ensure that my feet end wet at night, and are wet in the morning.

However, my time with wet feet should be coming to a close as the Sierras come to a close. I’m in South Lake Tohoe today, taking a zero day with the group that I’ve hiked this last section with. Getting to South Lake Tahoe means the end of the Sierras, and the start of dreaded NorCal.

It feels just like it was just yesterday our big group left Kennedy Meadows South, but today is the last day we’ll be together. We’ve all got different plans and goals (Some have to skip sections due to a time constraint, some will be going faster, etc…) and we all knew that our time together would end, but it’s an odd level of closeness you get with people you spend 30 days with, 24/7. We started almost every day together, and ended almost every night together. I’m sure I’ll continue to see some of them now and then on the trail, but the majority I won’t see again.

Maybe that’s why the “Norcal blues” exists. Hikers normally get depressed in Norcal because after spending a month surrounded by snow, and beautiful mointains and valleys, you’re put into a forest - much of it where previous wildfires have ravaged. And somehow, after more than 80 days of hiking, I’m still in california, and will be for another month. California is huge.

Despite the slight sadness I have for saying goodbye to my friends, I’m also of looking forward to starting the next section. Every day gets me a bit closer to home. I think I’ll appreciate Norcal, though the first few days I might have a tougher time doing so.

Also, I took a day off to see Yosemite. Describing Yosemite in words doesn’t do those mountains justice.

Thanks for being a fan, Noah