Tuesday September 24, 23.1mi/37.2km

Heavenly’s Galaxy Ski Lift (108.5/8087ft) to Vista over Spooner Summit (129.2/7579ft) (NV) +1.4 food +1.0 water

The morning wasn’t cold, surprisingly.

I had a later start, since I slept so well in that campsite. I packed up and said goodbye to the ski lift. The trail markers were in some surprising places today, mostly embedded in huge rocks.

After an hour, I split off from the trail to go get some more food. A 0.7 mile detour led me to a convenience store, where I restocked my food bag for the final three days of this hike.

And then I hit the BBQ restaurant next door, Fox and Hounds, for a huge breakfast burrito.

I was back on trail by 10:30am, and it was nice and warm. Some of the trail junctions are definitely good reminders that I’m in Nevada now – lucky 7’s!

I walked most of the afternoon on a winding ridge top trail, with frequent views of the lake.

This section of trail is extremely dry, so I was carrying two liters of water, which I almost never do. But I could see billions (trillions?) of gallons of water below me!

Of course, there were more random boulders today too.

I had a nice break at the top of the ridge, at a spot where someone donated a bench.

After eating an entire bag of M&Ms, I strolled downhill for 5mi/8km to Hwy50 and Spooner Summit.

There was no water on the trail, so I took a half mile detour to Spooner Lake to refill. I decided that I wasnt carrying extra water for dinner up the hill, so I made my pasta by the lake.

I ate quickly, as it was already 6pm, and I wanted to go two more miles to a camp spot. I made it just after sunset!