Today I failed to replace my crappy smartphone battery - I took the bus over to Tech Tahoe. I should have called earlier, but we left our room before they were supposed to open, so I figured I’ll just get there and hope for the best. Big mistake. At first, I got off at the wrong station, and had to walk another mile. No biggy. Then, the store was closed. There was a number to reach them, on the door. I called and got to a voice mail. Then my battery died (I Told you it was crappy), and I waited there for another hour before giving up.

The letters we got from a Helen's class.
The letters we got from a Helen's class.

I went over to the Radio Shack, but they didn’t know anything about replacing Nexus 4 batteries. I did buy a decent new pair of earphones, and a new charging cable for my phone. So that’s good.

When I went back on the bus to the motel, I met Curry. She was heading to the same motel, so we got here together. I had some time to relax in the room, so I read all the nice letters I got from Helen’s class. They are very touching. I will have them with me when I finish the trail, and send them a photo with the letters from wherever it will be (hopefully - Canada).

After Curry settled down and had a shower we went out for lunch, calling Idan and asking him if he is getting back soon. He was at the outfitter and post office since the morning, getting his packages from his parents, and the used puffy jacket he just bought from someone online.

Until Idan got back we had some fries at Big Daddy’s Burgers, and drank a beer. Then we all went over to a Mexican place and had a very good burrito. At least the day was not all wasted.

I also finally got hold of Tech Tahoe on the phone, and the guy said they don’t currently have a suitable battery for me, and that I should try calling Alpine Computers. I called them, and they didn’t have a battery as well. Maybe I will be able to replace it in Ashland. Maybe not.

Back at the room we made two packages, and took the bus again to “the Y”, to send them over with UPS from the Staples store. That took a while.

After getting back we just had our leftover pizza from last night, together with a nice coconut milk yogurt Curry bought, and my traditional Campbell Creamy Tomato Soup. We also had a lot of delicious cherries (thanks again - Curry!)

Idan bought over a can of Permethrin he found in the hiker box, so I’m going to spray out over my clothes now (not while wearing them). It’s supposed to repel mosquitoes. I hope it works well.

We still have some packages to send tomorrow morning from the post office. So I guess we will leave town not too early. Next stop would be Truckee, in about 4 hiking days.