Ashley and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary. We thought about what to do for a trip. We decided to conquer the 162 mile Tahoe Rim Trail (abbreviated TRT throughout this post). We hike a ton as a family and come into contact with many people completing the 2,200 mile Pacific Crest Trail. I think Ashley and I are both intrigued about hiking from Mexico to Canada one of these days, but for now we thought 165 would be a good introduction to long range hiking and give us a better understanding of the Tahoe Area.
THANK YOU Curt and Colleen for watching the kids so Ashley and I could give this a shot. Also, August 14th was our official anniversary, but since school started on the 15th, we had to take our anniversary trip a little early.
Ashley and I ordered "Tahoe Rim Trail Official Guide Book" by Tim Hauserman. We both read it as well as some blogs. We read the book before we went then reread the next section every night. I also had a good map and we compared the book to the map. I felt we were pretty prepared for the hike.
Preparing for the hike was a daunting task. We had to determine the distance we could travel and the food we would need. It's difficult to know how far you can hike when you can't really train. The kids can do a 5 mile hike with some effort, so I had to assume we could do quite a bit more than that. I looked at the map and made my best guess on where we could make it. Setting up our resupplies in Kingsbury and Echo Summit were important. We also had to plan our menu and shop for food. Water was also a big concern as we would go long stretches without a water source. We made the best plan we could and hoped everything would work out.
I'm not sure what my expectations were for the hike. I knew it would be physically challenging. I hoped that we would be successful and that we would see some beautiful places. I had only been on one backpacking trip before this. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to complete my goal and excited for the experience.
Saturday Morning!! The two adventurers at the first trail head - Tahoe Meadows/Mount Rose.
The hike got off to a bad beginning. About 1/2 mile in I had to get something out of Ashley's backpack. I noticed her pack was really slack. Turns out her sleeping bag had fallen out somewhere along the line! Good thing we realized it .5 miles in and not 5 miles in. I figured it was just behind us and Ashley walked back to find it. Looking back, Ashley should have taken her pack off and run back to find it and I should have sat with both packs. I proceeded at a slow pace. Ashley went all the way back to the car and still couldn't find it. She found it on the way back. Here is a picture of her walking to catch up. I apologize - I didn't think she would have to walk so far.
I couldn't believe I had lost my sleeping bag. I'm so lucky I discovered the flaw in my system after the first 1/2 mile. It would have been disaster to lose it anywhere else. I went all the way back to the car without finding it. Retracing my steps I found it had fallen to the side of the trail at the first switchback and was under some brush. It was one of the few tense moments we had on the trail. I got in an extra mile on the hike that day! My pack also got adjusted to prevent future mishaps.
Washoe Lake and Washoe Valley below. The first two days the smoke from the fires in Big Sur really hurt our views. Its too bad that we did the hike and some of the spectacular views were obstructed.
First Break - Take your shoes off and sit on the ski lift of Diamond Peak - 5 miles in.
Top of Diamond Peak - looking at the white trail map. It almost made you cold to think about the mountain during winter. Still a few months away.
The TRT Book said "Twin Lakes" may be dry by end of summer. It was supposed to be below, but was dried up a long time ago. Thank goodness we didn't plan that as a water resupply.
If I were to pick my least favorite thing on the trip, it would be the mountain bikers. Most were courteous, a few would sneak right up behind me and scare me into jumping off the trail. We had to stop and wait for countless bikers on this first day since we started at a very popular biking trailhead at a very popular time.
Something cool that we spotted the first day was a funny bird sitting in the top of a pine tree and pecking at a pine cone. We saw many of these birds throughout the trip. They are Clark's Nutcrackers and are in the same family as crows and jays so they must be smart. They seemed to be curious about us as well. I remember one individual flying from tree to tree as we walked and I wondered if he was following us in hopes of a treat. Guide to the Sierra book says they hide pine cone seeds on the sides of slopes and retrieve them during times of famine. They forget where they put some of them obviously and it helps spread the trees.
Marlette Lake to the left and Tahoe to the right.
We took a 1.6 mile diversion to "Christopher's Loop." The TRT book stated it was the best view of the lake available and your jaw would "drop." That is Sand Harbor below where we usually swim. Unfortunately, the smoke obstructed the view big time, but the view was spectacular regardless. Would love to see it on a clear day!
My fear of heights had me too scared to really enjoy the few but I'm glad I was brave enough to take a peek. I'll never look at the mountain behind Sand Harbor the same again.
Our first family of "sooty" grouse. We jumped a mom and her three babies. They were not too concerned by us.
First night we had to camp at Marlette Peak Campground. This was the only place on the whole TRT where you had to camp in a campground - not choose your location. It was a really nice campground with picnic tables and bear boxes. There was also a well that pumped clean, cold water for us to bathe, clean clothes and recharge. Pretty amazing - day one was 15 miles and we were worn out, at times we didn't even think we were going to make it to the campground.
We were glad to get water - we had carried 10 liters of water from home and used almost all of it on the hot, sweaty 15 mile day. Thanks to the well at this campground, we got our fill of potable water for the next dry stretch. I was also excited about the vault toilet in the campground. It's not too fun to have to find private places in the woods to use the bathroom! The first few days we were in a very well visited part of the trail and so we had restrooms and didn't have to filter water.
Day 2 - Ashley asked me to hold up a "2" so we would know what day it was for the pictures, but then she didn't ask me to do it any of the other days.
We actually cut down and left the TRT for a minute. From Marlette Peak Campground we went down to Spooner Lake State Park. There is no water from Marlette Peak Campground to Kingsbury Grade - about 30 miles, so we hiked down to the State Park to get water then back up the US50 to Spooner Summit Trailhead. I don't think it saved much distance, but did save a big ascent over Snow Valley Peak.
The road we took to Spooner Lake was wide and the morning was cool. It was a gentle downhill and was a great relief after the hot ascents of the previous afternoon. I was surprised by how little wildlife we saw on the hike, but one of the memorable sightings were a couple of deer that we came across in the middle of this dirt road. I felt great and we held a (relatively) fast pace.
Marlette Lake, never been there. Its only open to fishing from July-September and you can only use flies and lures. All catch and release. Supposedly huge trout, but we don't have Nevada licenses, so no fishing for us.
Smith Cabin
Below Spooner Lake Dam. We have hiked around Spooner Lake a dozen times, but have never been below the Dam. A different view
Made it from Marlette Peak Campground to Spooner Lake State Park - under my arm there is a "Help Marker 0." We had been counting down each mile from "Help Marker 8."
Leaving the state park and walking around Spooner Lake to join back up with the TRT at Spooner Summit.
Back on the Trail - The problem with the TRT is it is not 17 miles of hiking across Nebraska. Its mountain pass to mountain peak to mountain pass. Gaining and losing more than 4,000 feet per day. We started at Spooner Lake - elevation 7,000 and had to go to Genoa Peak around elevation 8,800. We only made it to Genoa Peak Road, but 3 miles and 1,800 feet of elevation gain.
Taking a rest almost to the top of the ascent. Ashley is wearing her hiking boots - this is the last day she was able to do this. Her feet swelled up so big, she could no longer fit her boots on. I thought she was going to have to drop out, but she brought some Tevas (sandals) and wore those the rest of the 8 days - that's tough hiking!
Finally done with the ascent, what could have been awesome views obstructed by the smoke.
The views were spectacular even with the smoke!
The mountain obstructed by smoke is East Peak (highest point in Douglas County) and home to Heavenly Ski Resort. We had to be well past that the next day. At this point I could not fathom how we were going to get that far by tomorrow?
Genoa Peak in the background. That was our goal for this day!
Ashley cooking an awesome dinner of Spam and Mac & Cheese! Sad thing is it really hit the spot. Really anything hit the spot, but you need to fill up and get your protein.
This was the only night we didn't camp near water. I was so tired I didn't care. The first few nights we were in the tent and asleep before dark. It is hard work climbing mountains!
Luckily it was only the first two nights (on the dry side), but when you put up the rain fly, all the flies in the area immediately flew underneath it and got stuck. At night when temperatures dropped they mostly went dormant, but it was bad for the first two nights.
Nothing like going to sleep and waking up to a million flies buzzing in your space.
When I woke up the next morning and put on my boots, I was concerned. My ankles felt bruised and swollen. As soon as we started hiking, sharp shooting pains went through my legs. It was unbearable I didn't know how I was going to make it to the road. I decided to try hiking for awhile in my Tevas. My feet were so swollen that they had outgrown my boots. The sandals brought instant relief and I was able to hike comfortably to Kingsbury grade. I assumed at that point that I would return to my boots after giving my feet a break.
Finally, made it to Kingsbury Grade!!!
We walked several miles along the road which was not as pleasant as the trail; it was hot and unforgiving on the feet. I felt a little like a vagrant walking through the residential streets. After what seemed like a long time we finally made it to the 207 and were close to our resupply and a yummy lunch. It was one last push up the hill to Daggett Summit and then we were able to take a little rest out of the sun.
This is our neck of the woods - I wanted Ashley to take a picture of the "Daggett Summit Elevation 7,375." Ashley didn't want to backtrack and said you could read the sign from this angle?
First Resupply! Our building inspector, Lamont, is assigned to Tahoe. I gave him our next 3 days food at work on Friday. Now Monday he fit us in between inspections and drop off our food. We had to get off the trail and onto the roads to be "visible" for a few hours. Lamont was able to find us and get us our food so we could keep going. It was a moment that "if I am going to back out, this is one of the last opportunities." With Ashley's feet, in the morning we thought it might be it for her, but she kept going.
We made it to "Fox and Hound," a BBQ place on Kingsbury!!! It was awesome! Only on the trail for 2.5 days, but it felt like a while. We smelled bad I am sure, but we got a table in the corner and stayed there for an hour eating and going through our resupplies. The waitress did a great job keeping up refilled and had great use of their facilities to refill water. Took off our shoes and propped our feet up.
Large - ICE COLD - Diet Cokes
Appitizers - Loaded Potato Skins (Sorry Dad, I know you hate photos of food, but this was worth documenting for posterity!).
I had "Pig on Cow" It was a burger with a piece of ham, pulled pork and bacon on it! Even with this meal, I lost 10 lbs in 10 days on the trail. Talk about a crash diet. I think I will just do this every year to keep things in check (next year 250 mile John Muir Wilderness Trail). Ashley went with the fish tacos.
We were also able to stop next door at the little tramway market and pick up a few essentials like bandaids and ice cream sandwiches. I also enjoyed the flushing toilets and the real soap.
All good things must come to an end. This is the Kingsbury South trail head at the "Stagecoach" lift at Heavenly.
Some of the runs of Heavenly in the background
Passing "Galaxy Lift"
Large White Pine
The picture doesn't do this tree justice. It was amazing!
These are "mortars" they were used by Washoe Indians to grind pinenuts. The Washoe collected Pinenuts in the winter east of Carson Valley and then went to Tahoe in the summer. We saw a few of these, but some larger ones in the Big Meadow area on the south shore.
7,200 feet at the base of Stagecoach lift up to 8,800 feet at a pass just south of Monument Peak. Killer Climb.
This ascent was especially difficult for me. I felt sluggish and my right heel started to bother me. It was hot and if it wasn't for the boost I had just had in Kingsbury it would have been a rough afternoon. I took it slow and after a break with my feet up was able to get back in the groove. It's a good thing too - one of our most difficult ascents was ahead. We went along a cliff and then up multiple granite steps. The view of Carson Valley (where we live) was the highlight of the climb.
After the ascent we still had a few miles to reach Star Lake. We had a solar charger and a couple of batteries that we carried with us to keep the phones/GPS charged up. It became an obsession to keep my pack (with the solar panels) in the sun during breaks.
Like the dirt lines on Ashley's legs after a day of hiking?
Star Lake in the background. Our "clean" clothes strewn about, making dinner. Beautiful site! Thats the one regret - no time to fish. You get in late, clean your clothes, set up camp, clean yourself, cook dinner. To late to get the fishing stuff out.
This lake was so beautiful. We had been through a long dry stretch and the lake was a gem. Just before dark I went down to the lake to rinse out my handkerchief and saw the peak still lit by the setting sun. The water was reflecting the beautiful craggy cliffs and pines and there were bats swooping right by my head to catch insects off of the surface. I had to go back to get Erik so we could enjoy this little piece of heaven together. It was breathtaking.
Star Lake was also our first time filtering our own water to drink. I love our filtration system - it is fast and is gravity driven. I gained a new appreciation for our easy access to water. It is such a blessing to have potable water right in your kitchen!
Jobs Peak, visible from Carson Valley and just to the backside Star Lake. Tons of trout jumping, but no time.
This picture was taken by a kind TRTA volunteer. They were working on a trail improvment project up at Star Lake. I'm so grateful for all the volunteers who work hard to build, improve and maintain this trail.
A look onto the south side of Lake Tahoe. The smoke cleared out a little bit to give us some better views day 3.
TRT book told us don't bother with Star Lake water, a great source of water was "Clear Creek" a mile away. The Star Lake water seemed fine to us, but when we did find Clear Creek (out of no where), the water was cold, clean and clear.
Getting up past the snow and tree line. It was a good ascent first thing in the morning - 9,100 on Star Lake to 9720 at the pass.
The geology was interesting with lots of white and rose quartz.
Great Views - No Smoke
Screen shot of Ashley's phone - 9720 - this is the high point of the trail. It is kind of laughable - our mountains are not very high. Passes in Utah and Colorado hit 12,000 feet. We never got above 10,000.
Top of the pass
At this high point there were some signs telling us to watch for Tahoe draba. This is a rare and endangered plant found only around Tahoe. I've heard of it before but I'm not sure that I could tell it from the other yellow scrubby plants that grow at high elevation
At this point, we got off the dry east slope and things got wetter. No longer long stretches without water. Springs and creeks became common. We missed peak wildflower season, but still many meadows over the next few days full of flowers. Both Ashley and I were impressed by the bees - always working, going crazy in their short season
This was our view the whole 10 days. It never rained. Not only did it not rain, we did not have one day of significant cloud coverage. The first 7 nights, we did not sleep with our sleeping bags pulled up all the way because it was too warm. The last 2 nights it was a little cold, but not bad. I never put on my jacket that I brought and only wore my vest a few times.
Backside - This is the junction of Highway 88 & 89. There is a stream way down below, Willow Creek that I frequently fish.
Lunch spot for the day. You can buy a 1 serving Tuna Fish packet that are interesting flavors; Lemon Pepper, Ranch, Hot Buffalo, Hickory Smoked, etc. I ate one pack on a bagel every lunch with some dried apricots. Ashley did the same except Ritz Crackers instead of bagels. It wound up being a good lunch.
Meadows with wildflowers - Kind of hard for the camera to pick up the colors
More mortars
We don't live in the Redwood forest, but we do have some really impressive trees.
Toward the end of Day 3 - 9,700 down to Armstrong pass at 8,600 then back up to 9,400 feet then down to Big Meadow Trailhead at 7,300. Uphill takes your breath away, downhill jars your joints and gives you blisters and there is no such thing as flat. Every step is difficult.
We found a beautiful place to take a break and filter water. There was a solid bridge crossing a clear stream. At this point I was no longer worried about staying clean and the ground was a great place to sit and put my feet up. We saw very few people this day, but we did visit with a couple of equestrians who crossed this bridge while we were waiting for our gravity filter to do its work.
Made it to Big Meadow Trail Head. To be honest, I was done for the day - 14 miles. I had nothing left, the tank was empty. We were supposed to go to Round Lake 2.6 miles away and a climb back up to 8,000 feet. Ashley led the charge, she kept us going.
Big Meadow is aptly named. It was flat though the meadow.
Interesting geology in the area. The TRT book says they were due to Volcanic Mud Flows. I felt like Indiana Jones in South America. I am sure there were Gnomes and Trolls hiding in these rock formations. To quote Liv, it was a "spooky forest."
Top of this rock, you could see the "mud flow"
We made it to Round Lake completely beat up. This was the first night I used Ibuprofen, and I used it the rest of the time. That was a rough day.
Round Lake was dirtier than Star Lake. Still tons of fish jumping, but it was not as pleasant. Also, the worst night for mosquitoes of the trip.
Next morning, we had some silty Round Lake water with us if we needed to filter it. Found this stream a few hundred yards away from the lake. Amazing clean, clear, cold water.
Out of Round Lake we entered Meiss Meadows, which still has the original Meiss Family cabin. Beautiful location with the Upper Truckee River running through the meadow. Here we joined with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for those going from Mexico to Canada. The Upper Truckee River was full of trout, but again, no time had to keep hiking.
We only saw a few PCT through hikers. We ran into one old guy (70?) who had made it 1200 miles from Mexico. He was only holding 10 miles a day. Looking at the calendar, not sure how he was going to make it to Canada when temperatures were starting to hit the upper 30s at night?
Upper Truckee
Panoramic view of Showers Lake - another place to get some water - beautiful lake after beautiful lake
Ashley made it above the snow line!
Its hard when your eye follows the trail and you see that you have to go from where you are to above the ridge ahead. One step at a time!
Great story. Ashley and I stopped and ate lunch and a group of three female hikers walked passed. We must have looked pathetic, because they gave us their freshly baked white chocolate brownies and chocolate chip cookies! I think they thought we were PCT through hikers and not just day 3 TRT hikers. Ashley and I devoured the offering. Another morale boost. At the time, I was questioning my ability to complete the hike.
We actually got a little greedy with our water and almost ran out. I remember looking at a "bowl" on the contour map with a lake at the bottom. I wondered if there would be a stream feeding the lake. Sure enough, we came across this stream, which doesn't look like much, but it was enough to fill our containers (Ashley and I had the ability to carry 10 liters between us max fill).
The TRT book said we would come across Thimbleberries during this section of trail. We had just become familiar with thimbleberries during our Oregon Trip where they grew all over the place. We had never seen thimbleberries in the Tahoe area. Sure enough, but they were not ripe enough to eat. We did find some on the north shore that were edible. We have learned that "compound berries" (like raspberries and blackberries) are generally safe to eat.
Above Echo Summit we received another resupply from Ashley's friends Tim and Angi. We took no picture which was lame. Tim met us on his motorcycle in the parking lot of Adventure Mountain, a winter tubing park. It was late 5:00 and Tim brought us some awesome burritos and Diet Coke. You cannot camp along Echo Lakes, you have to make it to Desolation Wilderness. We had gone 13 hard miles already and it was 6:00 by the time we ate our dinner, packed away our resupply and visited with Tim (he taught wilderness survival in the Air Force for 6 years - he had some good insights). We had a choice haul butt past Echo Lakes to keep our schedule or camp for the night.
Fueled by burritos and diet Coke Ashley and I flew!! We were in the hiking zone. Unbelievable.
Dam at lower Echo Lakes
Trail head
Getting There
Getting There - Its getting dark, you can see Upper Echo Lake and Lower Echo Lake below. We are getting where we need to be
We are approaching Desolation Wilderness - this was my 2nd time along this stretch, so I was somewhat familiar, but it is an area in Tahoe where Ashley had never explored. Its so beautiful, this is where I would take someone if they said "Show me a representative section of the Sierra Nevadas" Still, no time to gawk, we still need to find a campsite and get everything up before night time.
Made it to Desolation - we can officially camp!
Even better, we found a spot by Tamarack Lake, the lowest Lake in Desolation - wonderful.
On the trail trying some new snacks. They were pretty good. Our family eats way too much spam. We might as well be Polynesian.
Now is the crown Jewel of the hike. Lake Aloha! I love this lake. Large, clean, cold, above the treeline. Hundreds of tiny islands in crystal clear water. The mountains behind are called the "Crystal Range." I wish everyone could have the opportunity to visit this lake.
In the scriptures there are multiple records of people having spiritual experiences on top of mountains. It's not hard to understand why this happens when you visit a place like the Desolation wilderness. One of the reasons I love hiking is that I often feel a deep connection with God and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for this beautiful earth, for my body that can carry me to wonderful places, and for the people that travel with me in this life. On this particular day I was overcome with emotion. Pictures cannot capture the stark beauty of this place. My words can't encapsulate the experience. Tears filled my eyes again and again as I marveled at the majesty of the view. I'm so thankful that I was able to visit this place and to be touched so deeply by its grandeur.
Ashley and I ate lunch on the shores and took some time to swim.
Its amazing the water in this lake.
You might as well be in a glass bottom boat, because you can see the bottom as if there was no water in the way.
I wanted to jump in. My last time in Desolation I swam in a few of the lakes below Lake Aloha, but last time I also packed in a wetsuit and snorkel and mask. This time I did not have any protection and I knew the lake was going to be cold. Rewatching the video, I let out a "Meh" right before jumping in which expresses my enthusiasm for the plunge which was about to take place.
Through the week, our feet got progressively worse. This was about two days before this blister broke and it got much bigger. You are walking and you feel a warm rush of goo in your boot and you think "well - I guess it finally went."
Ashley's foot - notice how swollen her ankles are? No hiking boots
I had Ashley take this one because I thought the lone tree in the background would make a great Christmas Tree. Its hard life at this elevation and obviously the wind is prevalent in one direction.
Erik above the snow line
I am retrieving water from a creek coming out of Gilmore Lake. This was preparing yourself for torture. We had to go up Dick's Pass - 7,700 feet up to 9,400 feet in two miles.
Getting up the pass
Crystal Range in the back along with Heather Lake
Not to the top, but able to see Dick's Lake and Fontallis Lake on the opposite side. Ashley captured a photograph of a Marmot running away from us. Marmots are really cool. They live on the open rock slopes at really high elevations. They are also called "Whistle Pigs." Not sure why I like them so much, they are just big squirrels, but I get a kick out of seeing them. I think its just because of the harsh conditions they live under.
Significant quantities of snow at 9,400 feet
Lots of snow - not lots of trees or plants. You can see forever. Ever been to the top of the World??? Ashley and I have.
We camped at the Dicks Lake outlet stream. Tons and tons of fish jumping. After bathing, cleaning clothes, setting up camp, cooking dinner there was about 20 minutes of light left. I put together the fly rod and Ashley hit a fish she had been watching. It got dark and we did not have enough time to catch another one. This wound up being the only fish of the trip.
At this point I was certain we were going to be able to finish the hike. We had kept our schedule for five days and were in good shape.
I was surprised at the number of people staying at Dick's Lake. I had assumed since it was hard to access it would be empty. We had a hard time finding a spot to camp and had to listen to lots of neighbors after dark.
Look at us, we are "puff faces" waking up in the morning.
Opposite side of Fontallis Lake looking back as Dicks Pass. How many beautiful lakes can be located so close together?
Finally, coming out the other side of Desolation Wilderness. Too bad as Desolation is known to be the best part of the hike.
We stopped at Richardson Lake to do some laundry and wait out the hot part of the day. I'm becoming a lake snob and I was not about to get into the muddy bottomed lake so I relaxed on the shore. Erik decided to swim and wash off and he paid the price. He lost one of his flip flops in the muck on the bottom and couldn't recover it. Poor "Lonely" the flip flop had to ride solo in the pack for the duration. We had talked about stopping at that lake for the night but decided to push on.
That night we camped at Miller Creek. We had a light day - only 14 miles to recuperate. We were off the trail by 4:00 pm. Amazingly, only 3 other hikers passed us the rest of the night. Not a whole bunch of people on the trail.
Miller Creek was so low, just a trickle. You figured it had to be warm and full of algae. It wasn't. It was freezing cold, and when you jumped in, there was no algae, it was clean. There were trout and I did try and fish, but the water was so low they were super spooked. They were scared and didn't bite. The creek was full of them though.
This was also the first night that it really cooled down. When we woke up in the morning my Tevas were crunchy. They had frozen! Our laundry froze instead of drying during the night. I was comfortable but had to zip up my sleeping bag for the first time of the trip.
See our "clean" clothes strewn about.
Nightly ritual of popping blisters. Ashley was more diligent then me, I just let mine pop on the trail.
Wildflowers at the Bear Lake outlet creek,
Wildflowers taller than us!
Pack it in, Pack it out! Our longest stretch without a garbage dump.
Barker Pass Trail Head. This is headed toward the north part of the Lake. At this point water became scarce again.
The volcanic plug on this peak was interesting. I was surprised at how much volcanic evidence is scattered around the basin.
Looking back to the Crystal Ridge just two days away.
Looking back at Twin Peaks - that was another painful climb.
Down Blackwood Canyon - after two days with no Tahoe views, it was back.
My last bagel. I started with 6. This one's name was "Lil Smashy". It was a milestone to finish the bagel pack.
Wilderness area #2 into Granite Chief!
Tahoe City was my goal from day 1. It was comforting to see signs for it. If you look back to the Spooner Summit trailhead (Day 2) it says "Tahoe City 102 miles" now it was within reach. Tahoe City has a Savemart grocery store to restock and was our final resupply.
McCloud Falls on Ward Creek - not super impressive.
TRT book told us to use a campground that was set up by the US Forest Service when they constructed the first portion of the trail in 1984. The book said there was a spring at the north corner of the campground. Sure enough we located the spring. It was not producing a ton of water, but there was a nice pool that had accumulated of freezing cold clear water. Good to bathe in, clean clothes and fill the water containers.
There was a huge wasp's nest in the area. We didn't want to move too far away from the nice water supply so we scooted the tent and hoped for the best. The east side of the lake had flies, the west side had wasps. It was shocking how loud the wasps were. The last few days, every time we stopped for a rest we could hear the buzzing and the scouts would always find us and see if we had anything edible. We weren't ever bitten but it was still a nuisance.
This was also the spot where I had my one and only meltdown. I had a really rough day and was starting to really miss the kids. I had planned on talking to them and didn't have cell service in camp. It all felt like too much and I had a good cry. I'm glad I got that over with and that it only happened once. Through some miracle I found a spot right by the tent that had cell service and was able to check in with my dad and the kids. Poor Erik was ready to take me home but I was too close to my goal to quit. Of course everything was brighter in the morning.
In the morning we were visited by a good sized 3 point buck. He knew we were no threat. Stood about 50 yards from us for a long time. They never mosey out during deer season and look at you. Something actually spooked him and he ran within 20 yards of us realizing we were less of a threat than what was scaring him.
I wonder what was scaring him?!
Crossing the Truckee River into Tahoe City!
We made it!!
Savemart! We probably smelled so bad (although I did bathe and clean my clothes the night before). Still we had to hike 7 miles in the morning to Tahoe City and the packs smelled.
Everything is so clean and fresh (except us).
I don't even remember the name of the place, but Ashley wanted a pizza. First restaurant in town on the Truckee River had pizza, salad, and Diet Coke. It was good. We spent a few hours out of the sun and refueling.
Cell service! Had not had it for a few days. Whats going on in the world? How are the Utes looking for the upcoming football season?
It was Sunday - Ashley and I were supposed to do 16 miles today, 16 tomorrow and 9 on Tuesday. We had already done 7 that day, but we determined we could do the 13 to Watson Lake and set ourselves up for a monster Monday and get off the mountain a day early. After Desolation, there was nothing left we really wanted to see, now it was finishing just to say the hike was done.
You can see the runs of Squaw Valley in the back right - back left is Alpine Meadows. How many ski resorts have we passed? Odd to think two months ago we were skiing at Squaw Valley.
This is called the "cinder cone" the TRT book says that until the 1950s, all the sewage from Tahoe City was pumped up here and drained back into the mountain. Anyway, didn't feel like eating lunch here, but it didn't smell today.
Watson Lake is the only reliable water source between Tahoe City and Brockaway Summit (and within 4 miles of Tahoe Meadows/Mount Rose). Basically for 36 miles this is it, so you are forced to drink it. Its about 2 feet deep, warm, and full of pond muck and tadpoles. Definitely not excited about drinking it, but what if it was not there?
Every night you have to hang your food, and anything else with fragrance (soap, toothpaste, deodorant) from a tree so the bears won't get close to your tent. Seems like every night once you got everything hung up you found something in your pack or pocket. We hung our food for the night from this tree, only to realize it was apparent a bear had scaled the tree at least once before.
We got up early the next morning. We were highly motivated to get home that night and were on the trail by 7:30. We did 10 miles before lunch.
Brockaway Summit - almost there - 19 miles to the car - Tahoe Meadows. Already had gone 6 miles that day - 19 left to finish strong! (We cut about 3 miles off going down the old Capital to Capital (Carson City to Sacramento) trail at the very end. We wanted to be done that night!
Ashley kept asking to take my picture - I just wanted to get home. Can you tell by the look on my face?
On the way up to Mount Baldy - Elevation 9275. One of the last great ascents
Although the morning hike was through forest, once we got up Mt Baldy the rest of the day was full of jaw dropping views of Tahoe and the mountains north of the lake.
North Star ski resort in the background
Tahoe on one side - an angle that we had never seen the lake at before
On the other side Prosser Creek Reservior. You can see all the way to Mount Lassen. Rumor is on a clear day you can see to Mount Shasta - thanks to the fires, we did not get the chance to see Mount Shasta.
Our last wilderness area - Mount Rose Wilderness
If you remember to the beginning of the blog post, we sat on the lift of Diamond Peak 5 miles into the hike. Finally Diamond Peak is back in view. This picture was a huge moral boost knowing you were closing in on the final stretch. 7-11 below in Incline Village!
Ashley was not much of a conversationalist the last day. She had her headphones in with a book on tape and didn't talk much. Here she is working her way up the trail.
I was in the groove. We hiked at a great pace all day and I didn't feel like talking. I had a great book to listen too and was able to ignore my aching feet as long as I kept moving. Closer, closer, closer to my bed and my shower!
Ashley asked "whats this?" Its "The Explorer" a great pose.
This was actually surprising. A southeast facing slope on the north side of the Lake and the trail was blocked by snow. It was not an insignificant amount of snow - probably about 3' deep. Looks like was have some areas that may make it snow covered all year.
Can you see the "sooty" grouse in the middle of the picture? I always wondered about hunting these guys. I have decided it is a waste of time. They don't move until you almost step on the them, then they make a bunch of noise and run about 10 feet then stop. Not much sport to it, although after 10 days on the trail they did look pretty tasty.
This is the aptly named "Mud Lake". The TRT book said it usually goes dry in the summer. This is receiving the snow from a few pictures above. Looks like it will make it this summer, and the water actually looks preferable to Watson Lake.
Finishing up - Car just ahead.
This is the location where Ashley had found her sleeping bag at the beginning of the hike.
Everything is full circle - The sun is at the wrong angle, but this is the same sign we started at. We are done! Now lets hope the car is in the parking lot and that it starts.
In all our planning, we forgot to check if we were allowed to park the car overnight at the trail head. This is one of the most used and congested trail heads. In the back of our mind the whole hike is "what if we get back to the trail head and the car is gone?" There were no aggressive signs "No overnight parking" "car towed at owners expense." When we pulled up one guy said he was 99% sure you could park there overnight.
What a relief to see the good old Sentra sitting in the lot right where we left it. Not only was the car there, but it started! It was covered in a film of dust, but other than that everything was great.
Made it home in time for a Mexican Feast at El Aguila Real. Had to shower first and clean off. Can I say this felt like paradise? Clean and full. After the back to back 20 mile days, our feet were toast.
So what can I say? Another adventure for Ashley and I. I am sure when we look back at life this will be one of the experiences we remember together. How many women would hike 162 miles? I can say I think my long range hiking days are done. You get tired of realizing every time you need to get clean, you are going to get into a freezing cold lake. 15 years done for Ashley and I. If the next 15 has as many adventures as the first 15 its going to be great.
Hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail was an experience I will always remember. I learned a lot about myself and what my husband is capable of. We can endure hard things and get through them together. Erik and I are used to working hard on big projects (we currently have 3 we are very involved with) and we got along smoothly during the mental and physical stress of the hike. I wasn't expecting any strife. However, I'm surprised and pleased to realize that we now have a very special memory that we treasure and that will be sweeter because we were together. I can imagine us sitting together in old age reminiscing about this experience. I can think of no better way to celebrate 15 years than by weaving another strong element into the sweet bond that we already share. We are truly and deeply blessed.
