Tahoe Rim Trail Thru Hike – 170 miles Aug 20-Sept 3, 2019

As the name implies, the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) traverses the mountainous terrain that surrounds Lake Tahoe. It is a loop trail with several access points, so it can be hiked in sections or in its entirety. My wife and I decided to attempt all 170 miles in one shot since this region of the US is 2000 miles from our home in southern Missouri and traveling that distance entails considerable time and expense just to get there. Plus, we hadn't taken a vacation in years, we're both getting on in age (mid 60's), and as the saying goes, we may never pass this way again.

Some interesting facts about Lake Tahoe: The lake itself straddles the California – Nevada border. It is the largest alpine lake in North America, and in terms of volume it ranks sixth after the five Great Lakes. At 1645 feet deep it is the second deepest lake in the US; only Crater Lake in Oregon is deeper. The elevation at the lake's surface is 6225 feet. There are 63 streams which drain into the lake and one outlet, the Truckee River. A small dam in Tahoe City regulates the outflow and thereby maintains the level of the lake fairly constant.

Some interesting facts about the Tahoe Rim Trail: Roughly two-thirds of the 170 miles which comprise the TRT loop are in California's famed Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, with the remaining eastern third residing in Nevada's Carson Range, which is considered a spur of the Sierras. The TRT also shares about 50 miles with the much longer Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) as the merged routes pass through the rugged Desolation Wilderness. First proposed in 1978, the trail was completed in 2001. The elevation of the trail ranges from 6240 feet at the bridge crossing of the Truckee River, to 10,338 feet on Relay Peak. There are also short spur trails which ascend Mt. Rose (10,785 feet), Freel Peak (10,891 feet), and several other mountains in the 9-10k range.

The climate in the region is very pleasant with warm, dry summers and low humidity. Most of the area's precipitation falls as snow during the winter months, and several nearby ski resorts make Tahoe an attractive tourist destination year-round. The average high temperature in August is 79 degrees, with the average low around 50F. According to what I've read, the best time to hike the TRT is from mid-July through September. By that time the trail is usually clear of snow and the stream crossings manageable.

The nearest major airport access is in Reno, Nevada, and there are shuttles that can get you from there to Tahoe City for about fifty bucks per person. After careful consideration, my wife and I opted to drive out instead of fly. This way we avoided the ridiculous TSA restrictions AND had the opportunity to see some beautiful scenery along the way. Besides, you're never too old to enjoy a Great American Road Trip! We allowed three days out and four days back which added a full week to our master plan. This worked out very well as you will see in the descriptions below.

Although we didn't actually start hiking until August 20^th, our adventure really began on August 17^th when we hit the road. We are both confirmed penny-pinchers, so neither of us had a problem trying to minimize expenses on this journey. As part of the planning process, my wife extensively researched free and nearly-free places to camp as we made our way west. Our vehicle is a mid-sized sedan, so boondocking in Wal-mart parking lots was not a viable option. As it turns out, there are a plethora of places to camp for free, especially in the western half of the country.

At the end of the first day of traveling we found ourselves at exit 222 on Interstate 80 and the small town of Cozad, Nebraska. Adjacent to the highway was “Cozad Lake” which is part of a Wildlife Management Area. Free overnight camping is permitted at sites around the perimeter of the lake. We scoped it out and determined that it looked safe, found a site with a few appropriately-spaced trees (we're both primarily hammock campers, but had a tent with us just in case), then skedaddled into town for dinner at “El Paraiso”, a small Mexican food establishment. We returned just before dark to set up our hammocks. There were two or three other occupied sites by this time, but our preferred site was still available. Since the lake is literally right next to the freeway we could hear the traffic noise, but hey... you can't have everything. Or can you? Read on! Actually, the noise wasn't a problem at all and served to lull us both to sleep quickly.

 Cozad WMA

Just after daybreak we packed up and continued westbound on I-80. An hour or two down the road we stopped at a rest area near Sidney, Nebraska for breakfast. Knowing we wouldn't return home for at least three weeks when we left the previous day, we had emptied the fridge of all perishable food and brought it with us in a cooler. We also brought a small car-camping butane stove with us and a cast iron skillet. Omelettes hit the spot and saved us a few bucks on restaurant food as well. This particular rest area was one of the nicest I have ever seen with lush lawns, sweeping views, well-maintained picnic tables, and impeccable landscaping. I couldn't imagine a nicer place to have a meal at any price, let alone for free! Later in the day, lunch was fruit while underway as the miles ticked by.

Sidney, Nebraska Rest Area, 5 stars

One nice thing about driving out west (besides the dramatic scenery) is the higher speed limits. In addition to the 80 MPH signs on some of the interstate highways, we also encountered some two-lane secondary roads with a 70 MPH limit. This was particularly amusing to me on some sections of US 95 in Nevada because the only vehicles traveling less than 80 were large RVs and those towing trailers. Everyone else was passing these "slowpokes" and cruising at 90+ when unimpeded. And why not when you can see for 10 miles in all directions on the flat, barren landscape? Enforcement was zero, by the way. Which is not so surprising given that not long ago some western states had no set speed limits during daylight hours. The signs used to say “reasonable and prudent”. Some of you older folks may remember those days.

that's more like it

In case we had any doubt where we were...

At the end of the second travel day we were near the Utah/Nevada border. Many of you have probably heard of the Bonneville Salt Flats. It's where people go when attempting to set land speed records in various types of vehicles. Each summer they have “speed week” at the flats, and as it turned out this event had concluded just a few days prior to our arrival in the area so the crowds were gone. To describe this area as desolate would be an understatement. Does that make it safer or less-safe for overnight camping? We were definitely out of our “southern comfort zone” in this harsh environment, but decided to give it a go. But first we had to find dinner. About 5 miles away was the border town of West Wendover, Nevada. In small-town casinos you can sometimes find good food at a bargain price and we hit paydirt at the “Red Garter Casino”. Inside, past the array of one-armed bandits, was “The Italia Ristorante”. A full course salmon dinner with large garden salad and bread in a tourist town for twelve bucks? You betcha!

With our appetites sated, we headed back to the edge of the salt flats. As you might imagine, the salt flats and its environs are devoid of trees, so how does one hang a hammock in such a place? As they say, where there's a will there's a way. We found a large sign with two sturdy posts in an otherwise-empty area, literally the middle of nowhere. That served as one anchor point, and the doorjamb of our little car served as the other. Perfect! We were several miles off the highway so there was no traffic noise at all, and with the waning gibbous moon not scheduled to rise until after 10pm, the stargazing at bedtime was amazing. My phone's camera doesn't perform well in low light conditions, so you'll have to trust me on that one.

No Trees?  No Problem!

The next morning we reluctantly moved on after agreeing that we must re-visit this place in the future when we have more time to explore. Breakfast was again at a rest area along the way where we finished off the last of the eggs and veggies. This one was near exit 373 on I-80 in Eastern Nevada.

Pequot Rest Area near Wells, Nevada

By lunchtime we had made it to Lake Tahoe, specifically the hamlet of Incline Village. Before departure from home we had packed up four re-supply boxes with food and other sundry items that we would need to retrieve at various points along the trail. The first planned re-supply point was the Incline Village Post Office, so we stopped there and mailed a box to ourselves, via general delivery. The cost was $12.30. A little steep for a package that didn't even need to leave the building, but this was the only re-supply that we would have to pay for. Conveniently located next to the post office was Big Foot Deli which had a nice lunch menu and outdoor seating. After lunch we headed south along the eastern shore to the Spooner North Trailhead on US 50. The eastern side of Lake Tahoe is notoriously dry, receiving only half the annual precipitation as the western side. This makes for some long stretches of trail between water sources, sometimes approaching 20 miles. In order to later avoid a 2-mile round-trip off-trail slog to Spooner Lake, we decided to cache water near this trailhead, two full gallons of the stuff. Next we continued south to South Lake Tahoe (SLT) where we planned to spend this night, as well as two more nights when we came off the trail in the coming days to re-supply. First we dropped re-supply box #3 at an AirBnB hosted by “Randy” (more about him later). He graciously accepted the box and held it for over a week while we hiked the trail. The next stop was the USFS office to obtain our permits for entering the Desolation Wilderness eight days later. Normally there is a quota system that limits access to this area, however the quota doesn't apply to TRT thru-hikers, with the stipulation that they stay within 300 feet of the trail (no side excursions). We picked our expected dates to enter and exit the area, held our noses while paying the $26 fee, and headed for our final destination of the night... AirBnB #1 in SLT. After checking in, showering, and packing our backpacks for the following day, we walked around the corner to a small Mexican eatery for dinner. This AirBnB was also going to be our overnight accommodation six days later, as well as our second re-supply point, so we finished packing re-supply box #2 and gave it to the property owner for safe-keeping.

We woke up early the next morning, anxious to begin our long-anticipated backpacking trip. After driving around the western side of the lake, we arrived in Tahoe City (our fourth and final resupply point) around 8am. We stopped at Rosie's Cafe for breakfast. While their food was decent, the prices were outrageous, even for a tourist town. Nothing about the food, service, or location justified these prices, but unfortunately Rosie's was the only game in town that we could find which was open before 10am. After breakfast we dropped off the aforementioned 4^th re-supply box at Alpenglow Sports. This is a good place to pick up any last minute backpacking gear or clothing you might need, and they hold hiker boxes for free. Finally, we drove another 12 miles to the Brockway Trailhead on CA 267 and parked.

Day 1: We hit the trail at 11:15am. The TRT route I downloaded into the navigation app on my smartphone had mile markers on it, all 171 of them, which made it easier to determine at a glance how many miles we had ahead and behind us at any point on the trail. The arbitrary trail terminus (MM 0) was the river crossing in Tahoe City, but as I said, we were beginning our journey at Brockway which was at MM 20 on this map. The mile markers assume a clockwise direction of travel, and conveniently that was our intent for this trip.

With a late start, we planned a short day of only 7.5 miles. This would allow us to slowly acclimate to the higher elevation while also letting us gradually acquire our trail legs. My wife had done some day hikes around home in the days and weeks before departure to train for this trip, but I jumped in without any physical preparation whatsoever. Who wants to exert themselves when it is 95 degrees outside with 95% humidity? No thanks! Another factor from the get-go was that we were entering the driest portion of the trail first which periodically required carrying four quarts of water each, and we were planning on dry camping the first night on a high ridge. For those who may not know how much a gallon of water weighs, an easy way to remember it is with the little rhyme “a pint's a pound the world around”. Eight pints to a gallon is roughly eight pounds. Plus food. The general rule of thumb there is 1.5 to 2 pounds of food per person, per day. I was pretty close to the higher number, while my wife was somewhere below the lower end of that range. So in my case I had 12 pounds of food and water to start with, before adding all the backpacking gear. What was my "base weight" you might be wondering? Well as much as I'd like to throw a ridiculously low number at you, the fact is I can't afford much of the ultra-light gear. I'm moving in that direction one piece of kit at a time, but it's a slow process. Plus, overnight low temps in this region can easily dip below freezing even in August so we had to be prepared for that. In fact, the predicted low temp at lake level for this first night on the trail was 41-degrees. And everyone knows it's colder the higher up you go, right? Well, as I discovered on this trip, not necessarily. But who wants to risk a cold, miserable night to save a few ounces? I own two sets of quilts, a zero set and a 40F set. If I owned a 20-degree set, that's what I would have used. I ended up choosing the zero top quilt and the 40-degree bottom quilt as a compromise, which worked out just about right given the actual temperatures we encountered. Yet another huge factor in our pack weights was the presence of problem bears in this area. I normally carry a bear bag kit (throw sack, mini-carabiner, and 50' of line) which weighs all of three ounces and has never failed to protect my food from animals large or small. But our research prior to departure made us aware that even people with Ursacks and good hanging technique were having problems.  So although canisters are not required (yet) by the powers that be in this area, we opted to carry them anyway to avoid any potential incidents. FYI, a BV-500 weighs 41 ounces... more than 2.5 pounds! Yes, it all adds up. So with a full load of water and food my pack was somewhere in the 30-35 pound range. Fortunately, this total weight dropped quickly as the water and food was consumed. Just before a re-supply our total pack weight was somewhere close to 20 pounds each. If curious, you can view a list of each item I carried and their individual weights here: https://lighterpack.com/r/7z1i1

Anyway... back to the trail. It was mostly uphill for the first hour as we climbed the switchbacks from the trailhead. It wasn't long before we got our first awesome views which made hauling all that water weight worth it. The trail itself was comprised of finely pulverized forest duff with very few rocks or roots. I was wondering how in the world this type of trail surface didn't wash away each time it rained, but apparently it doesn't. The net result is the trail is extremely dusty. This powder will coat your lower legs, infiltrate your shoes and socks, and you will inhale a good bit of it as well. This is NOT a complaint, just an observation. It was actually a very pleasant surface to walk on, and very easy on the feet. Just plan on giving the hiker in front of you some space. If you follow too closely, you will literally eat their dust.

We weren't expecting it, but there was a huge butterfly migration in progress in this area. As we hiked along, hundreds of butterflies streamed across our path, all headed in the same general direction, obviously on a mission. This behavior seemed odd to me until other hikers started asking if we had seen any butterflies up on the ridge and told us about the phenomenon.

We had a leisurely lunch mid-afternoon and made it to Mount Baldy at MM 27.5 in plenty of time to set up camp and cook dinner. The views from this spot were fantastic. If you ever get the chance to hike the TRT, try to spend a night here. Total mileage for the day was 7.5. The elevation at camp was 9020' and the low temperature overnight was 49 degrees. There were plenty of trees for hammocks and flat ground for tent dwellers. I'd rate this campsite 10/10.

View from camp 1 on Mt. Baldy

Camp 1 on Mt. Baldy

Sunset from Camp 1

Day 2: We broke camp at 8:00am and stopped for breakfast within a mile at another spot with long-range views. Our plan was for another easy, short day of 7 miles which would put us at the top of Relay Peak for the night. There was water at a spring a couple of miles before the peak, so this dry camp wouldn't cost as much energy as the previous night's lofty destination. It would also place us on the highest point along the entire trail. But would there be trees above 10,000 feet? It turned out there were a few scrub trees at the top, but nothing good to hang from. We could have backtracked slightly and found something, or perhaps chose to cowboy-camp this night, but it was only mid-afternoon when we got there and the wind was blowing quite strong, so we decided to keep going. In another couple of miles we came to a decent area, and while pitching our rigs we met a young couple hiking in the opposite direction who told us that they lost all their food (which was stored in an Ursack) to a bear the previous night. The choice to carry the extra weight of bear canisters was sounding more and more like a wise decision! This couple had purchased new food and were also planning on camping on Relay Peak this night, but after hearing our report of high winds at the top, they chose to instead camp near us at MM 36.5. Total mileage for the day was 9.0. The elevation at this point was 9365' and the low temp was 48 degrees. I'd rate this spot 7/10.

Day 3: Broke camp at 8:25am after breakfast. Galena Falls at MM 37.7 was very impressive. If we had gone a little farther the previous day we would have had better views from our campsite, but it also might have been more buggy. In any case, the falls was a good place to replenish our water with some ice-cold snowmelt! Yes, we encountered snow at several places along the trail. I had heard that all the snow is usually gone by August but last winter was a record-breaking snow season so this summer there was still a lot of the white stuff around.

Beautiful Galena Falls

How to start a snowball fight in August

We arrived at our first major road crossing, Mt. Rose Highway (aka NV 431) around 10:30am. The plan was to hitch a ride down to Incline Village for lunch, retrieve our re-supply box from the Post Office, hitch back to the trail, and then hike another 4 miles or so. I used to thumb rides all the time as a teenager, but it had been decades since I hitchhiked and my wife never had. Have times changed? Would drivers stop to pick up old, scruffy-looking strangers? We got our answer quickly because we got a ride within three minutes and the driver took us all the way to the PO, arriving there before 11:00. We replenished the food in our bear canisters, topped off our water bottles, decided it was too early for lunch, and headed back toward the Mt. Rose Trailhead wondering if we'd be as lucky on the return hitch. Since the Post Office was located on one of the smaller streets in town, we had to walk almost a mile back to where the highway began. Once there, we had another ride within 5 minutes and this gentleman also brought us exactly where we needed to go, which was actually beyond his own destination. Nice folks!

We were back on-trail by 12:30. There was a stream crossing not far from the road, Ophir Creek, where we stopped for lunch. Since the hitch went so well, we were now ahead of schedule. After eating we took an hour or so to do some laundry. It turns out that bear canisters are good for more than just holding food. We emptied one of them and used it as a mini washing machine. Of course we did this a good distance from the creek so as not to pollute the water. A couple of rinse cycles later and we were good to go. It's amazing how fast clothes air dry when the humidity is around 25%.

As part of our research of the area, I had read several trip reports written by previous thru-hikers. One of these reports gave the locations of all their campsites and rated them on a scale, which I found particularly helpful and have decided to duplicate here. This person did the entire loop in 10 days and we were planning on taking at least 14, so only a few of their campsites would be potential targets for us, but it was good intel just the same. One of these spots was described as “nook with a view” which sounded intriguing and was within range for tonight's camp. It took a little wandering around to locate the exact spot, but this ended up being the best campsite of the entire trip. Hidden from the TRT among a large pile of boulders, it was very private, had an incredible view of Lake Tahoe, and had three perfectly-spaced trees to boot! After pitching the hammocks, there was enough daylight left to sunbathe out on the rock ledge before dinner. We stumbled upon a hidden geocache and were entertained by the contents and the notes left by previous visitors. We cooked and ate, then watched the sun dip below the horizon and the stars come out. We lingered on the open ledge long after dark, enjoying the moment. Does life get any better than this?

Total mileage for the day was 9.1 including about a mile of road walking in town. The elevation of this camp was 8840'. The low temp was 51 degrees with a light breeze wafting through the pines all night. This site was easily 10/10++.

Camp 3 - “Nook with a View”

Sunset from “The Nook”

Day 4: Woke up at 7:30 and broke camp at 9:40. There were many excellent views both east and west on this section of trail. The water sources we hoped were still flowing were not, and we walked all day without coming upon any streams. Our destination for the evening was Marlette Campground, one of only a few developed campgrounds along the whole trail. We arrived there in the late afternoon with barely a half liter of water apiece, but there was supposed to be a hydrant here. The hydrant turned out to be broken, and we later heard it has not worked for at least two years, even though signage in the area still proclaims that water is available from it. I followed a dry streambed downhill for quite a distance hoping to find a trickle, but this was a waste of time and energy. Marlette Lake was about 2 miles away on a side trail, so after pitching the hammocks we set off toward it with all our empty containers. About 1.4 miles downslope we heard some water flowing, so our unscheduled water run added just shy of 3 miles to the day's journey.

Total mileage for the day was 12.8 including the successful water run. The elevation at camp was approximately 8280'. The low temp was 56 degrees. I'd rate this campsite 7.5/10. On the negative side there are no views and no water to be had without a significant walk off-trail. On the positive side there are fire rings, bear lockers, pit toilets, and picnic tables. It's also right on the trail and free for TRT hikers. We met the guy camping at the site next to ours and had some good conversation around a shared campfire which made for a very enjoyable evening.

View of Washoe Lake to the East

Liars!

Day 5: We broke camp at 8:20. For reference, Marlette Campground is located at MM 54.5. About 2 miles farther down the trail, the path emerged out onto an alpine meadow that seemingly went on forever. No trees, no shrubs, only low-growing ground cover and wildflowers. It looked as though we were suddenly transported to another country. The views were simply incredible. To the west there was Marlette Lake below us in the foreground, Lake Tahoe beyond that, and the rugged Sierras as a backdrop on the distant horizon. To the east, the Carson Valley, Lake Washoe, and the mountains beyond. We knew our cameras couldn't begin to capture what we were seeing, but we couldn't help stopping every 100 steps to make an attempt. We were both totally overwhelmed with the natural beauty. It was like sensory overload. As I said, this wasn't just an overlook. This incredible view went on for over an hour as we advanced southward on the trail. And as if that wasn't enough, the wildflowers! Acres and acres of them in every direction. Every color of the rainbow was represented. If you closed your eyes, you would swear you were in a floral shop, the fragrance was so intense. How fortunate are those who live within 100 miles of this place! If I was a local resident, I'd come here often and linger all day.

 The View West with Marlette Lake in Foreground

 Incredible!

 Spring is in the air....  In August!

After retrieving our previously mentioned water cache near the Spooner Summit Trailhead at MM 63.6, we stopped for a leisurely 90-minute lunch beyond the road crossing (US 50) where we found picnic tables and pit toilets. A chipmunk entertained us while we ate. Chipmunks are by far the most common animal you will see along the trail. They are everywhere, skittering to-and-fro. Seeing 100 of the creatures per hour in some spots would not be an exaggeration. I saw a sign that said they might carry plague. Seems unlikely that something so cute could harbor such a wretched and often fatal disease.

After lunch we scaled the switchbacks up to the ridgeline, again hauling a full gallon of water each for the anticipated dry camp and streamless stretch of trail. Our goal for the evening was a meadow on the western flank of “South Camp Peak”, somewhere near MM 69.0. When we first got to this latest meadow, we were again taken with the breathtaking views to the west. We dropped our packs and took a break, and then while my wife took a catnap, I scouted the area at the edge of the meadow for a suitable place to hang our hammocks. I found a few places that would do, but wanting something better I kept wandering farther and farther away from my wife and our packs. Eventually I found a great spot about a half-mile yonder, and low-and-behold... I also found “Bill”, the guy we had camped next to the previous night. Our chosen camp locations were far enough apart to afford us plenty of privacy, and it was nice to run into someone we already knew. By this time I had been “gone” for about 45 minutes and unbeknownst to me, my wife was becoming very concerned about my long absence. Needless to say, she was quite relieved when I finally reappeared to escort her to our home for the night. By now it was getting pretty late so we hung our hammocks quickly, cooked up some dinner, and then made our way back out to the meadow for the sunset. It was a long day and we had walked 14.4 miles (not including my scouting run), the most so far. We were both exhausted, so we retired before it was even fully dark.

The elevation at this campsite was 8805' and the low temperature that night was 51 degrees. I'd rate this place 9.5/10.

"Well??  Gimme something!"

Sunset from camp 5 meadow

Day 6: Broke camp at 9:20am. Our first stop was “the bench”, a rustic wooden seat that is located near a rock pile towards the south end of this long ridgetop meadow. There was another couple there when we arrived, so we did the obligatory camera-swap and snapped some photos. The view from here is pretty much the same one we saw yesterday, except in morning light instead of late-afternoon light. A panorama like this never gets old.

 "The Bench"

After the bench, and before we had even gone a mile along the trail, my poor wife slipped on some loose gravel and rolled her ankle. She knew immediately that it was more than just a minor sprain when she heard an audible pop. We stopped and applied a Salonpas patch (an analgesic) and then wrapped it with an ace bandage. She also took some Arnica which is an herbal pain reliever. Unfortunately, we were many miles from the nearest road. The injury wasn't life threatening so there was no need for extraordinary measures like calling for an air evac, so she laced back up and hobbled onward using her trekking poles as a quasi-crutch. By her own account, the pain increased substantially whenever she stopped walking, so continuing to move forward at a slow pace seemed to be the best strategy, all things considered.

Also, shortly after the injury occurred, a mountain biker came past, noticed my wife hobbling, and stopped to see if we needed help. Turns out he was an orthopedic surgeon! She ended up getting a free trailside consultation from an expert on such injuries. He reasoned that there was likely no broken bone if she was able to walk on it at all, and of course advised RICE... Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation as soon as possible.

We stayed together for the next several miles, and eventually decided that I would zoom ahead, drop my pack at the road, hike back up the trail, and carry her pack the remaining distance. Shortly after we split up, there was a side trail (which she wrongly assumed was the TRT) that entered a neighborhood, so she ended up being able to get off her feet before I even made it down to the highway two miles beyond that point. There was cell service so we were able to stay in contact. In the end, we called a cab which picked us up in two different locations and then took us to where our car was parked at the Brockway Trailhead. From there we drove all the way back to SLT, picked up an inflatable ankle brace from CVS, and had a nice dinner at Izabella's Ristorante before heading over to the AirBnB that we had previously reserved for the night.

Although this was an unexpected and unfortunate turn of events, it turned out OK. No permanent damage was done. We agreed that I would continue hiking the trail solo for a few days while she rested and recuperated. We already had another AirBnB booked three days from now when we would re-evaluate. The hope was that she would be able to resume the hike at some point.

 Before Injury

Day 7: After breakfast at Denny's, my wife dropped me off where the trail crosses Kingsbury Grade (aka NV 207) at 11:45am. This is exactly where I ended up the day before and where the cab driver picked me up, MM 78.2.

The original plan for the previous day was for us to hike to MM 81.5, take a half-mile side trail into a neighborhood where there was a bus stop, and ride the bus into SLT. I had the bus schedule on my phone, as well as a stash of $2 bills in my pack, which is the fare for seniors (gotta have exact change, and a $2 bill weighs half as much as two $1 bills!). For the “last mile” from the end of the bus line to our AirBnB we were going to use Lime Scooters. I already had the Lime app on my phone and we were eager to try out those gizmos. Sadly, we never got to have that bit of fun.

Much of the climb back up to the ridge was on or adjacent to the property of Heavenly Ski Resort. I've only skied in the east... Poconos in PA, Whiteface in NY, Killington in VT, etc., but I've consistently heard how much better skiing is in the west. I hope to have an opportunity to check it out someday and Heavenly seems like a good place to do that.

As usual for the TRT, there were often great views of the surrounding countryside, especially of the Carson Valley from “Point McKenna” at MM 84.5. I went thru Monument Pass, which was quite scenic. The area looked like a lunar landscape, different from anything I had seen along the trail up to that point.

View from Point McKenna

I came upon three separate maintenance crews in my days on the trail. In talking with some of them, I confirmed that they are all volunteers. It takes some serious work to keep a trail like this clear of deadfalls, blowdowns, rockslides, and various other hazards. Thank you guys and gals!

Thanks to all trail maintenance volunteers everywhere!

I ended up camping at Star Lake, MM 89.6, a very nice location to spend the night. I saw a couple of other folks that I recognized from previous encounters along the trail, but the lakeshore was pretty empty. Total mileage for the day was 11.4 and the low temperature overnight was 51 degrees with calm wind. The elevation here was 9095'. I'd rate this camp 9.5/10.

Hanging out at Star Lake
 

camp 6 at Star Lake

the kitchen caboodle

Day 8: There was a light breeze at daybreak. Broke camp at 8:40am. Met “Bob” around midday, a guy about my age who was also thru-hiking the trail clockwise. Like myself, he was also on day 8 but unlike me he would be done two days from now! By his own account he had done several 20-mile days and didn't seem to be enjoying his trip all that much. Although I naturally go faster when traveling solo and CAN do 20 miles or more in a day, anything over 15 miles starts feeling less like fun and more like work. Maybe that would change on a longer trail like the PCT or CDT. I don't know, but hopefully I'll find out someday. In the meantime, I celebrated passing the halfway point of this thru-hike today at MM 105.

The portion of the trail I am in now has plenty of water sources so there is no need to carry more than a liter or so at a time. Of course, everybody is different, but I seem to require about a liter for each 5 miles of travel to stay well-hydrated. Yes, temperature, humidity, pack weight, and terrain all affect this to some degree, but as a general rule and average, that's what works for me. I also employ the “strategy” of only breathing through my nose. My personal rule is, if I can't get enough air through my nose on the uphill grinds, I'm moving too fast and it's time to slow down or take a short break. This serves to automatically keep my heart rate from redlining AND reduces the amount of fluid loss through evaporation in my airway. At least that's my theory. YMMV.

The trail passes near the Luther Campground at around MM 104. You can't actually see the campground from the trail, but there is a narrow paved road that leads to it. When the trail emerges from the woods onto this paved road, there is no sign or other indication where the TRT continues. Fortunately, I caught up to Bob again at this spot and he had a guidebook that said to make our way to the SW corner of the parking lot (which was up the road to the left and about 100 yards away). That bit of info saved me from needing to fire up the “Backcountry Navigator” app on my phone to figure it out.

Speaking of cell phones, let me talk a bit about navigation apps and the electronic devices I choose to carry. First and foremost, the ubiquitous smartphone. Virtually everyone has one now, and it's no wonder; they are so useful. For backpacking, having your smartphone with you is a no-brainer in my opinion. Of course, assuming there is a cell signal where you happen to be in the woods, they are a handy communication device that enables you to stay in touch with home or work, connect with a hiking partner you have become separated from, summon emergency services, get an updated weather report, check your email, or even watch a netflix movie in your hammock. But what good are they without “service”, which is often pretty weak or non-existent in the backcountry? Perhaps most importantly, they can keep you from getting lost. There are several good navigation apps out there that enable you to pre-download maps before you leave home, and then use said maps, combined with the satellite GPS capability built into most smartphones, to geo-locate and display your exact position on the map, all without needing a cell signal. Thus you can always know your location relative to any trail or landmark. This can be a lifesaver if you find yourself completely disoriented, or merely a timesaver to help put you back on track if you happen to take a wrong turn. Also, if you want to venture off-trail and try to find that cave you know is out there somewhere but are worried about finding your way back, the app can record a series of virtual breadcrumbs as you walk so that you can always retrace your steps, day or night, or even in the midst of a whiteout with zero visibility. There are some situations where a paper map and compass are useless but a smartphone can save your bacon. The app can also tell you your average hiking speed, show you a profile of the trail's elevation changes, act as a super-accurate pedometer, and display your exact GPS coordinates to help SAR locate you quickly in an emergency.

Aside from these critical capabilities of communication and navigation, a smartphone can also perform many other helpful functions for you in the woods, some of which you may not have thought of. Even without “service” it can: take pictures and record video; tell you the time; become a spare flashlight; play music; help you identify stars, planets, and constellations; be a timer so you don't over- or under-cook your ready-in-7-minutes Knorr's dinner; wake you up; lull you to sleep with soothing ocean sounds or an e-book; be a mirror for fixing your hair in the morning or getting that gnat out of your eye; check the 30-degree angle of your hammock suspension; remind you that it's your brother's birthday today; make a shopping list for the next time you're in town to re-supply; calculate how much money you still have in your hiking budget after that last in-town splurge; and alert you when you finally DO have cell service. Plus, there are innumerable apps out there which can expand that list tenfold. Some are obviously frivolous, but as an example, one potentially useful app I have on my phone is from the Red Cross and will show you how to treat common medical situations in the woods if getting to a hospital or clinic quickly is not possible. I haven't ever needed it, but it's there and weighs nothing.

In addition to the smartphone, on longer hikes I also carry an auxiliary battery and short cable to recharge the phone if needed, a set of wired headphones which are required to use the built-in FM radio in my phone in case I need to get a weather report when there is no cell service, and a small thermometer that also records the daily high and low temperature. I primarily use the thermometer to help with evaluating gear and clothing.  That's it. For a little more than half a pound of carry weight you get all that capability. So if you haven't yet gotten a navigation app, get one and learn how to use it. You'll be glad you did.

Screenshot of the trail from my phone

Ok, back to the story. I paused here at the narrow paved road to re-arrange the stuff in my pack because it was beginning to look and sound like we might have a thunderstorm. What?!? They have those here? It was funny because this was the first time in all 8 days I had been on the trail that there was even the slightest threat of rain. Nor had it rained at all on the three day trip from Missouri.  I had gotten lax about keeping all the stuff in my backpack that absolutely needed to stay dry INSIDE the compactor bag that I use to line my pack. After shuffling things around a bit, I was ready for a downpour if it occurred. I wondered... would THIS be the day that I finally got to test out the new (to me) rain tarp that I picked up used from an internet classified ad about a month before departure?  Stay tuned to find out!

I found the continuation of the TRT as Bob said in the SW corner of the parking lot. In addition to being the entrance for Luther Campground, this lot also serves as the Big Meadow Trailhead. As I was exiting the lot onto the single track, a coyote scooted across my path. I didn't have time to get the camera out, but a coyote is hardly picture-worthy anyway, unless of course it has an Acme Brand Rocket Sled attached to it. In a short distance the trail crossed a major paved road, CA 89. From there the climb began in earnest via switchbacks. It was here that the rain started. Well, sort of. It was more like an ultra-light shower, not even enough to warrant putting on my now-easily-accessible rain jacket. Not much farther along, the path emerged into, of all places, Big Meadow. Honestly, I don't know why they call it that; there are much larger meadows all over the place. This one was small by comparison. Anyway, meadows are always pleasant to walk through. Except perhaps during a thunderstorm. Tempting fate, I pushed on. Alas, I didn't get struck. One-tenth of a mile later I was back in the woods and the ascent began again. The sprinkle lasted maybe 10-15 minutes and it was done. My t-shirt was dry about 5 minutes later. After a long, 3-mile uphill climb, I rolled into Round Lake at MM 107.5 around 5:45pm. I quickly found a good spot with two nice trees very close to the water's edge, pitched the hammock, and proceeded to cook dinner. As I ate from my cookpot, I wandered around the perimeter of the lake to explore a bit. From the opposite shore I had a good view of a large cliff that was now illuminated with the red light of the setting sun. Very nice! Content in the knowledge that there was no better place on the lake to hang my hammock than where I already had, I returned to my spot. There was a large dead tree trunk lying on the beach which made a good seat for filtering water, and while doing so a fellow camper joined me for some conversation as evening turned into night.

It had been a long day, 17.9 miles on-trail and probably another half mile exploring the lake. The low temp was 48 overnight, and the elevation at Round Lake was 8041'. I'd rate this camping spot 9/10.

So... did I end up using the tarp this night? NO! The clouds moved away and the sky cleared before I even arrived at the lake. Gotta love it!

 

Camp 7 at Round Lake

 Sunset at Round Lake

View from the hammock in the morning

Day 9: Re-supply day! Broke camp at 8:50am. It was a pretty uneventful day. That said, there was never a single day on the trail that didn't have awesome long-range views. And even where the trail passes through dense forest, it's still unbelievably gorgeous. Majestic pines are everywhere you look. Massive cedars with trunks larger around than I've ever seen in my life. I've already gone on and on about the wildflowers which are prolific here. I jotted in my notes that the trail often looks professionally landscaped. By that I mean it's so beautiful that it's easy to believe there's a guiding hand deciding what to plant and where for maximum aesthetic effect. After being here, I think I now have an inkling of what heaven must look like. The sights, the sounds, the smells, all sublime. Even the textures are striking. I didn't encounter any thorny plants anywhere on the trail. Is that just the because of the time of year? I don't know, but I DO know that not once was I poked, pricked, stabbed, or otherwise assaulted by something growing here. And believe me, there were plenty of places where I brushed against many different species of plant life. Ok, you get the idea. If you're looking for a good place to hike, THIS IS IT.

I reached the southernmost point on the TRT at MM 109.7.  It joins the PCT at this spot. From that junction, the trail generally headed northwest through a very pretty valley. Someone used to live here; a few outbuildings are still standing, leftovers from an old homestead. What a peaceful place! Next I came to Showers Lake where I drew some water. There were a few campers around and it looked like they'd been here for awhile. This is definitely a very nice place where one could spend a few days enjoying the gorgeous scenery and exploring the area from a base camp. I'd have liked to stay longer... maybe pitch the hammock in a shady spot and let the summer breeze rock me to sleep until lunchtime... then go for a swim after lunch and sprawl out on a rock in the sun to dry off. Gotta come back here someday for sure!

I had my actual (vs. imaginary) lunch around MM 116 in Bryan Meadow which was very nice. 

 TRT / PCT Junction

 Meadow at PCT Junction

Showers Lake

 

Yet another meadow full of wildflowers

 Views that just won't quit!

 

Lunch at picturesque Bryan Meadow

I made it to the Echo Summit Trailhead (US 50) at MM120 around 3:40pm. The pre-arranged rendezvous time was 4pm, but my wife was 20 minutes early so neither of us had to wait! Perfect timing!

 

An update on her condition: She stayed at a motel for the past two days and nights and rested her ankle the whole time. The swelling has mostly abated and she's feeling much better. However, the next leg of the trail is through Desolation Wilderness and the terrain there is very different from the rest of the TRT. We've read that you are basically walking on "shards of granite" the whole way through. Miles and miles of difficult, ankle-wrenching trail is what awaits all who enter that area. So.... it seems prudent that she not risk it. I will continue solo for another two days and then we'll re-evaluate again.

In the meantime, before picking me up she had already checked us into the AirBnB (#2). After being apprised of her situation and condition, the host, Randy, went out of his way to offer assistance. He carried her backpack and other belongings upstairs to the room, brought extra pillows so she could prop up her sore foot, made a batch of freshly-ground coffee, and even offered her some organic, locally-sourced ointment that had THC in it (legal in California) (I think). Legal or not, she says it worked very well and she felt instant pain relief. Imagine that! Thank you Randy!

After a quick shower and change of clothes we headed out to dinner at “Izzy's Burger Spa” in SLT which came highly recommended. It was good. Not spectacular, just good food reasonably priced. They had outdoor seating which made it even better. I would eat there again.

Day 10: After breakfast at “Key's Cafe” (another place the locals go to eat), it was back to the trail for me. I got underway at 10:50am. It's normally uphill from any road crossing and this was no exception. Two miles and about an hour later I emerged from the forest on the south end of Echo Lake. From there the trail passes to the east around the lake. Some hikers take a water taxi from this point which eliminates about 4-5 miles of trail. I did not. The southern border of Desolation Wilderness is here, although there was nothing desolate about this particular spot. Tons of cars in the parking lot, and tons of people wandering about. There were signs reminding hikers that a “permission slip” was required to go beyond a certain point on the trail. Or else what, I wondered. How many don't comply, I wondered.

The trail was immediately much more difficult. It was a good thing my wife opted out of this section. But the views of the area were great. Evidently there is private property around the perimeter of this lake. All kinds of houses exist along the rugged shoreline, everything from cute little cabins to extravagant mansions. I assume the owners all have to keep boats at the marina to access their properties; I didn't see any roads or vehicles once I got past the parking area. There were also lots of dayhikers in this section, some just carrying towels as if they were headed for some secluded beach which I never saw.

 Hobbit house on Echo Lake

As I left Echo Lake behind me around MM 125, the crowds quickly thinned out. The trail also continued to get even rougher and had now become the exact antithesis of the soft footpath which predominated during the first half of this TRT journey. The surface that was previously 99.5% duff had transformed into rocks, rocks, and more rocks, reminiscent of my experience on the AT in “Rocksylvania” many years ago.

 
They weren't kidding about the rocky trail in Desolation Wilderness

I stopped for lunch and while I was eating, a ranger came by. This was the first one I had seen since starting the trail 10 days prior. He asked if my permit was current. I said yup and that was good enough for him, no need to display it.

This is truly the land of lakes. After Echo came Aloha, then Heather, Susie, and finally Gillmore at MM 133 where I quit for the day. All of them were gems and worthy of further exploration (on a subsequent visit). I was surprised that there were so many people at Gillmore since I didn't see many hikers on the trail in the hour or two before arriving. The few folks I DID see along the way that afternoon were mostly PCT thru-hikers going the other way who had flip-flopped because of the deep snow in the Sierras in June and were now working on “closing the gap”. They had already been on the trail for about four months and were currently within a few weeks of finishing their 2650-mile trek. And here I was on “day 10” of my own comparatively inconsequential journey. I stood in awe of their accomplishment, astonished that they would even stop to talk to me.

Lake Aloha

 

Heather Lake

"shards of granite" (aka scree)

When I first arrived at Gillmore it was difficult to find a spot. How close is too close to your neighbor? I didn't know, but eventually settled on a pair of trees that I felt did not encroach on anyone's territory. Don't get the wrong idea... when I say there were “many” other campers here, I mean maybe a dozen. And from where I hung my hammock I could only see two of them.

Shortly after I arrived, a tiny twentysomething Asian woman rolled in and was having the same dilemma as me. She eventually found a spot to pitch a tent for herself and her dog. They were a perfect match: she probably weighed all of 80 pounds soaking wet, and her dog was about as small as they come. I wondered how someone as petite as her could carry a full backpacking kit on a trail such as this. And her little dog! That thing might have been 5 pounds max, so it sure as heck wasn't gonna be carrying any additional weight. Which meant its OWNER must have been carrying its food and water and whatever else it needed. And those little 4” legs... could it even keep up on the trail? Could it walk more than a mile in a day? Could it leap tall boulders in a single bound?  She said it was 11 years old, not exactly a spring chicken! Again, it was a mystery to me, and remains such. They were gone in the morning before I got up.

During the night I was awakened by other campers yelling and making a racket trying to scare a bear away. I never saw the bear. To my knowledge, it never came near my hammock, and my canister was undisturbed in the morning. But the yelling persisted for about 30 minutes, possibly longer. I may have slept through some of it.

I hiked 13.0 miles this day, even with starting so late in the morning and the rugged terrain. The elevation at Gillmore was 8320' and the low temp overnight was 51 degrees. I'd rate this campsite 8.5/10.

"Ginger" the wonder dog

Camp 8 at Gillmore Lake

Day 11: Woke up at 8:10 and broke camp at 9:45. The trail headed uphill almost immediately and passed to the east of Half Moon Lake which is nestled in a bowl and looked like an interesting place to explore someday. I had heard that Dick's Pass was grueling, and that was where I was headed next. Actually, I didn't find it all that difficult a climb, probably because there was a lot of uphill on the way to Gillmore the previous day. I got to the top of the pass right at 11:00am and paused for a snack while enjoying the amazing view. Next it was down to Dick's Lake, and then on to Fontanillis Lake where I replenished my water supply.

I don't know how much more of this I can take...

Dick's Pass

Many backpackers stop along the way to swim in these secluded lakes and I came upon a pair of young women who were preparing to do just that in Fontanillis. It was midday, sunny, and very warm, so there was no better time to take a dip. Personally, I found the lake water too cold to be enticing. If I jumped in, it would only be for a moment and just to be able to say I did... hardly worth the trouble. To be honest, I DID wonder if the girls were planning on skinny dipping, but to be gentlemanly I didn't stick around to find out.

Next were Upper and Middle Velma Lakes. This was supposed to be one of the places where bears were having a heyday stealing camper's food. I made it a point to pause often and scan the area for movement hoping to catch a glimpse of one of them, but it was not to be. A few miles later I reached the northern border of the Desolation Wilderness. I had read somewhere that DW is one of the most popular hiking areas in the country. While I certainly see the appeal, I think the eastern side of Lake Tahoe is prettier. Just my opinion.

While solo hiking, one has lots of time to ponder various things. Long stretches of trail without any human interaction will inevitably produce random and sometimes wild thoughts. Consider this example: At the time of this backpacking trip, there were thousands, probably millions, of grasshoppers flying about, especially in the meadows. As I was plodding along one day looking down at the trail, I watched as grasshopper after grasshopper made way for my passage. But not all of them reacted the same to my approach. After observing this for quite some time, I came to the following conclusion, which may or may not have some application to humans. The smart grasshoppers (which were the vast majority) would hop-fly perpendicular to the trail, thereby minimizing the amount of energy required to avoid being squashed by this relative giant in their midst. One quick motion and they were completely out of danger and free to go back to whatever they were doing before the intrusion. The “smarter” grasshoppers on the other hand would instead fly about five feet ahead of me and land directly on the trail again, pause for a second or two, and then repeat the process over and over again as I continued to walk in their direction. Sometimes the same grasshopper would perform this action a dozen times or more before finally moving to the side to catch his (or her) breath. [I consider it a safe assumption that all grasshoppers are either male or female and therefore don't mind me using those pronouns]. I could only guess that these smarter grasshoppers were (at great personal risk to themselves) studying human behavior and hoped to one day have their findings published in some prestigious scientific journal which might ultimately lead to them eventually being recognized by grasshoppers worldwide as an expert in their field. They could then command a large salary by teaching at a well-respected grasshopper university, appear on GTV as an expert on how to best avoid being attacked and killed by those vicious, bloodthirsty humans, and maybe even secure a multi-million-dollar government grant to do even more in-depth studies of humans walking on backcountry trails in the western United States. Finally, there were some grasshoppers that neither flew perpendicular to nor along the trail ahead of me. In fact, they did not move at all. I surmised that THESE grasshoppers were the smartest of all because they had learned, probably through simple observation, that humans on the trail were no threat whatsoever and they didn't need to fret about their approach or waste any time or effort moving out of the way. Indeed, they had seen with their own compound eyes that humans walking on the trail would, without exception, alter their stride as required in order to AVOID stomping on any grasshopper that was “in the way”. They never read this in any book, or learned it in any classroom, but nevertheless it was true. Unfortunately, most of their peers could not accept this idea, it was simply too radical a concept. My conclusion? All grasshoppers are smart in their own way.

OK, back to reality. My ultimate goal for the day was Richardson Lake at MM 148.3 and I arrived there at 5:15pm. There were a few other campers already settled, so I found a nice spot on the lakeshore for myself and hung the hammock. After taking care of the usual camp chores and cooking some dinner, I set out to explore the rest of the lake and perhaps meet some of my temporary neighbors. I ended up chatting for a while with “Trish”, a solo backpacker who was section-hiking the TRT and headed in the same direction as me. We talked about gear for a bit... she owned some of the best, including a Z-packs Duplex Tent. Interestingly, when I got around to telling her the story of my wife's unfortunate injury, she already knew all about it from Facebook. HA! Evidently my wife had posted something on there while hanging out at the motel so that our family back home would know what was happening with us, and this complete stranger camped next to me had already stumbled upon it. What a hoot!

It was a pleasant night. I had traveled 15.3 miles this day. I would rate this campsite 9/10.

Camp 9 at Richardson Lake

Day 12: While brushing my teeth after breakfast, a deer quietly strolled up about 20' away, looked right at me, then moseyed along down the trail as if this was a petting zoo. I've encountered plenty of deer before while hiking, but this was the first one I had seen on this trip and was glad it was at close range and that it didn't feel the need to bolt from my presence.

Deer at Richardson Lake

I broke camp at 9:45am and continued north on the trail. The updated plan for today was to meet my wife at Barker Pass (MM 154.7) which has road access and a trailhead. The original plan had the two of us ubering (is that a word?) from the pass into Tahoe City (and back) to retrieve our last re-supply box, but instead she just brought some fresh fruit to hold me over for one more day. She was already waiting for me when I got to the pass a little after noon and we shared a leisurely lunch at a picnic table in the shade. While there, Trish caught up and the three of us visited for awhile. Trish's car was parked at the pass so this was the end of the line for her. It was very nice meeting such a friendly person along the way.

An update on my wife's story: When she and I shared the AirBnB at Randy's place a few days ago, she was unsure where to stay next while I continued hiking the trail. It was now closing in on the Labor Day holiday, and all the rooms in the Lake Tahoe vicinity were either already reserved or way too expensive for our budget. I told her about the car-camping campground I saw down near Big Meadow, and not knowing anything about it (it was not even visible from the trail), I suggested she check it out asap. Whatever she ended up doing, time was of the essence.  We had plenty of car-camping gear with us, and how much could it cost to stay at a campground per night, $20? Well... she headed there the next morning to find out if that was even an option. It turned out that Luther Campground was free. Unfortunately though, all the sites were already taken. However... as my wife drove through, another camper noticed her searching for an unoccupied site and told her that the site next to hers (which already had a tent on it) MIGHT be available. Wait... what?  The woman explained that the tent that was on the site had been put up by another woman “quite a while ago”, and that she had not been there for at least a full week. Also, there was no registration ticket on the numbered post reserving the site, so this stranger suggested that my wife stake her claim (the sites were big enough for several tents to occupy them simultaneously) and see what happened. So my wife did just that and put up our own two-person tent on that site and made herself at home.

Luther turned out to be a very nice and clean campground with pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, bear boxes, and there was even a good-sized creek flowing through it right behind the sites. All for free! What a find!

The next day, the mystery woman who owned the vacant tent showed up. My wife approached her to apologize for commandeering the campsite, but the woman said she was only there to get a few of her belongings and wouldn't be staying. The woman then explained to my wife that she had been homeless for a while, but now had a place to stay and was done camping on this site. She grabbed a few items from the tent and then told my wife that she could have the tent and everything left in it if she wanted, and then drove away. Wow.

So what was in the tent? A crockpot. Some cookware and utensils. Ski gloves, pants, and goggles. Some miscellaneous clothing, all in good condition. A few pairs of shoes, and a nice blanket. Some of the stuff we will keep and in fact have already used. The balance of it will go to goodwill. My wife left the tent up to make the campsite look more “occupied” when she wasn't around, but had already made friends with some of the neighbors and felt completely safe there by herself.

Later that second day, my wife noticed a car driving around, its occupants obviously hoping to find an available site (there were none). Seizing the opportunity to “pay it forward”, my wife flagged down the car and offered to share her site with them. They turned out to be a nice young couple, Olivia and Bryan, from Salt Lake City who had come to Tahoe for a few days to kayak and explore the lake. That evening, as appreciation for offering to share the campsite, they cooked up an incredible salmon dinner with fresh organic vegetables and invited my wife to share the meal with them. When they headed home a couple of days later, they left a very nice note of thanks with their phone numbers and an invitation to visit them if we were ever in the SLC area. It's incredible how things work out sometimes. Kinda reminds me of this old song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6DLsf8VG5Y

At 3:00pm my wife and I reluctantly parted at the Barker Pass intersection and I continued on the trail toward Tahoe City. At MM 159.5, the TRT once again became its own trail when the PCT split off to the left. I was intending to camp a short way past that at “Twin Peaks Saddle” (MM 160.0) where there was supposed to be a nice site. The TRT runs along the shoulder of the two peaks (not the ridgeline), so on the map it appeared that in order to get to the saddle I'd have to go off-trail. The side of the mountain was pretty steep, and I kept watching for any evidence of a spur trail that would bring me up to the saddle, but never saw any. At the spot where the TRT was closest to the saddle, I left the trail in an attempt to bushwhack my way up there, but it was very difficult terrain, and it didn't look like there were any trees up there anyway, so I quickly abandoned that idea. I'm sure there's a way up there, I just couldn't find it. Maybe next time.

I continued onward for another ¾ mile and found some nice sites with a view at around MM 160.7. I picked one and set up. I hadn't seen any other people in hours and it was already late afternoon, so it looked like I'd have the place all to myself, which is how it turned out. I had traveled 12.4 miles this day. The elevation here was 8120'. The low temp overnight was 53 degrees. I'd rate this spot 8.5/10.

Camp 10 near Twin Peaks

Day 13: Broke camp at 7:35am. It was going to be a long descent into Ward Canyon, so I chose to eat breakfast on-the-go. Can't do that on the uphills, but it's no problem on the down! I was meeting my wife again today, this time in Tahoe City. I got there (MM 171.0) around 11:15 and was immediately surrounded by hordes of people getting ready to raft on the Truckee River. There were already wall-to-wall boats floating by with several more being added every minute. The river is only maybe 30' wide at this location and there were so many boats floating in it that you could probably make it across from one bank to the other without getting wet by hopping from raft to raft. Literally hundreds of people hooting and hollering and having a good old time. This is fun? I love to kayak and enjoy river camping immensely (the boat carries all the gear!), but this was not my idea of a good time. But hey, they probably feel the same way about those crazy backpackers who climb mountains with 30 pounds on their backs and call it fun. To each their own!

Unsurprisingly for Labor Day weekend, the city was very busy with lots of stop-and-go traffic creeping along. It took a little while for my wife to make her way to where I emerged from the trail, but we eventually hooked up. We retrieved the last re-supply box from Alpenglow Sports in town and then headed back to her campsite at Luther to spend the night together. Along the way we stopped in Incline Village and had lunch at Lupita's Mexican Grill. When we later got back to the campground, it had been a while since my last shower so I took one in the woods near the campground using a 5-gallon solar shower that we brought with us from home. It was too late in the afternoon to benefit from the solar heating feature, so we used one of the pots abandoned by the no-longer-homeless woman to warm some water on the campstove. First time out of the box, the shower worked like a charm! Later that evening we had dinner at Tep's Villa Roma in SLT. Both they and Lupita's had good food at decent prices.

I had walked 10.3 miles this morning. Not quite a “10 before 10” day, but close enough for me!

Day 14: We left Luther campground around 7am to avoid holiday traffic and ate at Rosie's in Tahoe City (again). What were we thinking? Like I said previously, it's slim pickins in TC at 8am. Sounds like a good opportunity for someone in the restaurant business to cash in. Just sayin.

After breakfast we walked the boulevard for a bit, then went down to the beach for a while. I was only planning on doing around 8 miles today so was in no rush to hit the trail. We lingered on the beach for over an hour, soaking up the early morning rays and listening to the little waves lap the shoreline... very pleasant. Eventually more and more people started coming and claiming their 100 square foot piece of real-estate for the day, so we left.

The Beach at Tahoe City

I got back on the trail at 11:45am and started the long, steep climb out of TC. Stopped for lunch between 2-3pm at an overlook. Ahhh... I will miss these incredible views! The campsite I had planned to use that night at MM 7.9 was very nice, but it was too early to stop when I got there so I kept going. Besides, there was supposed to be a “dependable” stream at 7.0 but it was dry. I had carried two liters from town, but what was left of that was not going to be enough for a dry camp. After consulting the map, I realized that the next for-sure water was at Watson Lake. I never intended to go that far today, but I checked the time and decided that it was doable, so made the decision to go for it. A while later I texted the wife to tell her the change of plans and to give her a heads-up that I would be done earlier than expected the next day.

Pop Quiz: This location and these two trees look perfect for .......

I rolled into Watson (MM 13.6) at 6:15pm. I had read somewhere that this is sometimes a party spot because it has road access. Not tonight. It was peaceful and quiet. There were a couple of car-campers and a small RV here before me, but as far as I know I was the only backpacker. They call Watson a lake, but it's really just a pond; it looked pretty shallow and I saw no inlet or outlet. Curiously, they have bear boxes and fire rings here, but no picnic tables. The pond was clear enough to draw water from. There were lots of good trees for hammockers, so it was a nice place to spend the night. Speaking of which, this was to be my last night on the trail and I hadn't seen even one other hammock camper in all two weeks. Before coming to Tahoe I was uncertain if hammocks were a good choice for this area and even carried a CCF pad for a while in addition to my underquilt in case I had to “go to ground” in the absence of trees. But I'm here to tell you that you will have no problem finding places to hang along the trail, regardless of elevation. One important side note though... I use 15'-long straps as my standard hanging setup. Many of the trees here are HUGE. There were times I had very little extra strapping left after running it around a large trunk. If you want to maximize your hanging options on this trail, be sure to account for those large-diameter monsters when deciding what suspension to bring with your hammock.

As noted, it was a 13.6 mile day. Low temp was 51 overnight, elevation 7805'. I would rate Watson Campground 8/10.

 Size matters!

No picnic tables at Watson... good thing I packed in my chainsaw!  (j/k)

Camp 11 at Watson Lake (last night on the trail)

By the way, in regard to my campsite rating system... keep in mind that it is just my personal opinion and your mileage may (and probably will) vary. I am partial to high, secluded, ridgetop campsites with long-range views, and my ratings reflect that. If you prefer lakeside camping, you would likely find most of the lakes I camped at a perfect 10. Not one of the places I camped was bad; all were good, and most were actually great. Several of the trip reports I read before coming here talked about mosquitoes being a problem in some areas, including a person that described one of their camping locations as “mosquito hell”. I did not find those pests to be a problem at all on this visit, but I'm sure the bug population swells and shrinks with weather patterns. That kind of evaluation is hit-or-miss, luck-of-the-draw, and skeeters can easily make even the best camping location sheer misery if you hit it on a bad night.

Day 15: Broke camp at 8:40am and finished the last 6.4 miles to the Brockway Trailhead (MM 20) by 11:40am. Wife was there waiting. Like all long backpacking trips, the finish line is always a bittersweet affair... glad it's done, but sad it's over. Even more so this time because I didn't get to share the whole journey with my sweetie. Oh, well... we'll just have to come back next year and try it again!

One last long look before the end

Epilogue:

The trip back to Missouri was fairly uneventful and, of course, anti-climactic, so my descriptions will be brief. As soon as I completed the trail, we headed toward home, sort of. We opted to take “the southern route” back just so we weren't retracing our steps, although that would have been fine too. From Brockway we headed north a short way and hopped on I-80 east to US 95 south. By the end of the day we made it as far as Beatty, NV, which happened to be the gateway to Death Valley National Park. We got a cheap motel room for the night so we could take showers.

The next day we continued south on US 95 to I-40 and then headed east, making it all the way through Arizona to Gallup, NM which is about 20 miles from the AZ border. We had planned to stay at a free campground that night called “Quaking Aspen CG” which is another 13 miles past Gallup, plus about 8 miles south of the interstate on NM 400, but due to a time miscalculation it was already dark when we got to Gallup and we didn't want to try to find this place and set up at night, so we just got another motel room in Gallup. The motel we stayed at there was the Royal Holiday, cheap but clean and safe. I only mention this place because they offer a free continental breakfast. But... doesn't everyone? I need a full breakfast in the morning and continentals don't cut it. But... the owner of this motel, a very nice woman (Ms. Patel) will personally make you Belgian waffles in her own kitchen if you ask. Now we're talking! So, as far as I'm concerned, this is the best deal for overnight accommodations in Gallup.

The next day after leaving the motel, we did go check out that free Quaking Aspen Campground to see what we missed (if anything). Turns out it would have been perfect and saved us fifty bucks, but then we would have missed out on Ms. Patel's free waffles. Anyway, now we know that the free campground is a winner if we're ever in that area again.

At the end of this travel day we made it to exit 128 near McLean, TX and drove north on FM 2477 a few miles to McClellan Creek National Grasslands. There is a campground there with pit toilets, picnic tables, fire rings, and water hydrants. It costs $10 per night, but you can use your “America the Beautiful” pass (or equivalent) if you got one. We do, so our cost was $5, remitted via an honor system envelope. There were only two other campers there on the night we stayed and room for lots more, so we had plenty of privacy. There were good trees for hanging, and we had a nice, quiet night's rest. No complaints!

From there it was only one more day's drive home, so that's the end of the story. Except...

A few final thoughts:

Neither of us needed to use our tarps on this whole trip, and in fact we never even took them out of our packs. The weather was idyllic the entire time we were in the Tahoe area. Brilliant sunshine and mid 70's to around 80 during the days and right around 50 every night. Extremely low humidity too, which makes summer hiking very enjoyable and also means no morning dew on your stuff! I wouldn't be surprised if the people who live around there don't even know what dew is.

Surprisingly, neither my wife nor I got even one tick on us the whole trip and neither of us used any type of insect repellent at all. In addition to normal, frequent contact with various types of vegetation along the trail each day, the time when I went searching for water at Marlette I walked off-trail through dense undergrowth for about a mile total, brushing against tall grass and weeds the entire time. No ticks, no chiggers. This is quite a contrast to what we experience here in the Ozarks. I have also lived in southern NJ and it was the same there... you simply don't go into the woods in summer without slathering on the bug juice, which I am not willing to do, so I just restrict my local hiking to the colder months. In fact, I thru-hiked the Ozark Trail two years ago in February and still got several ticks on me! (That trip report is also posted on my blog if you want to read it) The only risk you might have from insects in Tahoe as far as I can tell is being stung by a bee. The wildflowers are abundant along the trail, and naturally the bees are attracted to them. There were a few spots where the plants were shoulder high and draped over the trail. There was no way to pass through these areas without walking through a gauntlet of bees, thousands of them. I am somewhat allergic and the possibility of getting stung multiple times was indeed a concern, but all I could do to minimize the danger was use my hands to close up the pant legs of my shorts so no bees would get trapped under my clothing. I guess it worked, but I was still surprised each time when I didn't get even one sting on my exposed arms and legs. This danger is probably far less most of the time. It seemed like we were hiking during the peak of wildflower season, which apparently changes each year based on the previous winter's snowfall accumulation.

The sun is very strong here. Not only because it shines brightly just about all day every day, but because of the higher altitude there is less atmosphere to filter the UV rays. You will probably want to wear a good pair of sunglasses most of the day, and you will definitely need sunscreen. I was not diligent about applying it during the first couple of days on the trail and almost burned to a crisp. I quickly learned to put some on in the morning before setting out and again after lunch. Of course everyone is different and YMMV depending on your skin type, but make sure you have some in your kit.

As for my gear... I ditched a few items along the way:

1.  Once I saw that I could count on there being trees to hang from pretty much everywhere along the trail, I stopped carrying the CCF pad. Savings: 9 ounces.

2.  I started out with a pair of long johns for sleeping in. Not needed for this trip, especially with the 0-degree top quilt. Savings: 6.2 ounces. 

3.  I started with two short-sleeved t-shirts. I ditched the black one because it was soaking up too much solar energy. The light gray one was much more comfortable in the strong sun, and because of the low humidity, my shirt never got soaked with sweat so carrying two was unnecessary. Savings: 5.9 ounces.

Stuff I didn't ditch but never used and wouldn't bring next time: gaiters, gloves, mosquito headnet, wristwatch. Savings: 4.2 ounces (total).

Stuff I never used but would still bring next time: tarp, rain jacket.

Finally, if you are looking for a scenic trail to hike, the TRT is truly worth a trip from anywhere. You will not be disappointed. If you can't hike the whole trail in one shot, I would recommend doing the eastern portion first. Just be prepared to carry extra water. If the extra water weight is a concern and/or you prefer lakeside camping, then do the western portion first. I hope you found this report helpful in some way, but keep in mind that everything I have written here is merely my own subjective opinion.  Thanks for reading!