Tahoe Rim Trail Unsupported

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hello all,

I am in big time preparation for the Tahoe Rim Trail in Unsupported fashion now.
Only 5 weeks to go.

If all goes well, I am trying for a sub 56 hour time.
This is to have the average speed over 3mph and have the second fastest out-right time on the trail.

I just put in for the time off. If all goes well, I'll be heading up on June 27th and starting at 0500 on Monday the 29th.
I am going to start at Tahoe City and go counter clockwise.
I just don't want to hit the rocky section at the end and get hurt. Plus keeping my pace down the 1st day through Desolation will help me be fresher later.

For gear, I will be using the following:

Pack – Goite Rush
Food – 3.25 lbs of mostly Gue and Jel
2 pounds Hammer Perpetuim/ Heed mix

Extra clothing:
3 ounce TNF wind jacket
Nike dri-fit pants
Patagonia l/s shirt
BPL 1 oz headsweat

Other stuff in pack:
Garmin etrex legend
3 litter Nalgene Cantene
1 plastic water bottle
30 Micropur tabs
2 flashlights. My Fenix P1D with a headlamp carryer.
Fenix LD20 with addapter around the waist.
Kahtoola Microspikes size medium

Other stuff:
3-piece carbon Komperdell poles
Gloves with leather front pad for poles
Hat, shades, shorts, s/s shirt, u/w, socks, shoes, (asics 2140 trails), sunscreen, ib.

I am hoping that I won’t ever have to carry over 10 pound in the pack.
There should also be some more streams up there than there are later in the year.

Wish me luck!!!

[Jay Wilkerson]

Good Luck Mr. Sorensen–I know you can DO IT! (Focus)

-Jay

[Jeremy Pendrey]

Good luck Aaron. I'm looking forward to hearing about it when you get back.

[Jesse Gibbs]

Good luck Aaron! I hope to see you early on 7/1 as I head clockwise from Tahoe City. I promise not to offer you any 'support', except for moral encouragement of course :)

[Aaron Sorensen]

Update #1

Went up to run the last 2 of the segments from Mt Rose to Tahoe City.

It was supposed to be a nice 12-14, hour, 39 mile trip. Ha, ha…

The North sides of the mountains still have 2+ feet of solid snow. Made it through the first 10.5 miles in a blazzing 6.5 hours.

Already wet and tired from the balancing act through the snow, we called it a day at Broakaway.

Not many people have hiked west of Relay Peak.
Actually, there were no tracks at all for a few miles.

If you go up there now and see that there are, (your welcome).

Only got lost a few times, but it was very hard to find the trail again with no tracks.

I'll be posting more details about the attempt soon.
some pics and a better itinerary as well.

[Aaron Sorensen]

O.K.
I've got the last of my leave in.
Once everything is here, i will get a list and some pics together.

I'll also be taking pics and video along the way.

I'll run it strait through on You Tube on a single video so you'll be able to see the downward spiral of me going down-hill, hitting the wall, bonking and everything else, while still haveing miles and miles to go.

[Steven Evans]

Nice…let us know when the video is up and running!

Are you going to stop and take video on your record attempt? Or is it more just to hold and hike at the same time.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Video's at the junctions, while I'm taking a 5 anyway.

So far I' got the food calculated.

I'll be bringing 5.25 pounds of food total.
3.25 of Gels, and 2 of a Hammer Jel Perpetum and Heed mix.

This will give me 9,000 calories and the ability to average 180 calories an hour during the day and 150 at night.
The calories are for the entire 24 hours a day average.

Plan on eating a little more the first day.
I will need it for carrying more weight and moving a little faster on day 1.

It will be nice getting rid of the weight fast. That is until I have to haul 3.5 liters between Grey Lake and the next water stop.
I’ve still have to figure the water issue out, in order to carry the least weight possible throughout the trip.

[Rick Cheehy]

Go, man go!

[Jesse Gibbs]

Aaron,

What's your planned water intake rate? I recently mapped out the water sources around the entire TRT, and I think the longest stretch without water is 15-20 miles, or 5-6 hours.

Jesse

[Jesse Gibbs]

5.25 lbs = 84 oz, so you're getting a little bit over 100 cal/oz. Have you considered adding some foods with a higher fat content to boost calories/oz? Personally I like ProBars, which have 360 – 400 calories in a 3oz bar.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hey Jesse,
Yes, I would love to add a higher calorie content.
The only thing is, it's really hard to eat bars on the go.
The time spent just stopping and chewing come out to way over an hour when you add it all up.

With water, I'm hoping to drink an hours worth while I'm there, carry 3-4 hours worth and be dry for less than an hour.

When we hike the Mt. Rose section 2 weeks ago, we didn't fill up at Gray Lake.
That was not the best decision.

[Dave T]

.

[Aaron Zuniga]

Aaron,

Wow! Sub 56 hours is unthinkable for me=) You da Man!Good luck!
I didn't see shelter in your list…really? Thats a lot of Gu and Gels; i can usually only stomach 1 or 2 a day. I do like the energy results the gu's give me though! What about Nuun to supply additional energy, electrolytes, and replace all the sodium you will sweating out moving at that pace? I love these on long days and feel that they are a great hydration treat on the trail. No other food on the hike?

[Klas Eklof]

Aaron, I'm here in Tahoe, resting up this week, running Western States on Saturday. Don't have my email address with me, so I'm writing here to say: GOOD LUCK MAN!

I hope you have a terrfic journey around the lake. You've prepared way better than I did, when it gets tough, just tell yourself you deserve a fast time…Because you do.

Yesterday I climbed up Tamarack Peak just to stretch the legs and taste some thin air, still looked like a fair bit of snow over on Relay.

I'll be thinking of you on Monday.

– k

[Aaron Sorensen]

Well, I'll be on my way tomorrow, Friday.

I have updated my list.

I have included my micro-spikes.
I think there will be enough snow that if I don't take them, it will slow me down.

I have not done an official weigh in but my pack is going to end up weighing 12 pounds without water at the start.

The main reason is that I have to have enough calories to keep me going at that pace. It adds up quick.

I am also going to be eating a little more calories the first day so the weight will come down quick as well.

My friend Michael and I will be heading to Squaw Valley to check out the Western States drama. We'll check out the start on Saturday as well.

I also opened my big mouth and made a bet for the record run.

I made a bet with my friend, (Michael) at the 3 day race Across the Years that the person behind at the end would run the last lap in a pair of tighty whities and a cowboy hat.
Since I won that one, the bet is now that if I don’t finish in a sub-55 hour time, I have to finish in the tighty whities. That means crossing HWY 89 and finishing at the bridge in them.

Payback will come when Michael goes for the JMT record. The same will go for him at the finish at Happy Isles if he does not come in sub-85 hours.

I know there will be a few BPl'ers out there, so say hi if you see me…

[Cayenne Redmonk]

Good luck Aaron !

[Tony Wong]

Aaron,

Good luck to you and be safe.

Will look forward to reading about your adventures and to find out from you the trail conditions.

If you end up sporting your tighty whities, you have to post up a photo of that one!

LOL!

For your sake, I hope it does not come down to that. :)

Really glad to have met Michael and you on the Mt. Diablo hike.

How often can you say that you have meet an record holding ultra runner?

-Tony

[Jay Wilkerson]

Goodluck Aaron—-No problem!! I look forward to trail report.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Thank you,
So the tighty whities won't be in the pack, so I guess putting them on will be a change of gear and be considered support, canceling out my attempt?

Just kidding. I bought a 3 pack from the original bet and haven't opened up the pack yet.
I would just like to keep it that way.

Even after running 233 miles at Across the Years, I am still having a hard time grasping the reality of averaging over 72 miles a day.
I know it's in me.
In fact I canceled the attempt last year because I just didn't have it in me.
This year, I am a lot more confident about the 55 hour time.

During some calculations I was doing for the trip, I figured a 57 1/2 hour time was doable, so the extra 2 1/2 hours is just going to have to come from me somewhere that I haven't seemed to find yet.

It's in there, somewhere. Maybe I'm just getting older and more stubborn?

[Greg Mihalik]

It Is in there.
Believe it.

When things look grim you Will be able to find it.

No Doubts. Only Confidence.

Good Luck!

[Tony Wong]

My thoughts is that the older you get the more determined and stubborn you get, which can help you with something like this.

I think that I am a much stronger hiker than I was in my 20's despite the fact that I was in better physical condition back then.

You can do this….it is just one more step in the process of accomplishments that you have already done.

You have planned and trained, you know what to expect.

Doubts will vanish once you are on the trail and moving down each mile.

-Tony

[Aaron Sorensen]

Thank you everyone,
I think when you get older, your just doesn't take the input as well of your body telling you you can't do that.

More than likely because of other experiences that were much harder.
When you do have to quit, you also learn from the mistakes and tell yourself that won't happen again.

I know it's there, somewhere. as long as I can put one foot in front of the other and just repeat a few hundred thousand times, I'll be fine.

This will be my last post until after the attempt.
Thank you all for the helpful input.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hey everyone,
Just got back from Tahoe.

I ended up stopping after 25 hours.
I will be going back up again later this year for another attempt.
I'll probably need to beat a time by then?

Nothing was at fault but my own.
I just wasn't having fun.

Here goes the why.

Why I had to start at the hottest day of the year?
It was about 92*. Not bad, but not good.
Mosquitos, oh yeah, (about 100 bites on each leg).

The biggest thing was going over Dick's Pass.
Going counter clockwise met kicking foot holds for almost 3/4 mile.
Everyone goes the other way and just slides down to the lake and skirts the lake until they hit the trail, so there was no trail going my way.

Just the effort that was put in doing this made the muscles on my inner and outer hips kill from balancing in the snow.
You don't use those muscles much so once they hurt, I couldn't run any more.
That is unlike me, (not being able to run).

I got to Echo Lake right on time, (9:00pm), but spent much more effort with the heat and snow than what was needed.
Going from Echo to Big Meadows was a snow patch and watery mess.
It took 7 1/2 hours to go that 15 miles. I got lost a bunch of times.
Went back yesterday to do it during the day for a nice little hike and it was a piece of cake 4 1/2 hours in the day.

By the end of day one and 67 miles in, I was in no mood to continue the nightmare of mosquitos for another day.
My legs were just shot too, from going over the snow.

I decided to not kill myself, and knew that I was not going to be able to make it in under 60 hours by just doing a fast hike for 100 miles.

I don't think a sub 55 would be doable by me anyway, but a sub 60 is.

I'm already planning for it.

[Art …]

Aaron
Sounds like it wasn't meant to be on this go round.
Good luck next time.

[Author]

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