i have just completed 65 miles of the trt and plan to the entire trail over the course of the next year. i was going to wait to post the trip but in light of the recent postings from a bpl'er who did the entire route and the few who responded who appeared to be in the planning stages, i thought i would just post as i would just post-as-i-go over the the next year.
having lived in tahoe a few years, and spent about a decade exploring desolation wilderness, i had/ have yet to hike about 75 percent of this trail. the trail is broken up into sections with trail heads and exits at each terminus–be it a highway, road, town, etc. many consider tahoe city the starting point, as it is the lowest part of the trail. but to the guy who posted before–it is a good spot for a resupply via the postoffice at other side of town (short walk) or you can just go in and buy food at grcoery store (on way to other trailhead). i will break this report according the trt sections.
TAHOE CITY TO BROCKWAY SUMMIT – 20 miles
i got into tahoe at about 6 in the evening on a saturday night. by the time i was walking, after celebrating the outing with a beer, it was about 6:45. this was my first view of the lake, looking south towards desolation wilderness.
i only hiked in about 2 or 3 miles before setting up camp. night was falling and it was unusually warm. i ended up sleeping on top of my bag for the first few hours of sleep.
the next morning i started early. as i gained ground, i got sense of the surroundings. essentially, you climb a ridge up and out of tahoe city to arrive at a crest which proceeds northeast by east. along the way you pass stunning views of alpine meadows and squaw valley — two amazing cirques w/ accompanying valleys carved from glaciers some crazy amount of years ago. o yeah, they are the best resorts in tahoe city to ski at in winter but thats a different story for a different website.
this is a shot about 10 miles in. it is the first moment when you really feel above the lake– when youre actually on the rim.
as you can see, the clouds started forming early. that, plus knowing that it was in the 100's down in the flatlands, had me assuming i was going to have a summer shower. that ultimately happened, but it was pretty neglible. in fact, it was cooling and i didnt even need to don a windshirt. it evaporated basically on contact.
the wildflowers were in full bloom. the monkey flowers were going off. you'd walk into this large clearings and the smell of warm pines, flowering plants, and approaching rain was intoxicating.
coming to another vista i snapped this shot. i could see the soft rain coming down a dozen miles away. and it was starting to look like i had down some distance under my belt. i am looking west southwest. the last bay area is tahoe city. in between is king's beach.
it was somewhere around here that i thought to myself– how could i not have done this trip already?
you have only one water source along this section and its about halfway through. its a lake. you come out at brockway summit and have to cross the highway. its all well marked.
BROCKWAY SUMMIT TO TAHOE MEADOWS – 21 miles
alas, all trails have their downside. with the trt its water. can i just say that i hate carrying water? and with the sierras as a home range, along with the coastal range, i usually am able to carry only a liter at a time. but i definitely underestimated what lack of water means on this trail. i started with only a liter; so by the time i reached a water source on day 2, i was totally dried out and somewhat dehydrated. then i only filled up a liter thinking i would reach another… yeah after 30 miles. mistake.
so when i started this section i thought to myself, dang, im thirsty.
the first few miles on this section are spent within the pine forest and with minimal vistas. but upon reaching the summit the views become straight up incredible. this is the beginning of the so-called miracle mile– a misnomer really, as it is really about 7 miles total. the views of the lake are astounding, amazing, etc. unfortunately i was a bit distracted as i started getting a blister on the bottom of my right foot. and i was obsessed about finding more water that i failed to tend to it. i unconsciously altered my gait. so by the time i reached mud lake–about 28 miles from where i started– i had a shin splint the likes of which i hadnt felt since high school track and field.
i still managed to snap this shot as i entered this prtected area.
i then camped at this gorgeous spot. it rained for about an hour that night but i was comfortably secluded in my SMD gatewood cape.
the other aggravating factor for my injury was that i had also climbed about 4000 vertical feet, in addition to the 28 mile day– thats because tahoe is the lowest point and this section has the trail high point– over 10,000 feet.
the next morning i knew i had to bail out for a few days off because of the shin splint! i was able to basically limp out (ugh!) the next 10 miles– which continued to be tremendous in terms of views.
its pretty volcanic in this zone– that, coupled with the wildflowers, made an incredible juxtaposition.
then you reach the highpoint of the trail. looking out near relay peak you get views looking back west that incorporate the entire sierra crest from castle peak and donner summit all the way south to tallac. that too is pretty breathtaking.
from there you descend quickly to tahoe meadows. i hit the road, stuck out the thumb, and hitched a ride back to tahoe city.
TAHOE MEADOWS TO SPOONER LAKE – 23 miles
I will add to this in the next few days but heres a taste…
