The End:
Sitting just above the Kingsbury North Trailhead in the early evening breeze and fading light I waited for Aaron to come into view. I knew the conversation we needed to have and the tough decision that we would need to make. I had worked through the options available to us for much of the day, it was time to talk them through.
The pace and mileage required to meet the trip goals were aggravating a preexisting knee injury and Aaron was having more and more difficulty in keeping up. Being the older, more experienced, hiker I knew it was my responsibility to initiate the conversation that was now required.
As Aaron sat down next to me and took in the view below I struggled with how to start. I commended Aaron for pushing himself harder then most could without ever speaking of stopping and/or complaining. I stated that even though we were close to being on schedule I felt the trip would be difficult, at best, to complete as planned.
I told Aaron that I felt we had three options and having started the trip as a team we would need to make the required decision together, as a team. Option 1: We could resupply at Tramway (just below us, we could now see the homes and roof tops) as planned and push on but that to maintain the required mileage would demand hiking both later into the night and starting the remaining days earlier. This would mean less sleep and time to recover each of the remaining two days. Option 2: Aaron could leap frog ahead to either the Echo Lake or Barker Pass Trailhead and wait for me to arrive allowing him time to rest and recover. He could then finish the forth and final day with me. Option 3: Stop together at Tramway and arrange for a way to get back to our starting point at the Tahoe City Trailhead.
After working through the options together we elected to stop together, the way we started, as a team.
Meeting:
Aaron pulled into my driveway, in Klamath Falls, just before 6:00 am on Wednesday, the 19th. He was right on time and ready to go, a great start to a true adventure. As we loaded his gear I hoped that his excitement and energy would be well matched by my discipline and dogged determination (my wife would likely refer to this as pigheadedness). The drive down to Tahoe was an enjoyable trip filled with talk of hiking, UL gear and all things related. We arrived in Tahoe City, located our starting point, the Tahoe City Trailhead, and checked into the hotel to relax and rest for the trip ahead.
Day 1:
Beginning at the Tahoe City Trailhead at 5:00 a.m. we hiked clockwise and upward to the trails high point of Relay Peak and then continued on to camp #1 beyond Tahoe Meadows. This was a tough and demanding first day covering just over 42 trail miles. A navigational error made late in the day, coming off Relay Peak, added roughly 5 tough miles to our day putting us well over 45 miles total. This was the first of three such errors, each having a true and lasting impact on our hike. The added miles and time walking, if on course, would have put us ahead of schedule and would have had a positive and rewarding effect. Being that the time and energy was spent correcting direction and backtracking, these errors were likely the beginning of the end.
The view from high on Relay Peak just prior to making our first big navigational error of Day 1.
(This trip was a spontaneous trip for me – getting my map only Monday (the 17th) prior to driving down to Tahoe the 19th. This lack of preparation increased the likelihood of navigational errors, navigational errors that did occur. The resulting effects of these errors had an impact on the trips outcome. A lesson learned the hard way.)
Day 2:
The pace and added mileage to Day 1 were felt on the morning of Day 2. We set out strong and positive, even though I had bruised the bottom of both feet and Aaron was showing signs early on of knee problems. The trail ahead would take us up and over Marlette Lake and then drop us down to the Spooner Summit Trailhead, we would then continue on to Kingsbury North Trailhead via the climb up and over South Camp Peak.
Aaron struggled early with the pace and terrain, the distance between us reflecting the effort. Arriving at J18 we (I) made Day 2's big navigational error. This mistake again resulted in an added 5 miles, in tough terrain, that we could little afford. Having corrected course we continued down to Spooner Summit. Hiking ahead of Aaron I came up on two locals out day hiking to prepare for an upcoming trip to Half Dome, Tahoe Dave and Nevada Dave. They asked if they could hike with me if able to keep pace and I welcomed the company. They were very impressed and interested in the gear being carried and the 4 miles were spent talking with Dave and Dave about UL gear and the BPL site.
This was the view from above Marlette Lake just before descending to J18.
The section of trail was demanding and dry. After saying goodbye to Tahoe Dave I continued down to Spooner Lake, below Spooner Summit Trailhead, with Nevada Dave. I assessed the water quality and was not impressed. The lake was disgusting and even in my dehydrated and parched state I could not bring myself to fill and treat my water bottles and bladders. Nevada Dave offered to take me to the other side of the lake to get water from a park building and return for Aaron. As we climbed back up to the summit trailhead there stood Aaron. I was truly impressed with his perseverance and ability to continue a strong pace under very tough and demanding conditions.
Aaron and I thanked Nevada Dave for his help as we said goodbye upon returning to the trail and we rested at the road side for a short time prior to continuing on. Aaron's trip report will surely speak to the generosity and helpfulness of multiple locals while on our hike. We were both impressed, and entertained, multiple times by the local outdoor enthusiast. We met hikers, trail runners and mountain bikers. All were friendly, helpful and outgoing.
Hiking up and over South Pass Peak Aaron continued to push hard and suffer in silence. I struggled with and worked through the options that lay ahead while continuing to set a pace which would allow us the option of success. This was not to be.
Each time I would stop and wait it was increasingly evident that we would be required to re-assess our goals.
In Closing:
Aaron was a true warrior, and I told him so on more than one occasion. Not one time did he ever complain or offer excuse; he was strong, prepared and willing to suffer.
We both returned home better and stronger for the experience. The trips positives far out weighted the negative final result and I believe we both feel that the trip was worth the effort required.
I speak only for myself in the words above and I'm sure Aaron will share his thoughts also prior to posting a trip report with pictures.
I would like to thank Aaron for allowing me the opportunity to join him on this trip and truly appreciate the effort he put forth.
Facts:
Time on trail: 38 hours (5:00 am on the 20th to 7:00 pm on the 21st)
Miles hiked (including errors): 85 – 90 miles
Elevation climb (not including errors): 13,775'
Elevation drop (not counting errors): 12,275'
Note: The navigational errors were made in tough and demanding terrain resulting in not only added miles but also additional climbing and descending.
Gear:
Like most of my recent trips I used a custom MLD pack and gg LT3 poles for this trip.
I also used my MLD Soul bivy along with a Spirit 50 quilt and 09 Torsolite pad.
