Episode 15 | Andrew Marshall on the Tahoe Rim Trail

Thanks, guys! Generally, a nice trip report of a snowy year. Sounds like Andrew had a nice trip, overall.

How were the bugs?

As you said, the durability of the UberLight is still in question. In summer weather (no snow,) I can see where the light weight becomes a major advantage. But, in most cases, going below 40F without some sort of supplement is not going to be warm enough for most, and, durability is still a real concern. This means you have to carry some sort of CCF pad as well, both for supplementing warmth and increasing durability. For summer use, fine, but for spring/fall…??

Andrew, you mentioned you started out the trail with 2 Liters of water–was that all you carried?  I’m headed there in 2 weeks, and I’m trying to gauge what my longest water carry may be, and how much to allow for.

I too share the frustration with low durability, “disposable” trail shoes. Here’s a post I started about Hoka shoes in particular: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/hoka-trail-shoe-durability-delamination-issues/

I’m sure this is covered elsewhere on the WWWeb, but I’m under the impression you are in sight of human-made stuff (buildings, roads, etc) more on this trail than on other popular wilderness trails (eg JMT).

Am I wrong? Does this trail provide a good wilderness experience (comparable to most of the Sierra)?

We have unanswered questions here…..anybody home????

How were the bugs?

For summer use, fine, but for spring/fall…??

Andrew, you mentioned you started out the trail with 2 Liters of water–was that all you carried?

Am I wrong? Does this trail provide a good wilderness experience (comparable to most of the Sierra)?

When you guys got into the discussion on the Altras and durability, I was all ears. I feel similarly- the soles of my Altra Lone Peaks wear out ridiculously fast. I tend to wear the outside edge of my shoe tread first, which compounds the issue because as the tread wears I start having an unnatural angle to my foot strike. It makes me feel more prone to ankle injury.

I recently purchased a set of Merrell Moab Ventilators and so far I like them. I got the wide width, which is shockingly wide (makes my Altras feel narrow), and while I would never call them a minimalist shoe nor are they zero drop, they are quite lightweight. I’m testing the soles out (Vibram) and if I get better life out of them I may start using them instead.