Country United States
State California
Area Tahoe Rim Trail
Trip Month (07) – July
Report / Notes
I completed a stunning and challenging thru hike of the TRT from July 5-8th. Some of the forum members here were such a great resource in help in the planning of the hike – thank you! Here is a summary of the hike and a few key thoughts, takeaways and learnings for next time.
Day 1: Spooner Summit to Freel Meadows: 36.5 mi, elevation gain 6,909 ft
This section surprised me the stunning views early on. I felt strong early but was wary of how I would feel with the heat wave that had begun. I ended up behind on my hydration as the day ramped up with heat, elevation and exposure and had a few tough miles with fatigue and headache starting up to Monument Pass until I reached Star Lake and took my first swim of the trail. I didn’t make my hydration mistake again for the rest of the trip, however I did make one more mistake which came back to bite me later. I had not put sunscreen on my calves and they got burnt making me switch to pants at my resupply which didn’t allow my legs to vent as much as I would have liked given the heat. I made it a few miles further than planned as I had more day light once I reached Armstrong Pass. I found a nice creek and decided to eat dinner at Freel Meadows before continuing on a bit further to avoid the mosquitos at the meadows. Ideally I could have found a more scenic camp site but I was ready to stop and I had found a flat spot that would work for the night.
Day 2: Freel Meadows to Susie Lake: 33.7 mi; elevation gain 4,990; resupply at Echo Lake Chalet
I woke up feeling well overall but was quite sore in a few spots and I had developed what felt like an outer right ankle bruise. I was moving by 5:40am, ate breakfast on the go and made good progress on the mostly downhill section to Big Meadows TH where I made use of the facilities and was the on to Round Lake 9 mi in where I soaked my feet in the lake for a good cleaning. I headed into the Meiss Backcountry and enjoyed the views I was hiked through Big Meadow, Round Lake, the Upper Truckee River and Showers Lake before pushing onto Echo Lake Chalet where my family was waiting with my first resupply about 24 miles in to the day. They had spent the day there swimming and playing in the lake. It was such a huge help and time save to avoid heading down to South Tahoe. I enjoyed catching up with my family, got fresh clothes, a change of shoes and dropped my water filter system that I wasn’t using (Aquamira was plenty efficient for me) and was off on the brutally rocky, but beautiful section of trail along Echo Lake up to Lake Aloha and on to Susie Lake. I had a beautiful, secluded camp site on a ridge above the lake and enjoyed my dinner looking out on endless views as the light faded.
Day 3: Susie Lake to Tahoe City: 38.8 mi, elevation gain 5,610 ft
I set my alarm 15 minutes earlier but was moving again by 5:40 as I had to spend extra time prepping my feet and blisters that had started to form. My ankles felt better today though with a shoe switch I was able to make at Echo Lake. I made good progress up an over Dicks Pass in the cool morning and enjoyed the views and scenery of Dicks, Fontanillis and Velma Lakes. From there, it was one of the more dull sections of the trail as its mostly 15 miles of forest walking until reaching Barker Pass where I encountered my first trail magic – brownies, Gatorade, iced coffee and fresh fruit from two different trail angels – it was incredible! I didn’t want to leave but knew I had a long day still ahead. Great views of Lake Tahoe start again after Barker Pass and the time and miles passed fast again. As I considered my plan for the next day further, I committed to pushing past my planned stop along Ward Creek and hiked the extra 6 or 7 miles to Tahoe City. A friend of mine has a home, right off the trail so the convenience was too much to pass up. As I descended from Twin Peaks down to the valleys below, I realized I had developed heat rash and blisters on my feet and calves with the worst of it on my heals. Luckily it stayed manageable and not too painful the rest of the trip, but I was cognizant to clean my feet well and ensure I dried them out a few times the next two days. I also slept without socks on my feet so they could air out better at night.
Day 4: Tahoe City to Gray Lake: 33.5 mi; elevation gain 6, 283 ft; resupply at Brockway Summit
I slept in to 6:30 thinking I had some extra time which turned out to be a mistake as I didn’t make it to Gray Lake until almost 9pm as the light was fading. While mostly gradual, it is almost all up from Tahoe City until reaching Relay Peak in the Mount Rose Wilderness. There are some nice views the first several miles out of Tahoe City but this is then one of the more mundane stretches until you reach Brockway Summit where I met my family again, refilled water and got the last of my food to take me the next 1.5 days. The views and trail starting about 5 miles past Brockway Summit are spectacular though. I found myself on top of Rose Knob at sunset and was incredibly thankful to be there at that time even though I was feeling very tired from the heat and cumulative fatigue of the miles. I can’t be certain as I arrived as it was getting dark and left at first light the next morning, but I think I was the only person camping at Gray Lake this evening and the solitude was very peaceful.
Day 5: Gray Lake to Spooner Summit: 34.5 mi; elevation gain 4,373 ft
Final day of my TRT journey. I caught a stunning sunrise from Relay Peak, traversed the Mt Rose wilderness and then made my down the northern portion of the east side. It was a bit of a slog with tired legs, painful feet, the heat and exposure on this section but it was an incredibly beautiful day with stunning views to start and amazing views from portions of the east side, particularly around Marlette Lake and a few miles south. As the final miles passed, I couldn’t help thinking about both the great times, people I’d met along the way, beautiful views and also the tough times and miles of the past few days that I’d pushed through. I felt immense gratitude my body held up and allowed me to complete the trail as planned, thankful for my wife and family’s support and was proud to have completed this round trip around Tahoe.
Overall, I was really happy with how the hike went. My gear, food choices and daily plan worked pretty well. I had a few low moments but I was able to push through those staying positive and generally psyched on the opportunity for this trip and the opportunity to push myself. A few key things or learnings that stood out for my trip:
When hiking in shorts, I need to put sunscreen on my calves so I can keep hiking in shorts and don’t get sun rash. Switching to pants likely contributed to my heat rash that started on day 3.
I didn’t end up filling up water at lakes. I could always find the outlet, inlet or plan for a stream so a water filter wasn’t necessary for me on this hike. Water was plentiful at this time of the season. Pre-mixing Aquamira always had me ready to go when I came to a water source.
While my bivy worked fine for the trip, with the buggy, warm conditions I experienced, a tent or more of a bug / net tent would have been more comfortable at night. I could have gotten away with a 40 degree quilt for sure.
I would go cookless on a similar trip in the future…where the primary goal is making miles and hiking all day, warm temps so I didn’t need the mental pick me up of a warm meal, etc. The extra time it took just to heat water at night was more of a hassle than I wanted. I also had trouble getting in all of my calories during the day, likely due to the heat. I particularly wasn’t interested in my trail mix. It wasn’t easy enough to eat on the move so I would keep my focus on various types of bars.
My gear list for the trip is here: https://lighterpack.com/r/617foa
Thanks for reading! Please let me know in case of any questions, happy to try and support anyone planning a TRT trip or similar hike.
