Just finished the TRT and thought I’d post a report. My hike started June 27th from Kingsbury South and went CCW, finishing on July 5th back at KB South.

I started to post my daily vlog videos, so those should be coming out once per week for the next several weeks (there may be a slight interruption as I go out to do the Uinta Highline Trail here soon).

 

Overall, the trail was very nice. I was impressed/surprised by how well manicured and kept the trail was particularly on the east side. There are long stretches of trail where mountain bikers are allowed, so it shouldn’t have surprised me too much but I will never complain about hiking on nicely manicured dirt trails. Mosquitos were out with a vengeance in most areas, however the Desolation Wilderness was pretty much mosquito free for me. From Middle Velma Lake through Round Lake, I didn’t notice them at all which was a nice relief.

Tahoe City is a great place to resupply and/or take a zero. Fun little town, plenty of amenities and not terribly expensive (at least when I was there). If you see below, i was blessed (or cursed) to do the JMT as my first larger thru hike so in comparison to the JMT…there is no comparison. But the TRT is very nice and fun in its own right. You just need to have the correct expectations for what it is and what it is not.

I got my first on trail blisters of my life and was super bummed about that, especially since they came on Day 2. I switched shoes from Topo Athletic Pursuits to the Mountain Racers and for whatever reason the Mountain Racers did not like my feet. I think the higher stack height contributed to my foot sliding around a little more, but that is just a casual theory.

 

My actual itinerary is as follows and it kept pretty close to my plan except I did combined my final two days into one big day and finished a day early:

Day 1: Kingsbury South to just before Spooner Summit – 19.6 miles & 3,242ft Gain

Day 2: Just before Spooner Summit to just after Mount Rose Campground – 27.2 miles & 4,937ft Gain

Day 3: Just after Mount Rose Campground to Watson Lake – 26.87 miles & 3,958ft Gain

Day 4: Watson Lake to Tahoe City – 14.6 miles & 1,314ft Gain

Day 5: Tahoe City Zero Day

Day 6: Tahoe City to Richardson Lake – 25.02 miles & 4,315ft Gain

Day 7: Richardson Lake to Lake Aloha – 20.17 miles & 3,924ft Gain

Day 8: Lake Aloha to Round Lake – 23.3 miles & 4,217ft Gain

Day 9: Round Lake to Kingsbury South – 27.42 & 4,647ft Gain

These stats are according to my Garmin watch, which is very different from my plan which I made on OnX Backcountry and slightly different from what FarOut said. So I have no idea what is more/most accurate…