We just got back from a nine day 120 mile backpacking trip. I always wondered what a longer trip would be like. Now I know. Mostly it was really challenging. There were a couple surprises. I was hoping that with each day I would feel stronger. But after the first three days I just felt more beat up at the end of each day. Usually I was ready for the hiking to end about two hours before it did each day. Even though we agreed at the start that we were going to take it easy and not go too hard it is a lot harder in the day to day to do this. Backpacking reminds me of the board game Settlers of Catan. But instead of a good ratio of resources, you need shelter, food and water. So first we would need to get near water. Then we would need to find suitable (meaning flat) land for a tent, then we would need to have a rough daily mileage of 15 miles so our food would last for the whole trip. When you put all those issues together it, along with swarms of mosquitoes, is not as easy to take it easy as one would think. I still really enjoyed the challenge and the beauty and the teamwork with Justin but I don’t think I have the grit in me that true thru hikers have. Nine days was enough and I was really happy when I did not have to dig holes for toilets and worry about where the next water supply was.
Here is what I loved most:
- Stoveless cooking- I did not miss the stove at all. I have always loved snickers and all the other treats I packed and I felt perfectly nourished.
- Wildflowers- I just love fields of wildflowers and this hike was no different- I think my trail name would be Flower Power because whenever we came across a field of wildflowers I felt new energy, even if I was exhausted.
- I could not have done this hike without these things: (worth carrying)- backpacking pillow and air mattress, hiking poles, dirty girl gaiters (keeps pebbles out of your shoes), battery pack for my phone
- I really liked having the Guthook app. Granted it would have been nice if there was a little more crowdsourcing but even the basic info was really handy. I liked seeing where I was and how far I had gone and how much further we had to go until the next water or break.
Here is what surprised me:
- I still had a list of things to do on my mind. I thought I would just be walking and thinking about anything but there is always something to think about- in this case it was where a good rock to pee behind was or what to clean at the next water spot or what to remember to get from my pack at the next break....
- The Tahoe Rim Trail was not nearly as crowded as I expected- we met very few others doing the loop and even fewer day hikers. Even the 50 mile stretch that merged with the PCT trail was not very crowded.
- My water pump stopped working three days into the hike. I have since learned this abrupt problem has happened to others. Luckily Justin’s Sawyer was fine. Always have a back up water supply.
In case you are interested here is a day by journal of what our hike consisted of:
Day 1: We got to the hotel around 1AM local time. We got up at 6AM and took an Uber to the Tahoe Meadows Trailhead near Mount Rose. We started a southbound, clockwise loop at about 8:30 AM. Day one was spectacular. It was a really nice way to start the hike- beautiful views, a really nice trail and perfect weather. After 13.5 miles on the trail (although 16 miles total including the scenic loop and water run) we wrapped things up at Marlette Campground. Surprisingly only one other person was at the campground. 
Day2: I am really glad day two is over. I knew it was going to be hard for two reasons- no water and a long day of hiking. We got up at six and were hiking by seven. Before we left camp I drank two liters of water since I knew it was a long hard day with no water along the way. We also filled all our extra water bags which meant heavy packs- especially for Justin who carried a lot of the extra water. The day started with a good climb. Soon we were at Spooner Lake. We were deciding if we should walk a mile downhill to the lake to get more water when a nice guy offered to give us a gallon of water from his car. That along with what we still had was enough to get us to Kingsbury the next morning. It saved us at least an hour of going down and up from the lake. Yay for trail angels! SO we crossed the highway and started a pretty steady climb for the next two hours. This was hard. It was hot. We were rationing water and for me uphills are always harder in the afternoon after hiking all morning. Finally we got to the top but we still had a lot more miles to cover. After 18 miles we made it to a flat enough area to camp. Our waterless day is over!
Day 3
Today was somewhat of a near-o day (kind of like a zero day but with a few miles). We hiked out 5.5 miles to where the trail intersects with 206 in Kingsbury. Ben, Jeannie, Connor and Skyler drove up from Folsom to meet us for lunch. We ate at a delicious place right on Lake Tahoe. It was cool to see the lake up close after seeing it from up high. It was also awesome to see our California family. Our plan was to resupply at the supermarket and head out in the afternoon but after hiking in the afternoon heat yesterday I suggested we stay here and get an early start tomorrow for a long solid day of hiking. So we got a room, cleaned our clothes and took a shower
Day 4
We ate breakfast before heading out of South Lake Tahoe and took a Lyft to the trailhead. We were heading up a steady uphill by 8am. I used to listen to a backpacking podcast called the first forty miles. The meaning behind the title was that it takes 40 miles to get your groove on in a backpacking trip. Early on today’s hike we hit 40 miles for the trip. And today definitely went smoother but it is still plenty challenging. After a few hours we crossed over from Nevada to California. Then we stopped for lunch at Star Lake. After that we climbed a little more to our highest point for the day before a long decent to where we set up camp after a 14.3 mile day. Even though our packs were heavy with five days worth of food it helped that we only ever had to carry one liter of water since there were more steams than the past three days.
Day 5
Today we got another early start. We were hiking by 6:30. We had a brief uphill followed by a really nice downhill through a meadow of wildflowers. Then we stopped to eat breakfast at a beautiful viewpoint of Lake Tahoe. After that we had a very long decent to the Great Meadows Trailhead. After filling up our water we hiked another two miles uphill to round lake for lunch. Then we went a few more miles uphill to where the Pacific Crest Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail combine together. After about 17 miles we wrapped things up at Shower Lake. This gave us time to enjoy the lake and the views and rest up to get another early start tomorrow.
Day 6
Another early start. Good news is it seems our water worries are behind us. Bad news is with water comes mosquitoes. The ying and yang of life. We decided to skip eating breakfast at our site in search of a place less buggy. After walking for awhile we decided to just eat something quick. Soon we started a really long descent. Usually our hikes average about 3000 feet of elevation gain a day. It is somewhat of a roller coaster with a good amount of ups and downs through the day and nothing is ever so steep up or down that I can’t take it - just enough to feel like a good workout. But the descent we had this morning was killer. My knees and ankles were so sore by the time it was lunch. I also was nursing a couple hotspots from yesterday that I do not want to turn into blisters. Justin could tell I needed a little boost so he made the wise decision to call it a day after ten miles and rest up. We are ahead of schedule anyway because our permit for Desolation Wilderness begins tomorrow and we already made it to that point of the trail. So we will head into town, rest my feet and hit the trail again first thing in the morning. The only regret is if we had known this we could have carried less food the last couple days. But at least we don’t have to waste time resupplying. So off to an unexpected but much needed shower and back on the trail first thing tomorrow.
Day 7
By 8am we were entering Desolation Wilderness. We have been looking forward to this part of the hike and it did not disappoint. First we walked along Echo Lake and after five miles we made it to the gem for lunch- Aloha Lake. We actually took two lunch breaks here because it was that spectacular and also we were not in a huge rush since we were planning a shorter day today. Aloha Lake also had ideal foot soaking areas and my feet are still in need of a lot of soaking after yesterday’s killer downhill- I am still not back to myself. After lunch we continued on past several other lakes until we stopped at Gilmore Lake around 4:00pm. Even though we only clocked 11 miles, it still took awhile with all the photo stops. Also there was quite a bit of rerouting for snow and the terrain was not the fastest to traverse.
Day 8
A week ago we hit the trail. Since then we have covered over 100 miles on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Today we did about 15.5 miles. Our morning started with swarms of mosquitoes. We broke down camp. (Well let’s be honest mostly- Justin broke down camp- he has been pulling a lot of weight on this trip- finding camping spots, getting water and making sure we stay on trail when there is too much snow to follow the trail.). Anyway.... after leaving Gilmore Lake we headed up to Dicks Pass. This was a good climb and we had some snow but the harder part was on the downhill on the other side. It was hard to stay on the trail with all the snow and there were a couple parts I had to sled down on my bottom. Sledding in July was a first for me but I do not recommend sledding with out a tube. My tailbone hurts. Once we got over the pass and through the snow the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. After about ten miles the mosquitoes let up and thankfully our lake tonight- Richardson- has a nice breeze and we are bug free.
Day 9
Another early start- trying to get miles in before it gets hot. Once again we ate on the run from mosquitoes. We went up and down and up again and finally found a little reprieve so we took our first break of the day. Then we headed across our final snowy area. As we got closer to Tahoe City we started looking for somewhere to camp but the closer we got, the more we realized we were getting too close to town for good camping so after about 18 miles for the day we hitched a ride with a couple at the trailhead and they dropped us off at the closest brewery to celebrate. So after 9 days we are wrapping things up with more than 120 miles on the Tahoe Rim Trail. We won’t finish the entire circuit but we got pretty far and had a lot of fun. Special thanks to Justin for being the brains behind the operation on most days.
