Our plan for this summer was to each do a solo adventure — even though we almost always hike as a team, most thruhikers embark on their trips solo, so we wanted to learn what that experience is like. My trip is the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). I chose this trail because it’s reported to be beautiful, it’s a distance that I could tackle without taking too much time off work, and I LOVE the Sierras.
Day 1 – Mile 26.9
I didn’t get to the trailhead last night until almost 2am. Then I hiked in 1/4 mile and found a good place to camp. Because of the late night, I woke up late. I didn’t start hiking until about 10am. Right away I met a nice hiker named Cookie. She and I talked about bear canisters, desolation lake, and her trip. It sounds like she’s loving the TRT so far, so I’m excited too.
All morning and much of the afternoon I climbed uphill. On the way up, I bumped into Jeff Garmire in the midst of his attempt to set the TRT Fastest Known Time (FKT)! That’s something like 174 miles in 1.5 days — crazy. I’ve had video calls with him before about hiking things, but it was fun to randomly connect in person far from where either of us live. We couldn’t chat for long though — he’s had an FKT to tackle!
I finally stopped climbing when I reached the highest point on the TRT. It was beautiful, with a great view of Lake Tahoe and all the surrounding mountains. After that my descent started, which mostly continued until camp. After Jeff I didn’t bump into any other thruhikers, and I was surprisingly tired. I got a bit of a headache too. Either from elevation or from not drinking enough water. Either way, I was glad when I got to camp!
I had dal with rice and walnuts for dinner. The walnuts in my meal were a fun treat that I don’t get to enjoy when hiking with Renee. She has a mild allergy to several tree nuts, and we prepare our meals together so we always leave them out. I definitely enjoyed having them mixed right in and heated up along with the dal and rice. Yum!
View of Lake Tahoe and the TRT. This trail is beautiful!
View from the TRT high point, 10,285 feet.
Day 2 – Mile 55.0
I am in the dry part of the Tahoe Rim Trail. The water carries are between 10 and 15 miles, and I want to say they aren’t too bad… but every time I am at full water capacity and going uphill I feel otherwise. But all around, there isn’t much to complain about. It isn’t terribly hot and there are almost no bugs. The trail is well marked and well maintained. I’m enjoying the TRT so far!
This morning I met a hiker going the opposite direction named Slayer. She warned me about the dry stretches ahead. Then I met a group of three men taking a break to fill up water. I imagined that they were lifelong friends who have been planning this for years… but who knows. I passed a few other hikers during the day but didn’t chat with any long enough to get to know them.
The bikers on this trail have mostly been very polite. Except for two this afternoon. They came up right behind me and didn’t make noise until they almost ran me over and I had to jump out of their way (and almost down a cliff). Later I met a day hiker who had had the same experience. It’s usually fine to share the trail with bikers, but it’s much more pleasant when they let you know they are coming (and when they remember that hikers are supposed to have the right of way).
For dinner I had cold-soaked pasta salad. This is one of our newest recipes made with our freeze dryer, and it blew my mind how crunchy and delicious the vegetables were: peppers, tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, red onions, and broccoli. Yum!
Freeze-dried pasta salad. This meal is GOOD!
In between the peaks on the TRT that give amazing views of Lake Tahoe, much of the trail so far has been through dry, open forests like this one. Not bad!
