Tahoe Rim Trail 2018

Tahoe CA/NV is more than a blue patch at the bend of California/ Nevada border. It's beyond a rich person's playground and the middle class get-away.  The area boasts of workd class mountain biking and hiking.  It's the hiking for which I returned.  The Tahoe Rim Trail encircles the lake, not but once coming within a quarter of a mile to the blue gem from rugged mountains of the Sierra's from the Desolation Wilderness 15 miles out.

I've kept quiet about this hike as I needed to focus more on personal writing and reflections.  A quick synapse of this hike follows.

I arrived early a weekago Tuesday, got my thru-hiker permit from the local forest service office.  I made the Spooner Summit trailhead and was hiking by 3pm.  Within 1/4 mile I'd superman'd over a pinecone the size of a softball while trying to kick it.  I lay as a beetle for a moment before assessing the damage.  Right knee and left elbow bleeding but tape able.  Bleeding stoped after taping.  Left shoulder aching.  I'd evaluate all by Kingsbury Grade to see if I stay or go.  The lake was encased in smoke haze at South Camp Mountain so I pushed on.  I ended with a 7 mile day.

Day 2, I hit the Fox & Hound in Kingsbury for breakfast.  The previous injuries healing, shoulder be sore and I didn't sleep much on that side.  I made a 20 plus mile day so I could camp near Armstrong Pass.

Day 3, the smoke begins to clear, I drop Echo Chalet and into Desolation Wilderness.  I spend a while hanging with a variety of hikers at Echo before heading out.  I loved seeing this area without sun in my eyes as it was in 2016.  I pushed over to Dick's Lake ending the day with a mentally brutal climb/descend.  Went for a swim and got some miscellaneous food from another couple who were getting off a trail the next day.  In this region several trails cross.

Day 4 began in the middle of the night with another group of campers getting the full furry of the other hikers I camped next to.  The other group lit a  campfire.  Fires in California and especially the Desolation Wilderness are banded.  I didn't check the coals the next morning, instead I made miles.  I also got a couple of headlamps in my face from even later arrivals to this area.

Day 4 itself flew by.  Err correction, I followed the sunrise for photos then came back a mile to the TRT.  I had a 10 mile water carry as two sources were either dry or unusable for other reasons.  At Richardson Lake met a couple of other hikers I'd tag with for the rest of the day.  Stayed at an overlook of Blackwood Creek with one of them.  Another 20 plus day.

Day 5, Made the 13 odd miles into Tahoe City in under 4 hours.  Hung out, tried to get a walk in spot at the State Park Campground without luck.  Ate an over priced pizza, resupplied, and forgot to recharge my phone.  Hiked out of TC at 4pm.  Made it a mile past Painted Rocks.  I left town with 1 gallon of water.  I was entering the dry Northwest side.

Day 6, One of the hikers I met the 2 days before Nero'd in TC and cached water for us at Brockway trailhead.  This ment I could push miles without taking the chance of the science experiment known as Watson Lake.  I crushed the miles like cans.  This is the day I'd dreaded on this trek and in 2016.  I made Mud Lake and a spring that came after it with a little energyto spare.  I wanted to camp beyond and tried but could not see anything camp able for several miles after going 1 mile or more from the spring past Mud Lake.  I ended the dy with over 25 trail miles, 27 with the added.  I did not jump into Mud Lake for how shallow it is.

Day 7 I forced myself to nero into Mt Rose Campground.  Going over Brockway, Relay Peak, and into Mt Rose area looked vastly different without snow and ice.  Sparse on the tree cover, grand on the views, also easy on the feet.  At the campground, I walked arund looking for a bucket.  I found a group with a large stainless steel basin.  I did hiker laundry for the first time in seemly ages.  The socks and briefs felt amazing the next day.  That evening it rained.  After retreating to the tent, I got so hungry when the rain lightened I bugged out to the bear box.  Hunched over I sat inside with the canister stove outside to boil water.  15 to 30 minutes later the rain stopped.  I enjoyed the view of Reno from my campsite that night.

Day 8 another mile crusher.  This next stretch was again sketchy with water info.  Some mis-info had made its way around about one of the sources.  I carried out a gallon so I wouldn't need to filter from good sources within my first 5 miles.  I made good time for the first half of the day then I hit Twin Lakes, still with water in them.  My day slowed.  I made Marlette Campground in NV State Park around 1:30.  This is where the mis-info was centered.  The pump is out of action some had said it wokred with poor results.  I also checked a near by spring which also was dry.  I took photos and posted it where the bad info orginated.  I made the drop into North Canyon CG an odd hour or two larer while enjoying views of Lake Tahoe in the distance and Marlette Lake in the foreground.  I had to set camp else I'd hike on.  NCCG had water.  I rounded this day out with just over 20 miles.  I had a down hill run to my car but, I was over a day a head of schedule so slowing down was a requirement.  Slowing down when I'm in thru-hiker mode is painful.  There is something enticing about making miles in the mornings and evenings when the land comes alive.

Day 9, I make my way up to the ridge, trying to beat the sunrise.  I wanted to see the colors of morning over Tahoe.  The descent into Spooner does not provide many opportunities for big vistas.  My chug is now a blend of Carnation instant vanilla breakfast and Starbucks instant.  I sit at last big vista of the TRT for over an hour just thinking of many different things.  These are the things I wanted my attention to be on, personal stuff so I am not sharing. 

What I can say is I want to try to integrate a former way of life into what my life is about now.  How or what that is going to look like I don't know.  Throughout this particular hike one of my old roommates made contact with me.  He is dropping by in late September.  I want to see how he will or has done the same.  It'll also be good to see him and his family since it's been 15 odd years. 

The rest of the 9th day, I got to the car, stashed a jug of water for the hiker a day behind me so she didn't need to go a mile of trail for awful water of Spooner Lake.  She drew water from resources I'd posted which lessened ber water carry.  Without those updates from the last known viable source to where I'd stayedis about 22 miles.

I drove into Tahoe City, enjoyed a pizza at a different spot, hung out for a while at the only coffee shop.  Drove up to Kingsbeach to the Hostel.  This is a nice place, quiet in nature with a blend of travelers, very home like.

Tomorrow the big drive home.

Some fast stats

 3 1/2 days of hiking

 4 20 mile days

 2 25 mile days

 1 day with any kind of sky moisture 

 2 days with unbearable smoke haze (and folks wonder why I hate campfires <rant withheld>)

 3 days with 12 plus miles of waterless stretches

 2 days where my attitude sunk.  Thankfully I had some tunes on my phone as I'd left the mp3 player at home.

 1 day with injuries that heald during the hike.  Actually 2 but, the other superman though a knee skinner amounted to nothing.

I know this is a long post.  Thanks for reading through it

Hike on.  Hike wise.

re-figuring

Took the slow boat out of Stehekin yesterday.  The Stehekin Bakery is worth the trip but, maybe not the expense.  I got a chunk of grass in the RV Park for the night, and rode 4 different buses back to my friend's place in Seattle.  I took my first shower in a week at the RV Park.  Note to self: bring a pack towell larger than a bandana next trip and a sliver of soap.

Along the way I kept thinking, searching, and in general wondering did I make the right choice to bail a second time?  The PCT Association hasn't posted a route around the fire north of Highway 20/Rainy Pass.  A thru-hiker who's familiar with the area plotted a route but, it added 3 days on his pace which made for 5 extra for me.  Another hiker I know made it past the area before the closure at Rainy Pass went into effect.  The PCT Association reports a fire south of White Pass in the Goat Rocks area.  A detour is available for that one.  Getting to White Pass to come north to Snoqualmie Pass or vice versa is an intense undertaking for the most part.  Grief, Washington is burning this year.

Instead of dropping eight days of food in the hiker box, I've chosen to take it with me.  That's a bit of stubbornness in me.  I don't mind dropping a day or two but, eight is a bit much.  I can use most of this on weekend hikes.

I'm toying with  several ideas.  One is the idea of driving to California for a short section but, with essentially 3 weeks left that doesn't provide much more than 140 miles of hiking. Another, I could squeeze the TRT in and not worry about getting back to the car, however one needs a permit just to enter the Desolation Wilderness.  I did the DW in one day last time.  The permits are not available at the trailheads if you have any overnight gear with you.  With the shape I'm in the TRT is less than 10 days hiking.  Parking at Spooner Summit would give me a strong resupply option in Tahoe City.  Or, I could go do a fifty mile loop I've wanted to do in the Uinta's for a while.  The loop is part of the Yellowstone creek drainage above Duchesne. 

My head is a swirl with conflicting ideas for the rest of this time off.  I know, one step at a time, examine one avenue at a time, be logcal and off rocker at the same time.  Returning to work a week or so early is a strong, slightly less desirable, possibility.

My off trail perspective definitely has taken a different shape as to how people look at hikers.  City folks look at me (hiker trash) like homeless yet, when in places where hikers are the norm we attract a whole different kind of attention, people want to know where, how long (miles/days), and any interesting tidbits.  I'm still trying to shake off a comment I heard a passerby made to his friends last night as I sat at the RV Park.  As a side note, I was inside the RV Park's fence, paid, and I typically hang my bandana to dry off my tent's peak.  In midsentence, not even at a logical departure point, he gave a gruff word implying I was homeless.  I barked out, "not homeless, I'm hiker."  I've had too many stares in the cities that I might be homeless.  Folks please don't pass judgement on the down and out or the unusual traveler.  I pack my vacation gear accordingly to the conditions I anticipate.  You do the same.  Is this our normal day to day's?  For a few yes, for others, far from so.  I can't be sorry I smell a bit, I try to clean up the best I can.  My clothes by virtue of the trail life will become permanently dirty.  I look for showers every town stop I get.  I am harmless.  How many times I've longed for someone, this trip, in the city, to ask me my story.  If you do pass judgement, please, check yourself with this, 'do I know their story?'

I need another cup of real coffee.

Holes in the plans

Even the best of plans have inherent holes.  I looked for hiker holes before I left.  Holes of water crossings, water availability, miles I should not do, and resupply.  I also looked at places I could get off trail if needed.

I missed a few of these holes.  I hadn't planned on such a wet trail in places.  That is something that just happens.  What may be dry in one year may be under water the next.  A creek crossing early in the morning and hopping rocks is a possibility may be knee deep in the afternoon.

 I also didn't know about the over growth.  I've never hiked in the Pacific Northwest.  Ferns and other plants push over the trail hiding tripping hazards.  Sometimes the overgrowth is so thick it takes effort to push through.  If it's wet, it gets miserable being soaked through.  Thankfully, I had hot afternoons to dry out.

One of the hazards I plan for but, is hard to predict is fire.  Fire danger gets higher as the days get hotter and drier.  The last 5 years there is a trend for warmer hotter summers.  when I looked into the 15 year average for Washington, 76 degrees is the norm.  In the last five years 80 plus is the trend.  On my web page, I have a link to one of the quickest fire tracking sites I've found, if you know of another please leave ot in the comments.  Most of the word on fires comes from word of mouth on the trail.  Cell services is nonexistent along PCT Washington.  The Park Rangers are quick to find out info from hikers to update resources in this region.

 I will also look into other bailout options next year as there were lots of weekenders in areas that are not otherwise seen.  Side trails like Suiattle Junction or Kennedy Creek have access points.  Millcreek access however is abandoned.  These side trails may or may not be favorable but when the blow up happens as Southbow did yesterday afternoon, retreating may be the better option.

I know I can hike 15 to 20 miles per Uinta weekend day for my local backpacking.  On the thru-hikes I am not constrained to driving to/fro the trail therefore I use 20 mile as the planned standard day.  Days are then limited by terrain, like Milcreek which makes it hard or Ollaie (Oregon) which made it easy.

Other than that pack weight is a consideration, I hike farther with a lighter pack than heavy.  The food and water makes a difference.  Psychological hiking a 20 is hard on a full food bag of 5 days.  With 2 or 3 days I can cover 25 if I keep hiking all day without many breaks.

The unknown, ugh, what if I have to bailout.  I did look for a few options but, did not secure anything in hard copy.  My Dad helped greatly with this bailout to Chelan to Seattle.  He did the hard digging when I left him a voicemail.  Now comes the execution of it.  If I were to hard copy plan every bailout there wouldn't be time to plan the hike.

Next year, I'll have other options available in case I want to skip around.  I've left gear at a friend's place so I need to retrieve it, otherwise I might skip to the Sierra's.  Again a contingency plan left unplanned.

Gear knowns and unknowns, I'm glad for the larger tent to spread out in however the freestanding will give me options to pitch on solid rock or sandy environments.  The Sawyer filter needs the zippered water bags so that I can leave it attached.  Rhe smartwater bottle approach worms but does require one to unscrew the filter regularly.  This action lead me to over tightening the fliter too many times thus shreeding one gasket.  I do carry Aqua Mira drops to chemically treat my water.  Aqua Mira takes a few minutes to activate and then more time to make the water safe to drink.  Nothing tastest better than ice cold mountain stream water.

Injury unknowns, I know I had a stride problem that lead to tendonitis in my right knee.  I took gym time to correct this issue.  No knee pains this time.  Also the gym time made getting up Mt Olympus strides easier.  No, I'm not hiking that trail when I get home.  I did have a few blister on the feet that aways happen regardless of shoe and sock choice.  The blisters were worse with the stride issue.

Three things to keep in mind.  One have another experienced (fill in the blank, in my case long distance hiker) look over the plan for holes.  They may spot something you missed.  Two, don't skip on the small luxury of water/camp shoes.  They may weigh ounces but, its worth not hiking 20 miles in wet shoes.  Three, drink up.  Have a main and secondary water source to keep you going.  And a bonus, stay friendly.  The individuals I met along the way made this journey a lot more enjoyable.

Shortly I'll be on the ferry to Chelan.

Hike on.  Hike wise.

missed day 11

I planned to stay at the Dinsmore's Hiker Haven in Baring.  Andrea passed away earlier this year after being diagnosed with an agressive cancer at the end of last year's NoBo season.  Jerry enjoys the hiker stories and putting up hikers in his huge yard.

Some of us headed to Cascadia Inn for a late breakfast which meant we needed to fend for ourselves first breakfast.  Note to self, send percolator coffee pot, a boil on hot plate kind.  It took a bit of ingenuity to make coffee with a broken coffee pot.

Days off are needed to rest the sore muscles encountered during the first long week of miles.  I hit 14, 20, 21.5, and 17.5 to clear the section between Snoqualmie and Steven's Pass.  Had some huge ups and downs.  This is the most hiked section by locals in Washington.  The locals take the detours and do low miles.  I'd say to the youth, make the thru-hike, note which side trails catch interest, and come back later.

My attitude did recover from the prevous frustrations.  Still, I should have... that phrase is a killer for the attitude all around.  I need to remember to embrace the lessons of the trail daily with gratitude and thanksgiving even during these weird times.

Looking a head, this next section has more ups and downs but not as rugged.  The Sobo's say the trail however is more over grown.  Temps are climbing back into the low 90's.  This is one hot year.

I head out after a good day off in the morning.

This afternoon after sorting my food a second time, I tuned a guitar and played a bit in the cool of the shade.

Around 6 new hikers, the fast Nobo's showed up.  More stories of going around.  Someone took pizza orders, surprisingly for a small town it's good.

More conversation rolls.  I need to put a final charge on my phone before bed.

Hike On.  Hike Wise.