Backpacking the Tahoe Rim Trail

Day 1

8 miles. 6 hours. Started in Tahoe City and hiked to Painted Rock. I cried 30 minutes into the hike because I later learned that not only was my pack WAY too heavy, but also I apparently have major altitude sensitivity. What a combo you guys. Once I finally made it to Painted Rock, the view was incredible as it showed a pocket of Lake Tahoe in the distance. Seeing how far I had to go, I knew immediately that I had my work cut out for me! 

Day 2

15 miles. 9.5 hours. Painted Rock to about 0.25 miles past the Spur Trail. The goal for today was to not die, and also to have fun. We encountered a trail angel who provided us with some much needed Deet and a special goodie for Natalie (keeping this blog PG, so feel free to use your imagination). I am convinced this fella was The Jewel (my dad) reincarnated.

Day 3

13 miles. 10 hours. Spur Trail to Slab Cliffs. Mud Lake was amazing!! Hung out in the ice cold water, ate some top ramen, and trekked through snow for the first time. Mostly uphill, but so beautiful. I have a note in my trail journal that reminds me I need to move to Tahoe and hike every day in this beautiful, magical land. I was finally able to start putting down food today. Woohoo!

Day 4

17 miles. 10.5 hours. Slab Cliffs to Tunnel Creek Rd Trailhead. Sunny and beautiful with thunderstorms in the distance! We pet lots of doggos, and I have a note from this day saying "moleskin and icy-hot are my best friends and bandaids are useless." Excellent advice for new thru-hikers.

Day 5

15.5 miles. 10 hours. Tunnel Creek Rd Trailhead to Spooner Summit Trailhead. The highlight from today is definitely skinny dipping in Marlette Lake! This might be a hot take, but I just gotta say that Marlette Lake might be even prettier than Lake Tahoe.... I said what I said! That's how absolutely STUNNING this lake was. "You don't ooooowwwnnn me" (wise words from SAYGRACE and G-Eazy). It was definitely a beauty day for a beauty day. 

Day 6

14.5 miles. 9.5 hours. Spooner Summit to Kingsbury N. Trailhead. The view of Lake Tahoe is absolutely incredible! This was perhaps the best view of Lake Tahoe from the whole trip (see picture above). I also encountered a fella named Jeff who was on a mountain bike who I swear is my spirit human. As he summited, and his eyes locked in with mine as I was taking a bite of my spicy tuna, and goes, "I did not like any of that." We all joked how terrible of an idea it would be for me to ever try mountain biking because of how dang clumsy I am. Spoiler alert... just 3 months later in a serendipitous encounter, I was inducted into the raddest sport of all time (mountain biking), but I will save that story for another page.

Day 7

4 miles. NEARO DAY! From Kingsbury N., we headed into South Lake to pick up our resupply at the Tramway Market. We got micheladas and chips and guac, and we posted outside this store for much longer than I'd like to admit. Then we bought a jar of pickles, and headed to Lake Tahoe to dip our feet in the water and watch the day go by. Eventually, we ordered pizza and headed to Natalie's friend Alex's house who let us stay the night. Bellies were full, and life was good for the big kids.

Day 8

9 miles. 6 hours. South Lake to Star Lake. Another insanely beautiful lake. Who'da guessed it? Between the three of us, two of us had Pad Thai dehydrated meals and some more chips and guac, so we spent the evening doing a little taste test and enjoying Star Lake.

Day 9

16 miles. 9 hours. Star Lake to Luther Pass Campground. Today was Natalie's last day with us as she could only get so much time off of work. We enjoyed a slow coffee and breakfast by Star Lake, and then headed out. I was in a crazy amount of pain this day where my left arm just kept going numb and my back/ neck was in total knots. Pack was just MUCH too heavy, but surviving!

Day 10

16 miles. 9 hours. Luther Pass Campground to Echo Summit. This was our first day without Nat, and it was a quiet one as Alexis and I cruised through multiple amazing meadows with endless butterflies. We missed our buddy, but we continued on and soaked up all the beauty around us! Showers Lake and Round Lake are a must visit either for a day trek or a backpacking trip. So pretty!

Day 11

18 miles. 10.5 hours. Echo Summit to Dick's Lake. The terrain was super rocky which was very rough on my ankles (I wore boots like a NOOB on this hike), but I had SO many highlights from this day including: seeing the cutest bear butt running away from us on trail, "altitude chickens" scary the bajeesus out of us, seeing cutie pit marmots and a sneaky snake, and taking the water taxi across echo lake! Also, Dick's Lake was so stinking beautiful. Honestly, it was definitely a beauty day!

Day 12

17.5 miles. 9 hours. Dick's Lake to Barker Pass. Easiest day by far! Probably because of a combo of the terrain, light packs, and finally getting my trail legs. I even hiked 10-11 miles in my Tevas to give my achilles a break. Last 1-2 miles was uphill to get to camp. Fontanellas was BEAUTIFUL! Overall, today was just a cute little woodsy walk.

Day 13

16 miles. Last day on the TRT and headed to Tahoe City for some burgers and a beer! I have no idea how long we hiked, but I feel like I can still taste the sweet, sweet victory of that burger and beer combo after an incredible 13 day journey on trail.