TRT Day 3, Relay Peak and Yellow Jackets

September 6, 2016
42.7 to 60.9 for 18.2 trail miles.

I woke after six and didn't stir until 6:45. I was about to go at 8 and noticed there was a geocache about 100' from camp so I went and found it. I was finally on trail at 8:10.

After about two miles, I reached Galena Falls. It's a nice cascade and the trail switchbacked up next to it.

Galena Falls

The big thing today was climbing up Relay Peak, high point of the TRT. It's 10,335' tall. I found two geocaches there, one a bit before the summit and one at the summit, then took a break. The views were great and I took a 360° panorama video I posted on Instagram.

I met a woman, Megan, who is thru-hiking the TRT too. She started at South Kingsbury like I did but she's going clockwise. Each of us knew the other would be on the trail from the TRT Thru Hiker Facebook group. A bit later I met another thru-hiker named Kale. He also started at South Kingsbury. Kale hiked the PCT in 2014 and hiked an 1100 mile section of it this year.

There're a lot of hornets out. I stopped to get a drink and one landed on the edge of my shorts and when I moved it stung me. Then later I was holding my camera up taking a video and when I lowered my arms, I got stung.

Shortly after that, I stopped at a spring to get water for the rest of the day. The next water source is around 17 miles farther so I filled up, especially since I would be dry camping again tonight. There were a lot of yellow jackets near the spring so I was a bit on edge after getting stung not long before but they didn't bother me here.

Spring Water

So far I haven't bothered to use sunscreen but I should have today. Today the trail was much more exposed and the left side of my neck ended up getting sun burnt.

Where I Got Stung for the Second Time

I stopped to get a drink and noticed there was a geocache less than 100' away. It was placed for the Placer County high point. I found the cache and ended up with a county high point too.

My plan is to stop about five miles before Tahoe City tomorrow, then the next day, I'll get to Tahoe City in the morning and resupply, then get back on the trail in the afternoon.  That made today fairly easy, even with Relay Peak. It should make for another easy day tomorrow too.

When I started setting up camp, the mosquitoes came out. I set up my tarp and net-tent, no cowboy camping tonight. I also zipped on my pant legs and wore my wind jacket and hood to keep the bugs at bay while I had dinner.

TRT Day 2, Sand Harbor Overlook

September 5, 2016
21.4 to 42.7 for 21.3 trail miles plus 1.3 miles to Sand Harbor overlook.

Late last night, three trail runners passed by my camp. I heard them first and then saw their lights. I don't think they noticed I was there; I didn't here them say anything about me or my camp. Then this morning when I was breaking camp, a woman backpacker walked by. I don't think she noticed me or my camp either. It always surprises me how often people walk by and don't notice me. I think I notice most people but then, if I didn't notice them, I wouldn't know. It's a quandary.

I was on the trail at half past seven. There were some great views of Lake Tahoe as I went below Snow Valley Peak towards Marlette Lake. The view of Marlette Lake is pretty spectacular too. Then there were great views to the east towards the valley where Carson City is.

Marlette Lake

I stopped for water and an early lunch at the Marlette Peak campground. There's a well with a hand pump to get the water. It took several pumps to get the water flowing and I couldn't wait too long between pumps to fill the next bottle. I didn't see anybody at the campground except for a couple of Mt. bikers that passed by. I took advantage of a picnic table and ate some lunch. Tables are nice to use when available.

I saw two other backpackers today. They were out for the weekend and were heading out at Spooner Summit. I saw them a bit past the Snow Valley Peak junction. I did see several people day hiking, especially between Marlette Peak and Tunnel Creek road. There was a fair number of cyclists out too, but nothing compared to the numbers I saw yesterday.

I heard the side trip to Sand Harbor Overlook was a must. I read about it before the hike and then the three backpackers I talked to above Spooner Summit yesterday mentioned it too. So when I reached Christopher's Loop, the trail to the overlook, I dropped my pack and headed up. Oh man, the view was incredible. It's the best view of Lake Tahoe I've seen so far and I bet it will be the best of the trip. It's truly spectacular! There was a geocache nearby too, so I went and found that since I was there. I also had phone service so I posted a picture on Instagram. It was really great up there.

From there the trail dropped to Tunnel Creek road. After crossing the road, mountain bikes are only allowed on even numbered days. Today is the fifth so no more bicycles today. There really was nobody from there until I neared Tahoe Meadows. The trail basically ascends a ridge to a ski area, then drops to Tahoe Meadows. As I was getting close to Tahoe Meadows, I was thinking how nice it had been to not have to worry about cyclists when one came up the trail. When he came by, I snidely asked, "You're not supposed to be here are you?" He commented about just going until there was no more up. I'm not sure how that made it okay for to be on the trail. Maybe he was just clueless. I don't know.

It was getting late in the day when I neared Tahoe Meadows. My left foot was getting a bit of a hot spot so I figured I better stop and see what was up. I took my shoes and socks off and wiped my feet off then got all the sand and dust off of my shoes and socks. Everything seemed fine, so I put them back on and continued hiking. No more problems.

Tahoe meadows is pretty nice and there was a good view of it when I crossed Ophir Creek. From there the trail crosses the meadow and then follows a highway to the Mt. Rose campground where I filled up on water. I left the campground with over four liters of water. I didn't need so much but I wasn't sure of the water situation coming up and I knew I'd be dry camping tonight.

Tahoe Meadows

From there, I went to the Mt. Rose Summit trailhead/rest stop and dumped my garbage and used TP. It's nice to be able to do that. The place I planned to camp was about a half mile uphill from there. I was running out of light and worried what the camping area would be like. Well I made it there fine and there was actually several nice places to camp. I was real happy with my campsite and had a nice view of the sunset over Lake Tahoe. There's also a nice view of city lights off to the east. I had phone service too, so I posted a picture and gave Barbara a call. It was a great way to end the day.

Sunset Near Camp

TRT Day 1, Mountain Bikes

September 4, 2016
2.3 to 21.4 for 19.1 trail miles plus 1.5 miles for Spooner Lake.

I had a headache last night and didn't sleep the best. I finally started sleeping better near the morning. I felt good when I got up and was on the trail at seven.

I wasn't making good time today and only covered eight miles in the first four hours. I think I stopped to find too many geocaches. One may not take much time but they all add up.

Another thing that slowed me down was all the mountain bikers. There was a charity ride and there were maybe 200 cyclists out. I really didn't mind much. Most all were polite and conscientious to me. The only issue was the dust that all the bikes would kick up, especially when they were moving at a good clip on the downhills.

I met up with another thru-hiker. He was finishing up today and seemed pretty happy about it. He was ready to get cleaned up and have a good meal. I also saw another thru-hiker that had started in Tahoe City. He was planning on going into South Lake Tahoe for a zero.

There's a bench along the trail on South Camp Peak that I stopped at to get a snack. There were several mountain bikers there that I talked to. I didn't stay as long as I would have liked because there were a lot of yellow jackets hanging out. It was also fairly windy and cold.

I was fairly tired by the time I reached the Spooner Summit trailhead. From there I crossed highway 50 and  made my way to Spooner Lake where I filled up on water. I had to take my shoes and socks off and wade into the lake to get water. The water was pretty clear but had a bit of taste to it. I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the Marlette Lake campground, the next water source, so I filled up enough for a dry camp. While there, I cleaned my feet and had some food.

Spooner Lake

Shortly after I was back on the trail, above Spooner Lake, I met three backpackers resting where they had cached some water. We talked for a few minutes before I continued on up the trail.

I realized I wasn't going to make it all the way to the Marlette Lake campground so I stopped a bit earlier than I wanted to since it looked like there wouldn't be any places to camp further along the trail for several miles.

There was a geocache not too far up the trail, so I went and found it before setting up camp so I wouldn't have to bother with it in the morning. It turns out I probably could have camped up by the cache, but my pack was below and I didn't feel like bothering moving camp once I got back as I did have a pretty nice location.

Camp

The trail is very dusty, especially because of all the mountain bikes. That makes for some very dirty feet and legs and socks and shoes. I don't remember my feet every getting so dirty on a trail.

TRT The Start

September 3, 2016
2.3 trail miles plus half mile to trail from trailhead.

South Kingsbury Trailhead

Yesterday I got on the road a bit past five. I-17 was closed due to a car and brush fire so traffic was bad for me until the Yarnell turnoff due to people rerouting for the holiday weekend. That slowed me down by about an hour or more. I made it to between Henderson and Pahrump where I camped for the night. I got to bed around midnight.

This morning I realized I don't have my tent pegs. I stopped in Pahrump for breakfast and called Barbara to see if she could mail them to Tahoe City. She wasn't able to find them but Katie knew where they were and got them mailed. I bought some too so I'm set if I have to pitch the tarp.

The drive took longer than I thought it would but I made it on the trail for a few miles after throwing everything in my pack. I ended up taking my ULA Circuit instead of my Ray-Way backpack. I chickened out with the amount of water I need to carry. It's heavy! I didn't weigh it, maybe I should have.

I pretty much drove straight through with few stops. Breakfast in Pahrump, lunch and gas in I don't remember where. I also checked out the tufa at Mono Lake.

I'm really excited to be on the trail. It looks like I'll either have a 15 mile day tomorrow or a 25 mile day due to the limited camping in the Nevada State Park.