#tahoerimtrailhike

[halfwayanywhere]

Tahoe Rim Trail Day 2: I came out to the Tahoe Rim Trail because I felt like I should do it because it was there (here?) and I wasn’t (amn’t?) doing anything else - and the mountains will soon be covered in snow (anyone else get an Ikon Pass and want to hang out this winter?). . This morning I woke up with the sun and felt good. I felt good enough that I had no problem deciding that I did not want to be hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail. I am often stubborn enough to finish things simply for the sake of having started them, but if I’m really not enjoying something - and I could be enjoying something else more - I don’t know why I bother putting myself through things. Because Instagram? . I’m not feeling the Tahoe Rim Trail - at least not now. . And so after a morning jaunt past dozens of early-rising day hikers, I decide to hitch back to my car when I reach the first road. The Tahoe Rim Trail just isn’t what I’m looking for right now. Will I come back? Maybe? Will I bring a bicycle? Maybe? Do I want to just go get lost in the Sierra before winter makes everything white and scary? Probably. . Day’s distance: 11.23 mi / 18.07 km Day’s elevation gain: 619 ft / 189 m Day: Relay Peak to Brockway Summit Trailhead . #TahoeRimTrail #LakeTahoe

[halfwayanywhere]

Tahoe Rim Trail Day 1: The Tahoe Rim Trail is a 165-mi / 266 km trail around Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border. It’s not a trail I’ve given much thought to in the past, but I decided to go hike it since winter is coming and I am sure that wandering around the mountains is something I will miss once I can’t do it anymore. We always want what we can’t have, I guess. . You don’t need a permit for (most of) the Tahoe Rim Trail (the exception being backcountry camping in the Desolation Wilderness - but you can clear this section in a single day with a big enough push if you time it right), so I drive out to Spooner Summit on the California-Nevada border and start around the largest alpine lake in North America counterclockwise. . Different sections of the Tahoe Rim Trail have different restrictions and today I jump back and forth between hiker-only trails and hiker-biker trails. Despite bicycles not being permitted on a large section of the trail today, I’m constantly facing down bicyclists heading clockwise. I have nothing against mountain bikes, and actually think this would be an awesome trail to bike, but when I’m jamming uphill and around corners with music blasting (because I don’t want to hear the bears sneaking up), I don’t want to be nearly smashed into by bicycles that aren’t supposed to be there in the first place. . The trail is crowded with day hikers as well, and after passing Relay Peak, the highest point on the trail, I follow a long descent to a spring before camping on a ridge for the night. . Before sleeps, I discover two enormous blood blisters on the bottom of my right foot. Never had a blood blister before. I hope they don’t explode and get my sleeping bag dirty during the night... . Day’s distance: 33.62 mi / 54.11 km Day’s elevation gain: 6,394 ft / 1,949 m Day: Spooner Summit to Relay Peak . #TahoeRimTrail #LakeTahoe