Welcome to the Tahoe Rim Trail

 a 172 mile loop             

With a quick call from my friend V saying, "No work this weekend." I became free'd from the confines of a part time job and open to all the new possibilities bestowed upon me. I said, "say no more" and was packed and printing maps for the Tahoe Rim Trail(TRT)  

 I was then committed, the next morning(Saturday) I will make the drive to Lake Tahoe and Hike the Rim. I called Echo Lake and asked if I could park my truck for the week? "yeah thats fine" the man on the phone said and with that... it was on. 

The next morning came, my pack was packed with the least amount of things possible. The goal of this hike was not the views. It was to be uncomfortable. It's the end of October and my UL test begins now. What do I really need in my pack? it turns out... Not much.

No Tarp or Sleeping Pad, No Stove or Extra Fluff (besides my Gopro and Silk Liner) It was perfect in its simplicity.

the Echo Chalet was closed when I arrived at 3:24p.m. on Saturday afternoon meaning,  I started my hike 2 Sandwiches shy. My first tragedy of this trip. 

Day 2 I was up and moving early.

My body wanted to walk but was also mad at me for sitting for the last 50 days. So on day two my right leg started to develop Shin Splints. 

Thinking it would go away I continued.

It never went away. By day 3 it had developed from the right shin into the right calf and knee as well as the left achilles. It's OK I thought, today is town day. If I can just make it the 12miles to town then I'll be fine.

I got to town and sat down. Standing back up was not easy. I hobbled around and contemplated hitching back to my truck only 52 miles into the 172 mile adventure. 

I didn't though, I decided to keep on keeping on and hiked out of town not knowing how far I could go. I ended up hiking 23 miles out of town and rocking a 35mile day. The pain would have to take a backseat to this trail. 

my legs would end up giving me problems for the rest of the hike. A problem that i've never really faced before. 

The next morning, day 4 the clouds began rolling in. Whats this I thought? It's only Tuesday, I checked the weather the morning I left and there was nothing in site for another 2 days at least. 40% chance on Thursday night and a 20% on Friday morning. why do these clouds feel so Weathery?

The good thing about overcast is... it makes for great sun protection. The perfect hiking temperature. Not to Hot and Not to Cold. This day turned into my new biggest day. 41 miles by the time I was finished. Legs still hurting but something you just get used to as a thru-hiker. Leg Pain. It rained in at various different times throughout the afternoon and evening on me. 

The next morning day 5 it began to rain early on me as I slept. I was lucky this night, the rain held off until 6a.m. still dark but atleast it wasn't 3a.m. when it started to sprinkle. I was up and moving in a jiffy. Passing 145year old clear cutting scars left behind by the loggers that decimated 2/3rds of Tahoe's forest in(1870-1900) what a forest we shall never know.

 as I made my way up Heavenly's Ski Mountain it started looking like it might be a pretty swell day.  

It didn't take long until that changed. 

I made it to the top of Heavenly just in time for its first snow of the year.

It got a little chilly up there

when the snow began to let up though, the views became magical.

I stopped a little shy to camp in a cave that I found by Armstrong Pass that night. Since I didn't have a tent and more snow was coming for sure, I wanted to stay dry. So 5 miles short on what my goal for the day was to be.  I set up in my little cave

It was a lot harder to sleep in there then I thought. The snow would land on top of the cave, melt and then drip down the cracks by my head making the most eerie sounds. 

The next day was to be my last of the trip with only 28 miles to go. I woke a little late because I didn't really sleep until the wee hours of the morning. The day before my shin splints and knee problems were letting up so I thought this last day would fly by. 

turns out my legs had a different plan. 

by 11A.M. I was hobbling. My left leg which had given me hardly any problem since the 2nd and 3rd day decided to join the fun. Both legs had full blown shin splints which severely effected my walk. 

this making both of my knees start to scream at me on the down hills and flats. My finish time of 3:24pm turned impossible. 

using the epic sparkling landscape to try and distract me I pushed on. what else was there to do?

In the Carson Wilderness I became incredibly impressed with my scenery. My legs were in pain but the views were my focus.  

I was in my last stretch, under 20 miles to go. Battery on my phone was at a critical level. My photos were becoming very conserved and my shins just kept screaming

Finally after a 172 miles, 5 days and 1 and a half hours, I was done. Back in the Echo Lake parking lot with may Dads truck, a bunch of great pictures and some sore, sore legs. Time for some Chipotle and a Wendy's Frosty.

The End