TRT Trip Report: Kingsbury-south to Big Meadow, July 16th and 17th, 2011

 

Warnings:

Hard, consolidated and continuous snow (about 3 to 5 feet deep) exists between Star Lake and Freel Summit trail junction. To our surprise, it required crampons to safely negotiate this 1.9-mile ascending traverse before noon. The snow didn’t really soften enough to successfully kick good steps for decent footholds. There are, also, patches of snow from Armstrong Pass to Freel Meadows, then solid snow all the way to the Tucker Flat trail junction along the TRT.

Mountain bikes can go from Kingsbury-south to Star Lake and from Big Meadow to the Tucker Flat trail junction without snow at this time. The side trail from Armstrong Pass trailhead, over AP and on down to Fountain Place is also free of snow. The Saxon Creek trail (or Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride) route to AP is snow-covered in the Tucker Flat bowl down to about the 8,400 foot level.

Dangers:

No serious hazards exist in this section of the TRT at this time except for the need for crampons to safely gain confident footholds between Star Lake and the Freel Summit trail junction.

Overview:

The more we see of the Tahoe Rim Trail, the more we like it! I don’t know anyone who would compare it to any of the other more well-known Western U.S. trails, like the John Muir, Tahoe-Yosemite, or Pacific Crest, but this trail has it all, serenity, easy access to towns, classic Sierra topography, granite bowls with crystal-blue lakes, high, alpine ridge walks, wildflower-filled meadows, great mountain biking routes, incredible long-distance vistas across deep-blue Lake Tahoe, soft, forest trail bracketed by granite or lava fields, snow-covered Passes, and the ability to enjoy it as a thru-hike or in convenient sections with trailhead parking. It is close to major population centers and airports (Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco), has both winter skiing and summer golfing/swimming/boating nearby, major freeways pass by it (80 and 50), and all the conveniences of civilization are just off-trail (great food and lodging), yet it is so often over-looked as a hiking destination! You simply can’t lose! (The trail even has a section which has ferns and the feeling of a redwood forest). If you want to hike or bike during the day and get a massage next to a bubbling brook thereafter, consider the Tahoe Rim Trail!

This section of the TRT is one of our favorites! Although it has some of the steepest trail and greatest total ascents and descents, it has some of the best views into Nevada, across Lake Tahoe, into Desolation Wilderness, and on up to Twin Peaks and Tahoe City and one of the best trailside camping lakes of the whole trail, Star Lake! Be prepared for waterless ascending workouts (no matter which way you handle this section), lots of mosquitoes, numerous wildflowers, and a real taste of typical Sierra topography!

Trail Description:

For mid-July, this section has finally become safe for summer travel (with the above exceptions)! There is still water flowing in most of the cross-creek drainages like the Daggett, Mott, Killebrew, Star, High Meadows, Trout Creek, Freel Meadows/Saxon Creek, and Grass Lake, so you don’t need to carry much at this time, but the snow fields above them are drying out, meaning you’ll need to start carrying water come August.

We were so glad that we did this section now, rather than last month, for the steep traverses through Mott, Killebrew, and up to Monument Pass, had they still held snow, would have been extremely dangerous, if not impassable, to the average backcountry snow-hiker. The route up from the Stagecoach chairlift parking lot (Kingsbury-south) the 5.1 miles to Monument Pass, largely under trees, was a strenuous climb and quite steep in places, but the rewards of the incredible views across Nevada to the east made it oh, so worthwhile!

 

Once you make the final ascent through Monument Pass, the trail levels out across a long, 3.7 mile west-facing traverse to brilliant and nestled Star Lake, certainly one of the true jewels of this trail. (Now, I probably shouldn’t have said that because it will draw lots of hikers and the place will become crowded, but it really is priceless! Just remember, no fires are allowed despite all the old fire rings about the lake).

Between Monument and Armstrong Passes the views west to Desolation (over beautiful, High Meadows, below) are also devastating—talk about high alpine air! While watching water-skiers on Lake Tahoe and backcountry skiers on Pyramid Peak in Desolation Wilderness, you can cruise along your ideal trail under pines and firs while looking forward to an early camp at Star Lake, a wonderful sunset against its granite bowl backdrop, more stars in the Milky Way than you’ve ever seen, and a lazy sunrise on Freel Peak that will get you excited for more alpine adventure ahead!

The north-facing bowls that you’ll climb on your way to the Freel Summit trail junction typically hold snow long into the summer, despite the 80-degree temperatures down in South Lake Tahoe, so prepare for them and consider bringing crampons and self-arrest poles for your safety should you fall and slide into a tree. Nevertheless, should you elect to turn around and go back to Kingsbury-south, you’ll have had a great mountain hike to tell all your friends about! The final 2.9 mile descending traverse from the junction to Armstrong should not be done while snow is present because the side-slope is quite steep! Should you find this the case, a cross-country descent to Fountain Place and back up the Fountain Place-Armstrong Pass trail is your best option.

From Armstrong Pass (well-used mountain bike route) to the Tucker Flat trail junction 5.1 miles away you once again dive down into trees while following ridges, winding by great rock outcropping with window-like vistas of Tahoe, Desolation, and Hope Valey (you may even watch a jet take off from the South Lake Tahoe airport down below!), cruise through Freel Meadows (right now filled with 3 to 5 feet of snow ) and catch incredible smells from the many flowers blooming along the way, then descend to Tucker on snow under a pretty dense forest cover. During early-season, you may find snow in the north-facing aspects of the topography, but the rest of the route is largely south-facing and should have dry trail unless the dense trees keep the ground so shaded and cool as to retain snow. Just keep your balance with your poles and good footwear, watch your foot-holds, and enjoy the experience!

The 4.4-mile route from Tucker to the Big Meadow trailhead is an often steep descent through pines and firs, past noisy creeks, across brief, open meadows filled with blooming and fragrant, yellow, daisy-looking Mule Ears, through infrequent clouds of mosquitoes, on down to highway 89 and the trailhead. We were going to spend the night in Freel Meadows or Tucker Flat, but the snow in Freel and the lack of water at the Tucker junction encouraged us to continue on. Thus, a 14.4 mile day was completed on day two of this section with plenty of day ahead to go home, take a shower, and catch a nice dinner in town. Once again, the proximity of this trail to the conveniences of town make it a great hiking destination and well worth your next family outing or trip with your friends!

 

TRT Trip Report: Tahoe City to Brockway Summit, July 8th and 9th, 2011

 

Overview:

According to the Tahoe Rim Trail’s guide book by Tim Hauserman (Tahoe Rim Trail, Wilderness Press, 2008), this is the first section of this wonderful, 165-mile route around scenic Lake Tahoe. As of the date we hiked it for 2011, after a record-breaking winter snowfall, July marked the beginning of “summer trail conditions” as illustrated in this 19-mile section. Meanwhile, many of the trail’s other seven sections are still buried beneath 2 to 6 feet of snow and should be considered “not open” for hiking. Experienced people trained in “snow-hiking” should heed all the advice we have documented in our Trip Reports for these sections. Mountain Education teaches all the skills necessary to safely explore and enjoy this natural resource.

Hikers and Mountain Bikers, each, enjoyed this 19-mile, flower-budding but mosquito-filled route since it is one of the driest and lowest areas of the overall trail. However, even as of July 8th, there were a few patches of snow, especially on north-facing aspects or slopes. The presence of these patches allowed us to camp for our first day on Painted Rock (melting snow for water) and find enough small creeklets flowing across the trail between Watson Lake and Brockway Summit to keep us hydrated on our second. Trail Maintenance crews showed signs of being out recently as some of the winter’s Blow-down across the trail had been cut by chainsaw and removed from blocking the trail, but only within the first few miles from each end of the section.

Trail Description:

The route leaves Tahoe City from near a church’s parking lot off Fairway Drive and climbs the first eight miles, sometimes via switchbacks and long traverses, above the Truckee River on the southern aspect of Cinder Cone and on up to Painted Rock. This route starts, indeed, on a rough rock trail bed surface and alternates, thereafter, between volcanic rock and dirt as it ascends through trees with occasional great views of the Truckee River below, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley Ski Areas across the river valley, and north to Truckee and Donner Summit. The trail often crosses numerous roads, but is well marked. Although you climb 1,754 feet in these eight miles, the grade is moderate and well-shaded but without water, so carry plenty to cover the distance to Watson Lake, your first resupply point at 12.4 miles in.

This area of Lake Tahoe was logged for an extended period of time by the Fibreboard Corporation, so your trail will cross their dirt roads, follow old access roads, and even cross one paved road called the “Fibreboard Freeway.” From Watson Lake, through Watson Creek, and above Carnelian Bay to Brockway Summit and highway 267, your dry trail winds through picturesque meadows, over mild ridges with great views of Tahoe, and descends on dusty traverses beneath tall pines to the eastern terminus and small trailhead.

This first section of the Tahoe Rim Trail is quite easy, very dry, has some initial climbing in forest (but with great views),has gentle descents, is very popular with hikers and mountain bikers, alike, and is a good choice for a quick sampling of what the overall trail has to offer.

As you progress on through the remaining TRT sections, you will remember great views, ridge-top exposures, wind-blown hair and hats, sunburns, mosquitoes, lots of seasonal, flower-filled meadows, pretty little lakes nestled in granite bowls, and some wonderful forested trail!

 

TRT Trip Report: Miller Creek Road to Tahoe City, July 1st and 2nd, 2011

 

Warning:

As of July 3rd, 2011, Miller Creek Road is closed due to high snow. In reality, rock-crawlers are able to get through, but not the average family truck. The Tahoe Rim Trail north of here is mostly covered with 4 to 6 feet of snow and an abundance of trees. What this combination means to the average hiker is thatnavigation will be very difficult without a GPS that has the trail’s tracks installed and that a fall on snow in trees may result in a body collision and injury with a tree.

Bear Creek crossing was made via two snow bridges which may not be around for long. Otherwise, the creek was flowing fast and full. Do not attempt to cross by climbing down off the snow and wading through it! For your safety, delay your hike of this section of the TRT until most of the melt is completed, which may not be for another month (first week of August).

The northern descent off Twin Peaks into Ward Creek is, also, very steep and difficult to travel as a traverse. We recommend a vertical heel-plunge descent, but you must be trained and skilled in this method of over-snow travel before relying on it. Always snow-hike with either an ice axe or a Black Diamond “Whippet” self-arrest pole in hand when on such steep traverses.

The Ward Peak tributary to Ward Creek requires a thigh-deep, swift water crossing, but it is not wide.

Danger:

Barker Pass to Ward Creek is very hazardous to even skilled backcountry snow-hikers! The north and east-facing bowls between Barker Peak and Twin Peaks are full of snow, steep, and the trail traverses them. Unless you are prepared to walk the narrow ridges above or drop down and bush-wack below them, the skills needed to traverse these bowls go beyond those of a summer backpacker. Of particular note, here, are the north-facing aspects of the bowls, one, at the head of the north fork of Blackwood Creek and, two, the little bowl immediately south of Twin Peaks.

Overview:

This last section of “Section 7” and the entirety of “Section 8” was completed in two days, but should have been done in three under current snow conditions as mentioned above. The going was strenuous and difficult. Hiking gear needs to include good boots, gaiters, a sturdy, two-section pole and a BD Whippet pole (as mentioned above for snow safety), a GPS, 7.5-minute topo maps and compass and the ability to read and use them, and water filtration methods. Hiker-skills for snow need to include ascent/descent boot edging and heel-plunge, self-arrest, and self-belay.

Once the snow is gone, (it is melting out at the rate of one or two feet per week) this will not be required. At present, conditions are typically a month or two behind what we have come to consider normal for July (we are still seeing mid-May or early June snow levels). The route from Ward Creek to Tahoe City is unremarkable and open to the summer-hiking public.

Trail Description:

The road up Miller Creek is melting off fast, but still has an abundance of snow drifts across it up to Miller Lake. From there (7,100) to the TRT crossing,the road is mostly buried beneath 4 to 6 feet of snow and in trees. Navigation is difficult, but following the road is far easier than following a trail because of its width and the abundance of rock-crawlers trying to get through over this Independence Day Weekend.

The traverse up into Barker Meadows began with some trail showing on the southern aspects of the hills, however, once in the north-western bowl of Barker, the trail was completely covered, but the traverse slope was easy to snow-hike over, especially in the afternoon. Barker Pass, itself, is easy to see and the final climb or traverse over to it was post-hole-free! (This further confirmed to us that the snowpack is very consolidated and will not melt out quickly).

 

We camped on top of Barker Pass and used the run-off streams nearby for a water source. This is another good reason for Spring hiking along dry sections of summer trail because the snow-melt water is all over the place! Beautiful sunset and sunrise over the Rubicon and Lake Tahoe!

Section 8 of the Tahoe Rim Trail begins with a climb from Barker into the first eastern-aspect bowl north of Barker Peak and even had a little dry trail due to its southern exposure—much to be happy about on the morning of a difficult day! The eastern-aspect traverses at 8,000 feet and above of the two bowls that feed the Middle and North Forks of Blackwood Creek started out uneventful over snow and in trees, just steep. The first bowl largely faces east and was not as challenging as the second, which started out facing north, was steeper, and held more snow and, still, many trees.

The steep start of this second bowl must be descended to where the slope is less steep in order to get across the bowl and begin the climbing traverse up to Twin Peaks. This will, also, require much bush-wacking and rock-hopping across rock slide paths. The switch-backs up to the ridge before the final bowl south of Twin Peaks was steep over snow, but had a southerly aspect of exposure, so had some dry trail!

This last bowl could be avoided by climbing the ridge to the west, gaining the Wilderness Boundary ridge, and following it to the junction with the Pacific Crest/Tahoe Rim Trails or steeply descending into it vertically and doing an ascending traverse out of it toward Twin Peaks. We did the latter, though footprints from current PCT thru hikers from the Mexican Border in the area at the time showed that some took the higher option.

From Twin Peaks north, the trail was still buried in 4 to 8 feet of snow above 8,000, especially under trees and on north-facing aspects or slopes. Following the ridge route down to the junction with the Stanford Rock Trail was simple and obvious over snow and had occasional dry patches of trail to encourage us on. The route from that junction on down Ward Creek was initially challenging and reminded us of the TRT descent into Benwood Meadows, south of Highway 50 at Echo Summit a week earlier--very steep, snowy, and full of big trees to avoid hitting should you fall and slide out of control on the snow. We chose not to traverse this descent, but, rather to heel-plunge vertically the 800 feet down to the area east of McCloud Falls where, at 7,200 feet, we began to see some dry patches of trail again to follow to the bridge across Ward Creek amidst budding Aspen trees and great views of Ward Peak, Grouse Rock, and Twin Peaks to the west and south.

As mentioned above, the creek crossing of Ward Creek’s tributary was moderately difficult for us and dangerous for dogs because of its depth (thigh deep) and swiftness. The route between Ward and Tahoe City is very pretty under the Aspens, Firs, and Pines, affords many views of meadows, and follows old dirt roads and current, well-used trails that make the route enjoyable. Lots of mosquitoes coming out below snowline! The weather is getting hotter and the snow should not last for long (plan for another month)!

If you have further questions or want more trail condition details, please contact the Tahoe Rim Trail Association or Mountain Education.

 

TRT Trip Report: Echo Summit to Miller Creek Road, June 23rd to 28th, 2011

 

Warning:

This section of the Tahoe Rim Trail/Pacific Crest Trail goes through the most visited Wilderness Area of the Country, Desolation Wilderness, and is currently under three to eight feet of snow that is keeping lakes frozen and creeks covered, a combination that can be hazardous to your health. These are not “Summer Conditions,” so enter in only if well prepared and snow-trained!

Overview:

Snow level begins at 7,500 with patches of snow up to 5 feet thick crossing the trail and becoming solid, continuous snowat 8,000 feet of elevation. Echo Lake is open, Tamarack Lake is half-frozen with solid snow surrounding it, and Lakes Marjorie, Lake of the Woods, and Aloha are all frozen solid (except at their outflows and inflows). Heather and Susie are 80% frozen. Both Dicks and Susie have log jams in their outflows that make good creek crossing points. Fontanillis and Middle Velma have snow bridges near their outflows that make good crossing points. Lower Velma is free of snow.

Phipps creek is flowing very strong and overflowing its banks, but a log crossing can be found downstream and two snow bridges can be utilized upstream. Navigation north to Richardson Lake through the forest is very difficult, even with a GPS installed with the current tracks. Go slow and take your time! One mile per hour over snow is average. Richardson and Miller Lakes are half frozen. Miller creek cannot be crossed due to high flow rates and flooded conditions. Best crossing is on the Richardson Lake road, upstream. Snow blocks the road near McKinney Lake.

The current melt rate is about a foot per week. With the recent rain, it may melt out faster, but with almost six to eight feet of snow still lingering, it may take a month or two before all is back to “Summer Conditions.” Be Prepared.

Trail Description:

The road into Echo Lake Resort is finally open, but parking is only available in the Sno-Park Parking Lot, off Johnson Passroad, off U.S. 50. Summer day-hikers are beginning to enter the area and some of the local home owners are beginning too ccupy their cabins along the Echo Lakes. Echo Lake’s water level is very high and the spillway is flooded below the dam, but the trail above the lakes is dry all the way past the old Boy Scout Camp, Camp Harvey West. Between there and Tamarack Lake, patches of snow block your path, but are not serious enough to spoil your day.

The route past Tamarack up to Aloha is completely covered with snow and is the beginning test of your snow-traversing and navigational skills. The winter cornice above Haypress Meadows is still in place as are many along your route north. Some are melting, becoming heavy with water, and crumbling, causing small, localized snow-slides, but most are still intact because of the cool spring and the heavy winter pack.

Lake Aloha is completely frozen, providing no water access along its eastern shore, however, parts of Heather Lake is open to use for water resupply. The descents between Aloha to Heather and Heather to Susie are, in places, challenging because of the steep side traverses and the need to “heel-plunge” straight down some slopes.Know your snow skills! Susie is only open at its outflow and is easily crossed via a log-jam there. Some of the ground around Susieis dry,but there are no real camping spots. The undulating terrain between Susie and Gilmore are your next navigational challenge as you are in forest again with little visibility out.The low spot in this area is a creek crossing at 7680 and is becoming a swamp amidst solid snow and Mule Ears just starting to poke out of the ground.

Your climb up to Dicks Pass is difficult at best and very exhausting on a long snow traverse and across steep slope angles. It is recommended by Mountain Education that you do not attempt this route unless you have the right footwear, utilize an ice axe for uphill anchoring and self-arrest should you fall, and consider the use of crampons if the snow conditions present when you get there are hard to crusty. The views, however, are incredible and once you top out on the saddle below the Pass, you will be amply rewarded with scouting views ahead all the way to Twin Peaks near Alpine Meadows ski area!

The descent off Dicks Pass is steep and another dangerous challenge for the unskilled at this time of year and with this snowpack. Once again, know how to “heel-plunge” and/or utilize the edges of your hiking boots to secure good footing on the way down. As you are going through steep terrain in trees, if you should fall, the chances of hitting a tree at speed could more than ruin your day! As a point of reference, it took us all day to go from Susie to Dicks Lake under the snow conditions present. With a snow melt of a foot per week and the presence of 4 to 8 feet of snow, it will take more than another month for all this snow to transform the area to the summertime appearance we all expect!

The route from Dicks to Fontanillis is unremarkable, except for the presence of huge suncups making for difficult walking on the harder morning snow. Walking on their edges rather than in their cups is the preferred method. In the afternoon, it is not a big deal to just slosh your way through them! Navigation above timberline is line-of-sight and simple. There is no reason to struggle to stay on the “trail” if you can simply walk a straight line, or at least the safest route, from one place to another. Just always know where the trail is, where it is going, and where you are in relation to it so you don’t get lost. Fontanillis has a nice snow bridge near its outflow and great views down to Lake Tahoe.

Navigation from Fontanillis to Middle Velma further tunes your below timberline route-finding skills as the trail follows the ridge between Upper and Middle Velma Lakes in trees. However, Middle Velma is spotted fairly quickly and the descent down to it has a few steep pitches to heel-plunge. The outflow creek is somewhat open and there are snow bridges to help you get across its high flow.

Here starts what we, at Mountain Education, would consider an ideal training section for difficult, below timberline navigation, between Middle Velma and Richardson Lake. Besides the difficult creek crossing at Phipps Creek and the ridgeline followed thereafter, there is little visibility out for Visual Route Referencing. We actually found the old “blazes” carved into trees from the past to help us go from tree to tree when the forest got dense, otherwise, our GPS was a God-send to get us through the maze. It took us all day to go from Dicks Lake to Lost Corner Mountain (about 10 hours). Closer to Lost Corner, you will have some nice, albeit, brief, stretches of dry, western-exposed trail on which to relax your leg muscles (from all the walking on snow), open your stride, and enjoy some good views west into the Rubicon drainage and McConnell, Silver, and Red Peaks. Water is flowing everywhere, so re-filling your bottles or finding a place to camp is not a problem here.

The descent to Richardson is easy and a rest stop beneath the tall pines and firs around the lake is a good idea, especially since no one is able to get there except by foot right at the moment! For emergency use, the Sierra Club’s “Ludlow Hut” is nearby. Between Richardson and Miller Creek, the route is steep in places and difficult to follow due to deep snow, trees, and an abundance of “blow-down,” but once you reach the creek crossing you will be ready for your next break! That break will be spent hunting for a safe crossing as the creek is more a stream and rushing loudly where not flooding. There are two log crossing sites upstream, but getting to them is steep and hazardous. We crossed about two miles upstream via the road to Richardson Lake.

Our experience of this section of the Tahoe Rim Trail ended here as Juliee was becoming sick, our dog, Snowball had developed a flare-up of an old leg injury, and we desired to make it to a Presentation of the TRTA’s in Incline Village.
Summary:

Enter this section of the TRT only if you are well-trained in snow travel and creek-crossing skills! The snowpack is deep and it is not likely to melt off anytime soon (3 to 8 feet of snow). With the recent addition of rain over the area, very high daytime temperatures, and above-freezing nighttime temperatures, the melt may accelerate and cause the creeks to further swell and threaten safe and available crossings everywhere. Be aware.

If you have further questions, please contact the Tahoe Rim Trail Association or Mountain Education.

TRT Trip Report: Big Meadow to Echo Summit, June 20th to 21st, 2011

This section of the TRT began a whole new snow experience for us. Thus far, the eastern side of Tahoe (the “dry” side) held its share of snow and then some, but compared to the western side, there was probably twice the snowpack!

Trail Description:

Leaving the Big Meadow Trail Head (TH), we were thrilled to have dry trail with only small patches of snow from the 7300 foot start to the 7520 foot Big Meadow Creek trail junction. Although Big Meadow, itself, was free of snow, it was flooding in the intensity of the hot Sierra thaw and had larger patches just above it. By the time we reached the Lake Valley trail junction at 7920 feet, we were back on a solid, three-foot snowpack!

The route up through the trees and little drainages to Round Lake required GPS Tracks for the trail in order to follow it accurately, but we were more surprised to find the lake still frozen! It was showing signs of melting out, but only the in-flow side was beginning to open up. Climbing up from Round Lake to the Pacific Crest Trail junction was very frustrating. The terrain is gentle and undulating as you cruise along the western side of Stevens Peak, but the route-finding over snow continued to be challenging through the trees. Several shortcuts across the topography to the PCT tempted us, but we connected with the buried trail junction signs in Meiss Meadow without too much trouble. At this elevation of 8380, we were on four to six feet of snow where only the tops of posted signs showed and those mounted to trees were easy to locate.
After shooting pictures of the old Meiss cabins, we kicked our steps through the snow to the crossing of the Upper Truckee River just downstream from Meiss Lake. Several good campsites exist along this meadow and we spotted Fish and Wildlife signs indication that in the summer, the area is good for fishing, too! We highly recommend this area for a better overnight stay than the Trail Guide Book’s site of Showers Lake. There is more room for tents, a great stream, picturesque pines and firs, and stunning views of Red Lake Peak and the surrounding ridges, especially at sunset!

Continuing on north, the much talked about climb up to Showers Lake was brief and in the snow, we decided to pass it on its west, in-flow, side, rather than drop down on the outflow side, only to climb back out where the trail goes. It was another good example of a snow-hiking advantage for the route led us right into the ascending traverse of Little Round Top and the trail’s ridge walk north to Bryan Meadow.

While still on 4 to six feet of solid snow, route-finding along this ridge was much easier than along the ridges of the east side of Lake Tahoe because of the broader nature of those that exist here. Despite the undulations along the ridge, this area was a delight to snow-hike and afforded many views to the east and west. The climb out of Bryan Meadow (good source for water) started easy and got steadily steeper, only to top out at nearly 8900 feet at the start of the ominous descent down to the Benwood Meadows.

This area is not for the inexperienced. It may not be for the experienced, too! In the summer, the route follows the creek briefly and steeply for about a mile then careens over what must be a waterfall (8200’) just below where the trail gains a steep traverse along a ridge. The ridge traverse on snow was too dangerous to follow because of the sideways pitch, so we chose to stay with the creek, starting with a descent of the waterfall!

Here, the techniques learned about descending steep slopes on snow are required for your safety. Our route took us into Upper Benwood Meadow with its budding Aspens and flooding stream and we connected with the obvious, blue winter Cross-Country Ski trail signage placed high on trees. Since we were on snow, we followed these blue diamond signs on down to the wooden bridge PCT/TRT crossing of the creek. Make it simple. Beware of thin snow covering over boulders and logs in this area. Post-holing into them can be painful!

On our way north-bound around Lower Benwood Meadow, we fought lots of wind-caused blow-down and general debris all over the trail making for difficult trail-finding. At this elevation, we finally left the snowpack behind and thought that we could make good time the mile or so remaining to the Echo Summit southern parking area, but with no such luck. Between the garbage and debris in the area of the winter sledding hill and the blow-down, we lost the trail several times and probably had the greatest difficulty hiking of the whole section!

Overall, this was a nice area and we would like to revisit it in the summer! Abundant water, camping spots, and great views!

 

TRT Trip Report: Spooner Summit to Kingsbury, June 15th to 16th, 2011

Snow level is about 8,000 feet on north and east aspects and 8,200 on south and west sides of ridges and peaks. Seasonal creeks are flowing with the rapid snow melt and are a good source of on-trail water for hikers, but won't last for long as the days and nights are becoming warmer. Otherwise, this section is dry and high and affords huge vistas through the trees of Lake Tahoe and some priceless ones to both ends of the Lake from the cliffs on South Camp Peak!

Trail Description:

The climb south out of Spooner Summit was on dry switchbacks up and across pine-covered benches up to the Duane Bliss Peak area where we started hitting patches of snow 3 to 5 feet in thickness. The problem with these is kicking your footholds up and down the sides. Most are soft enough to make this easy, but some are more consolidated and harder meaning you have to be morecareful to kick in enough to make a wider and stronger platform for your boot such that it will hold your weight. The technique for safely going down these fatiguing and frustrating patches is to "heel-plunge," or "goose-step" straight-legged and straight down into the soft-ish snow. Beware of the hollow spaces that form beneath the snowpack due to the melt. Try not to step on the snow directly above the trail or above the rocks that line the down-hill edge of it because you may suddenly "posthole" and crash into the void, a boulder, or the trail below causing much jarring to your back, knees, and ankles.

Of the 1600 feet of elevation gain from Spooner to South Camp, most is made after Bliss Peak, and, as of this date, all was in snow and in the trees. Since the trail was only visible once in a while and for short sections, we kicked steps straight up the ridge through this section to the top. Along the way, we found an old, 12-foot wide snow groomer's path made earlier this season that was going to the top, so we followed it rather than the picking our way along the slope of the trail. Once on the plateau of the peak's summit, we hiked diagonally south over to the trail at the exact location of the Kiwanis Bench Overlook!

The view is spectacular and well worth a lengthy stay, a meal stop, or even an overnight! We had snow everywhere but along the cliff edge, so we found a patch that was level, pitched the tent, melted snow for water, and enjoyed the sunset! For the first time since we started the TRT, our night was warm, into the 40s.

Of course, sunrise was fantastic, and our initial trail was free of snow for 150 feet of so, otherwise, the morning's descent down to Kingsbury along the west side of the Rim was on hard, consolidated, easy-to-walk-on snow in and out of the trees down to about 8,000. The little drainages that form the headwaters of west-bound creeks that the trail cuts through often were south-facing in part, had open ground and trail, and made for great places to stop for a snack in the woods and refill the canteens!

The new trail extension to Kingsbury proved to be a delight and much better to hike than the paved road-walk along Angela/North Benjamin to the Kingsbury crossing. The next trail extension from Kingsbury to Heavenly's Stagecoach chairlift has not yet been ramped up and out of the roadway on Kingsbury, so we road-walked the 1.5 miles to the parking lot at the bottom of Stagecoach (TRT-Kingsbury South), past lots of new road construction, to our waiting truck for the ride home to prepare for the next section

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TRT Trip Report: Tahoe Meadows to Spooner Summit, June 10th to 11th, 2011

Having just returned from an 11-day, almost 100-mile Snow-hiking Skills instructional trip along the Pacific Crest Trail from Kennedy Meadows, CA, past Mt. Whitney, over Forester Pass (13,200) and Kearsarge Pass (11,700) and out to the Onion Valley trailhead (west of Independence, CA), only a week later Juliee and I embarked on an 18-day, media-covered thru hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail, starting two days ago at the Tahoe Meadows trailhead and proceeding south, clockwise around Lake Tahoe, to the Spooner Summit trailhead along Highway 50.

Trail Description:

Weather conditions were fantastic. The “thaw” had finally started in the Sierra with nighttime temperatures at or above freezing, the sun blazing, and daytime temps in the 60s. There was still 1 to 3 feet of snow in Tahoe Meadows at 8740. The best part of arriving there (at 10:00) was the discovery that the snow was sufficiently consolidated (shrunken, compressed, “hard enough to walk on without post-holing in”) to make for easy snow-hiking and Ophir Creek was still completely covered with snow.

We departed the trailhead and headed directly due South, not paying attention to where the actual trail was under the pack, only where it was going to into the trees on the other side of the meadow. As we ascended the ridge that the trail follows around the Lake, we never did see “what remains of Upper Price Lake” (The Tahoe Rim Trail, Tim Hauserman, Wilderness Press, 2008) as the whole ridge leading south to the Diamond Peak Ski Area was under 2 to 5 feet of snow in the shade and on northern mountain aspects, especially.

Navigating with the Tom Harrison, “Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Rim Trail” map (available from the TRTA), 1:71,280 scale, and a Garmin 530HCx GPS unit (that didn’t have any tracks for the route, yet!) was totally “old-school” as we had to compare where the map said the trail was to where the GPS unit said we were, then figure out which way to continue forward! Nevertheless, it is our recommendation that you never head out into the mountains without a high-detailed topo map (at least 1:25,000 scale) showing where the trail is, a large-scale area map showing your escape routes back to civilization, and a good compass. If you are adept at using a GPS, make sure that it has the track in it of the trail and you have back-up batteries should those in the unit fail for some reason.

Folowing the route along the ridge was interesting because it winds along on the east then the west sides of “bumps” (peaks and large raised land formations) under forest cover. We assumed that the route was placed there for a reason (say a cliff on the not-chosen aspect of the bump!), so we stayed as close to it as possible. What this meant, for this trail that follows a ridgeline pretty much the whole way, was that we had to kick footsteps into the hard (mornings), softening (after 11:00pm), and “post-holingly” soft (afternoons) snow surface with every step to make sure we didn’t fall and slide down the slope into a tree or boulder, especially on the eastern sides of things. This can be very fatiguing if you are not ready for it!

The views from the top of the Diamond Peak Ski Resort were some of the first we had of Lake Tahoe as seen from the trail and they were spectacular (lots of pictures)! Once in a while and with great celebration, usually on the western and southern aspects of the mountain slopes, we would suddenly run out of snow and actually “see” a dry trail, but most of the time the 9.5 mile route to Twin Lakes and the Tunnel Creek Road remained under forest cover and wound through small saddles and passes where we enjoyed beautiful views of Lake Tahoe and had a bite to eat (once having a hot meal while a cold wind blew and clouds grew ominously overhead).

The last mile and a half to Tunnel Creek Road was the most tiresome as we were worn out from edging with our boots, having a challenging time staying with the trail under the snowpack, it was late in the day, and we were hungry! It was actually so late that we camped on the snow on the road, melting snow for water. Our dog, Snowball, simply laid down and stayed there all night, but in the morning he returned to his frisky self! It was an Advil night, to be sure!

The next day, we shortcut the actual trail’s route by going 1-mile due SSW up the feeder draw that leads up Herlan Peak from Twin Lakes rather than following the 2.4 miles of switchbacks up the ridge east of that. We were on 3 to 6 feet of consolidated, hard snow, so we could kick our path anywhere we wanted to reach the saddle where the trail crossed the Peak’s eastern aspect near Christopher’s Loop. Staying east of the next “bump” along the ridge, we finally caught a fantastic view south to Marlette Lake from the saddle north of Marlette Peak. Rather than take the scenic loop around the Peak (which, if you aren’t strapped for time, everyone should!), we continued on to descend on snow to the North Canyon-Hobart Road at elevation 8260 (yes, snow drifts to 7 feet covered the road there).

After a much needed lunch, we headed up the ridge immediately south of the road just to discover that the trail went around the first “bump” on it rather than take the route we had by going over it! Oh, well, we descended that hill by directly “plunge-stepping” down the snow, crossed the old “jeep road” 0.7 miles from our lunch stop, and went straight up through the trees following the obvious ridgeline 2.9 miles to the snow-covered road that traverses the northern aspect of Snow Valley Peak. This was an awesome route as it ascended through the trees only to emerge above timberline with views north to Reno, east to Washoe Lake, and west to Tahoe City! We couldn’t enjoy it much, though, because it was cold and very windy, a time and place you can’t use for a “wonderful spot for lunch!”

Moving on quickly, hoping to make the 5.9 miles to Spooner Summit before dark, our prayers were answered as most of the nest 1.7 mile descending western traverse of Snow Valley Peak was on dry, exposed (very open to the elements) trail! With constant breath-taking views to our right of the huge, Lake Tahoe, we pounded down the trail, only occasionally climbing 3 to 5 foot snow drifts across our path.

Descending from the road at 8940 to a trail junction along the ridge at 8320 was a breath of fresh air! Walking on solid ground, you don’t have to use as many muscles around your pelvis and in the adductors of your legs just to stay balanced as you do walking on snow, so the going is easier, from a fatigue standpoint. Nevertheless, with several miles yet to go, a descent of nearly 2,000 feet, and the rigors of route-finding along the skinny, snow-covered and forested ridge down to Spooner, we knew we had to hurry if we wanted to get in before dark!

Juliee began to experience severe leg and hip pain from the constant kicking of steps on all the snow traverses and the plunge-stepping descents of the last two days, such that by the time we reached the North Canyon trail junction, she could barely move. Rather than wind along the ridgeline in the dwindling light of sunset, we chose to quickly descend to the beautiful, aspen-studded North Canyon Valley and head out to Spooner Lake on the dirt road below. This was a descent of about 700 feet straight down the steep snow amidst large fir and pine trees in about a mile!

Somehow, Juliee rallied in strength once arriving in the valley and at the road, so we continued on down to the Spooner Lake Picnic Area and trailhead along the road, only crossing snow drifts here and there. It was the most helpless feeling I have ever felt, when Juliee was in so much pain. Yet, the only way out was to first encourage her through more by enduring the plunge-steps down to the valley. It was the quickest and easiest way out.

We did make it out before dark. I left Juliee at the Picnic Area and ran the few miles up to the Summit trailhead parking lot, retrieved the truck, and drove back to pick her up to go home. Needless to say, we decided to take a day or two to recover before going back to the trail!