For any out there in the big cyber-world who has been following my musings, you might have noticed that I have been doing a fair bit of running on the Tahoe Rim Trail these past few weeks. I had an unannounced goal of completing the trail this summer, a thing I had started in the fall of 2009 and continued in 2010 (I seem to have lost the summer of 2011 somewhere). 

That first season - while training for a race I never started -  I had run Tahoe City to Brockway Summit, Mt. Rose to Brockway, Mt. Rose to Spooner, Spooner Summit to Kingsbury, and Echo Summit to Big Meadow. I still had a few segments to do, and decided this summer was the time to do them.

First was Tahoe City to Bayview. Long (36 miles) and hot and solo and unsupported. Toughest thing I've ever done.
Second was Big Meadow to Kingsbury. Ran with some seriously demented people who thought a mile-long side trip straight up to the top of Freel Peak would be a good idea, and me being likely equally demented, I agreed.

This last segment was from Echo Summit to Bayview. I hit a stretch of trail I had done previously at Dick's Lake, so I didn't need to circle the Velmas on this run to make it a true circuit on the TRT. I'd say this stretch was both the most challenging from a technical-footing standpoint and also blessed with the most spectacular scenery. Given that combination, looking at the scenery required – for me, at least – a complete stop. It took me a bit longer than I really wanted to complete it, but I had to look around! By my recollection, I saw 13 lakes along the way. All picturesque, all worthy of at least a few minutes' viewing time. I also walked quite a bit of it. I was solo, and unsupported, and really didn't relish a twisted ankle (or worse) several miles into the Desolation Wilderness. When the footing gets dicy, this boy walks!

Some photos for your viewing pleasure. Full downloadable set, here.

I was able to finish strong and ran the downhill past Granite Lake to Bayview: something I definitely DID NOT do when emerging from my run from Tahoe City. That time, I was pretty damn happy to simply remain vertical. 

I celebrated my accomplishment with a Nalgene of Recoverite slush, and watching the cars drive by. After about 20 minutes, my stomach announced its emptiness and presence, and it was off to Red Hut to gorge myself on a late brunch. 

Give me a month, and I'll be back, repeating the series of runs. Though I'll split the long nasty from Tahoe City to Bayview into two, and do it as a series of nine runs. Who wants to join me?

After the fun and games in San Diego last week and the week before, it was time to get my legs back ready for my final push to complete the circuit of Lake Tahoe on the Tahoe Rim Trail. I joined some regulars and a couple from Salt Lake City who popped over to our area to escape the heat and smoke of their hometown for a weekend. Well met, Jacob and Lynn!

The plan was to start at Spooner Summit, drop down to Spooner Lake, skirt the south and west side, then climb up to Marlette Lake. At that point, the group was going to split up with the people doing the TRT endurance race heading back via the access road to Snow Valley Peak (13 miles) and George (the TRT Race Director) and I taking our visitors on a bit more of the TRT. George needed to do some marking where the first aid station for the races were going to be, and we also thought Jacob and Lynn would enjoy the view from Marlette Peak, not to say the rest of the views weren't spectabulous! The route we ran was all on the race course, so anyone wanting to get a sneak peek, here ya go!

I think the total distance was a bit more than they bargained for when they showed up, but I hope it was worth it for them, for the views and bragging rights! We did 18.25 miles (despite what the screen shot below shows), and I think about 50 feet were flat. It was either up, or down the whole way, seemingly a LOT more up than down. 

My IT band flared with pain on the drop from Snow Valley Peak to Spooner. I hope it recovers enough this week for me to do my scheduled run on Friday. My plan then is to complete my circuit by running from Echo Summit to Dick's Lake, and out of the Desolation by way of Bayview. We'll see how it goes. 

Yesterday was the last long run for the group training for the TRT 50K/50M/100M races coming up at the end of the month. I tagged along because... well, I really don't know why. Oh, yes! I remember now! I tagged along because they were running a stretch of the Tahoe Rim Trail that I hadn't been on in its entirety yet. As of about 3 pm yesterday, I can scratch the Big Meadow - Heavenly stretch off my list. That leaves only the section between Echo Summit and Dick's Lake that I have yet to be on. I plan to hit that later this summer. After that - who knows? I may stop long runs. They HURT!

This run started out in the cool shade of the Big Meadow Trailhead. We had gotten a couple of accomodating spouses/moms to schlep the surprisingly large group of runners from the finish to where we started. That way, nobody had to do the drive after the run, when all anyone wanted to do is eat, drink and rest. At least, that's all I wanted to do. Kind of interesting the number of us wearing blue shirts with black shorts. We looked like a bunch of running bruises.

The basic path is an uphill with a drop to Armstrong Pass, then climb again to the trailhead to Freel Peak. From there, we drop to Star Lake, and a bit more past that, then climb again to Monument Pass, and finally drop the last 5 miles pretty consistently to the parking area at Heavenly's Stagecoach lift parking area.

For a reason best explained by early head trauma resulting in apparent brain damage, most of us decided it would be "a good idea" to climb Freel Peak. You know, "Hey, since we're right here, and all, let's do it! Besides, it's only a mile up and a mile back from here, and what's one mile when we are already doing 23.5?" (The answer is obviously an additional 8.5%. ) Heck, I hadn't done it before, and I'm doing this overall madness for the new trails and adventure anyway, so I went along with it.   

OUCH! That climb was difficult. Just a mile, but about 1000' in elevation gain in that measly 1 mile. Took me over 30 minutes to get up, and, once there, another 30 to snap a few photos and scramble back down. The route down was "prescarious" a portmanteau of precarious and scary. And it was in places. My baby cows were very unhappy with me for making them do all that work on the way up to begin with, and the quads complained as well on the way down. 

Once down from the Freel adventure, it was off to Star Lake. The lake looked as inviting as always, and Dave was unable to resist the siren song. He dropped his pack, shoes and socks and dove in, potential chafing be damned! Of course, he's crazy-fast and was dry by the time he hit Monument Pass, and passed me like I was standing still (OK, I was.) That was the point where the following manglement of Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill" coursed through my mind.

Yep: Hello Wall. I really need to figure out my nutrition process/balance/stuff if I want to continue to participate in these long adventures. I simply cannot stomach another Perpetuem tablet. I forced one down and nearly gagged. I had a couple of avocado burritos and a stabby bar though. I ate one burro, shared the second, and lost the Stabby bar somewhere along the way. That gave me a net of about 450 calories over nearly 7 hours of continuous exercise. I'm guessing that wasn't enough. I ended up walking a good portion of the downhill 5 miles to the end.

The end was inviting. I have figured out that the best incentive to finish is an ice-cold lager (this time it was Pacifico), and salty potato chips. Absolute yummers! 

Thanks, gang for letting a non-TRT participant tag along on your training run. It was "fun." It was hard. It was rewarding. And the people I ran with are the best. Good luck to all in your race!