Day One: Tahoe Rim Trail

October 21, 2013
Echo Lake to Mosquito Pass
7.5 miles
After a relaxing night in South Lake Tahoe we got up early to get started on our last minute errands and coffee stop. Jen had done her homework and looked up the post office hours as well as the best place for breakfast. After getting to the PO we found that the hours on the Internet were wrong. It is not often that these two hikers are anywhere too early, so we decided to go ahead and get breakfast first.
We ate at the Driftwood cafe and it lived up to its Internet rating. It was delicious! Jen had a healthy serving of oatmeal and a muffin, while yours truly had potatoes with veggies and bacon covered with two eggs. Yummy! We both had our share of coffee and then off we went. We picked up two stuff sacks, a harder task than one would think in Tahoe, and then back to the hotel to pack. After gearing up we headed to the post office to send out our drops and get to the trail head.
We parked the car and started out around 13:00. The weather was amazing. We took it slow and hiked at a nice even pace. Our plan was to get at least six miles in before camping, and we were quite pleased to make it a bit further. We set up camp at the last site along Aloha lake. It was gorgeous. We ate a quick meal overlooking the lake. As the sun set the warmth left. After a quick bear bag we squirreled away into the tent and the warmth of our down bags. Sleep was not far behind. It was a beautiful first day out.

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Welcome to Tahoe!

We are here! Emily and I arrived in South Lake Tahoe this afternoon to do some final prep and get acclimatized before we head out in the morning. However, our adventure began before we even got here! About 15 miles outside of Tahoe we got our first opportunity to pay back some hitch hiking karma by picking up a female mountain biker in need. She had taken a big fall and was lost and disoriented, so we scooped her up and helped her get her bearings back before dropping her off with some locals. We have a lot more paying back to do, but it was a start!

We then arrived at our hotel for the night and quickly got the last of our food and gear organized. This was made a lot easier because we had been given a free upgrade to a suite with a separate sitting room and kitchen! We enjoyed the sitting room by doing Emily’s pre-race and pre-trail tradition- painting our toenails to increase our speed and stamina. It is scientifically proven. Try it.

Then we grabbed a bite at Stateline Brewery, known for its play on the “Keep Tahoe Blue” bumper stickers. The food was good and the beer was even better. We finished the night off with some sweets from the Nestle Tollhouse Bakery in town- something I couldn’t possibly miss out on! Now it is off to sleep so we can send our drop off in the AM and then hit the trail.

Tahoe Rim Trail Prep

As we get down to the last few days before we take off on Sunday, I just wanted to post a few more details about our next trail, the Tahoe Rim Trail.  It is approximately 170 mile loop around Lake Tahoe, making it one of the few long distance trails that is a loop trail.  The peak season to hike is between mid-July and mid-October, so we are just passed the peak and are keeping our fingers crossed for continued good weather.   The temperatures are supposed to be upper 50s to low 60s during the day and around 30F at night. and word is that there hasn’t been any big snow as of yet.  We have packed plenty of cold weather gear to keep us as toasty as possible since neither of us thrive in freezing temperatures.

Why the Tahoe Rim Trail in particular?  Well we chose this trail for a few reasons.  First of all, it is a loop which makes logistics easier since we don’t have to figure out rides to and from the trail.  Second, Emily only has two weeks off from her current travel assignment, so we were looking for a trail that we could conceivably thru-hike during that time period.  Most people do the TRT in about 10-14 days, which made it a good fit.  Lastly, about 55 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail is on the Pacific Crest Trail, so we will get our first taste of what is to come in April.

One of the main challenges to this trail is the altitude.   The trail ranges from about 6,200 ft to 10,400 feet in elevation.  Adapting to decreased levels of oxygen is going to be a challenge, but we have decided to try a few techniques to give us a leg up since we are both coming from sea level.  A few studies have shown that taking gingko biloba several days before and then while you are at altitude can decrease likelihood of Acute Mountain Sickness.  In addition, iron supplements increase oxygen carrying capacity, especially for Emily and I who are probably both anemic at baseline.   The last approach I am taking is using the “altitude chamber” they have at my gym.   It is my first experience with one of these and it is basically a small chamber with an elliptical and a treadmill inside that simulates the oxygen deprivation and pressure of 9,000ft elevation.  I have been doing my full workouts there 2-3 times a week the past few weeks to get my body used to it.  I have had Acute Mountain Sickness a couple times in my life and hoping that my workouts at elevation will help decrease my chances of getting it again.

While our initial intentions for the trip were to try out our new gear and get in shape, life has thrown us many curveballs as of late (to Emily in particular).  While we will still  keep these goals in mind, to me this trip has become more about renewing our commitment to each other as a team and spending time with my “sister” in the place we love to be most- the back country.  Life can get incredibly difficult and complicated and it is important to remember the simple joy of putting one foot in front of other.  Even if we are huffing and puffing as we do it!

Here we go…

Well, it will be interesting I can guarantee you that. Since finishing the AT in June our lives have been a roller coaster. While I cannot exclude Jen, AKA Carrot, from this statement my life in particular has taken some very sharp turns. So before blogging about the preparations for the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), I will recount the some of my experiences as of late. So if you will allow, I will elaborate. If you don’t care and simply want to read about the trail prep just scroll down and I will highlight it for you.

My life: Finished the AT in June. It was amazing! All of our families were there including part of our trail family. Could not have asked for a better finish, really. It was an amazing day.  After this I flew back to AZ only to make a quick turn around to head to DC for a Travel nursing assignment. Gil went with me, for he was part of the reason I picked DC. There is apparently world class BJJ here and he was excited to train. Luckily for me, AKA Lucky, I love my job here. I am new to the PACU setting but my coworkers and colleagues are top notch. It is a great blend of critical care nursing with the turn over of an ER. The unit is fantastic and has a manager that is one of the best I have ever worked for. This is important because in late August I found out that my partner and best friend of 15 years, husband of nine, had been cheating on me. Multiple times with multiple women. The details are grotesque and the reality horrific. I am betrayed and broken. If you do not know me you can ask any of my closest friends and they will tell you that I feel honesty is the most important quality in a person. So here it is; new job, PCT on the horizon, life plan in place with my partner, and in a matter of 24 hours it is all destroyed. The one person with whom I had trusted my life and my love took all from me that I knew to be true.  The next week was a blur. My parents were here and brother stayed the night with me to keep me off the ledge. Carrot arrived the next day from California. She got me through the hardest part. Jen kept me sane, let me cry and scream, and helped me to find a divorce lawyer that will see me through to the end of this terrifying process. She made it ok to go from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other. She laid out a plan for me that put me into survival mode. Carrot even got optimistic and made a list of things for me to look forward to. I am not there yet, but I keep the list close at hand for when I need a reminder to keep keeping on. Work is important. My job gives me a reason to wake up on most days and get going. I am so thankful that I currently love my job for it has helped me in this time of unrest. I could not have asked for a better group of nurses to be around. No platitudes are given to me in response to my situation. Just a simple “that sucks, if there is anything I can do…”. This is important. For some moments in time I am sick of being a strong independent woman. Sometimes you just simply want to be quiet and let the pathetic wash over you. You do not want to hear “everything happens for a reason” or “God has a plan”. Because currently my response to that includes nothing but four letter words. I know people mean well, but my co-workers have really surprised me. There has been none of that. Just support and offers of copious alcohol. They do not look at me as if I am a wounded puppy, they look at me as if I am a Nurse, there to do my job. For now, that is my survival. I go to work. I come home. I have fallen into some old bad habits such as too much wine and cigarettes, but I know they are not to be permanent. Simple vices to get through to whatever will be the next stage of my life.

So now I ask you: What would you do if you were newly single, almost 40, and lacking of social skills outside of work? My answer… retreat to the wilderness. While Carrot was here plans were set into motion for the TRT. We will do another middle distance hike (maybe the AZ trail, maybe the Ozark trail) prior to hiking the PCT but for now the TRT. I fly on Saturday and we drive on Sunday after last minute preparations to Tahoe. We will spend 24 hrs at altitude before setting off so this sea level human gan get used to thin air. It will be an air sucking hike for me for I have indulged too much in the great crop of our nation as of late. But alas, I will do it. Carrot yelling and cheering at me in the same breath. Fun will be had by all. Also, we will be joined by our four legged thru-hiking companion Georgy. Let’s hope there are no porcupines to be hunted on this trail!

Tahoe Rim Trail Prep:

New Packs! We have both decided to go with ULA circuit pack for the PCT. This will be our trial run for the pack. After extensive research and talking with the owner of the company we feel that this is a good fit for our bodies and the minimum/maximum weight we wish to carry.

http://www.ula-equipment.com/product_p/circuit.html

I will set out with the GoLite 3 season quilt no longer being made as well as a sea to summit liner. Reviews to follow. It is going to be cold for us and we are setting off into new territory. Carrot will be carrying the new Zpack sleeping bag. So light! I am sure I will jealous.

http://www.zpacks.com/quilts.shtml

As for footwear I will be carrying or wearing the Innov8 trail roc 236, OR the Vivo barefoot SynthHikers. I believe Carrot is sticking with the Brooks Cascadia for they simply fit her foot the best and are tried and true.

http://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/ladies/synth-hiker.html

http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/Product-View-Trailroc-236-Black-Blue-Pink.html?L=26

http://www.brooksrunning.com/Cascadia-8/1201271B300%2e050,default,pd.html?start=4&cgid=womens-runningshoes-trail

(It is important to note that while we hike extremely well together Carrot and I have very different builds and foot structure. Most apparel we agree on, but footwear is where we have to be different. Our feet and our bodies are simply not the same.)

We will carry Aggie. Our Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent that we did the entire AT with. This is not the tent we will use for the PCT but it is the one we own. I am currently seam sealing Aggie as I type. Lets hope she holds up!

https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/FlyCreekUL2

As for food: We plan on shaking things up a bit. At night we are going to try pre-made dehydrated meals split and wrapped in tortillas. We feel we need to get a feel for them and that they will be a good fit for the PCT. Lunches will be the same old Tuna and Nutella on a tortilla, and our breakfasts shall be our cold coffee/protein shakes.

Attire: Well, this one is still in the air. We have both bought new puffy beanies for night and plan on carrying a puffy jacket of sorts. I know I will have shorts and Capilene circa 1998, while Carrot has purchased some awesome new Ice Breakers long underwear. I do have a wool pair from EMS purchased last spring and we are simply waiting on a weather report to make a final decision. We will wear our Darn Tough socks, and some Lulu Lemon seamless long sleeve shirts. I will also carry a flannel bought this year from Patagonia. Please look to actual trail posts to see what we set out with. All of this is very subject to change.

Water Filtration: We are going with Sawyer. It was something we were in awe over during our last stretch of the AT.  We love the squeeze filter. We are going to give it a shot!

http://www.sawyer.com/water.html

As always we will have sleep masks, melatonin, and ear plugs.  A must for any RN and especially anyone on the trail!

 

OK. So a lot of info in one post. We will see if we can add on to this as we post of our hike. Please stay tuned for pictures and details. We will try to post day by day alternating voices so as you don’t get sick of any one of the two of us.

Happy trails dear friends. Wish us luck!

 

 

What next?

Seeing as this blog is “Thrutrailchicks” and not “ATchicks” it is time to look forward to our next trail adventures!  Planning is already in the works for PCT 2014 (start date at the end of April in Campos, CA) and coming up even sooner the TRT!  The TRT is the Tahoe Rim Trail, a 165-mile trail that loops around Lake Tahoe in eastern California.  Our current start date is mid-October, which promises to be cold but hopefully not snowy.  About 55 miles of the Tahoe Rim trail is part of the Pacific Crest Trail, which will give us a nice taste of what is to come next spring.    It is also a good opportunity to remind our bodies what it feels like to carry packs and climb mountains. 

As much as we would love to say we are keeping in amazing shape and hiking 24/7, that would be… a stretch.  More like working our butts off at the hospital and then enjoying our wine and down time at home.  Most thru-hikers can commiserate about how difficult it is to keep the motivation up post-hike, and we are no exception.  We are hoping to do at least 2-3 of these 2+ week hikes over the next 6 months to keep ourselves on track and ready to do big days come April.  If anyone has any ideas of hikes that fall into this category and are doable winter/spring please let us know! 

 

Photo Highlights!

Here is a bunch of photo highlights from the whole trail I was finally able to pull off my nicer camera.  Enjoy!

1st Night at Katahdin

Besties sleep shirts

Katahdin Summit

Beautiful Maine View

Lucky, Carrot and Bear in the 100 Mile Wilderness.

Southside and Carrot and Bear.

Extreme river crossing by Emily.

Em hanging at Chairback Shelter, Maine

Moxie Bald, Maine

Emily and Jen on Avery Peak, Maine

The Horn, Maine

Emily making her way through the Mahoosuc Notch, AKA the toughest mile.

Jen and Emily through the Notch in Maine!

Camped out on Wildcat Tower, NH.

Jen crossing a bridge in NH.

The White Mountains, NH

The White Mountains, NH

Jen, Emily and Bear on top of Mt. Washington, NH

Lake of the Clouds Hut, NH

Mt. Moosilake summit.

Emily and Alison the pig.

One of our favorite meals- BBQ chicken pizza outside Belleview Creamery, PA.

The splinter after exiting Jen’s thumb after 7 weeks.

BFFs.

1,000 mile mark in PA!

Bear on the trail.

Bags hanging in the shelter in PA.

Fair warning.

Official halfway point!

We are going this way!

At the PA-MD line at 3am, starting our 42 mile day through Maryland.

Alabama, Lucky and Carrot at the end of the day in West Virginia!

Home State!

Our boys Gritz and Pace showing their Blaze Fashion.

Carrot and Em.

Shenandoah, VA.

Carrot and Lucky loving the Shenandoah in October.

Our final attempt to get back on trail post-Hurricaine Sandy. Sad day…

The return, April 16th at the same spot!

Bear meets box turtle.

Afternoon shelter napping by Carrot.

Beautiful campsite in VA.

Lucy loving the Blue Ridge Mountains, VA.

Jen enjoying a Blue Ridge view.

Lucky on McAfee Knob, VA.

Bear post-hiking and post-dinner.

Bear enjoys the view.

Lovely laurels in southern VA.

Em and Jen loving the waterfalls.

Lucky with 500 miles left!

500 miles left celebration by Carrot!

Emily making friends with the wild ponies.

Hi Pony.

Beautiful waterfall. Probably Laurel Falls.

First time crossing in NC!

Old shoes (475 miles on them) and new shoes we received in Tennessee.

Beautiful TN view.

Blazing away.

Emily trapped in the bear caged Davenport Gap Shelter in the Smokies, NC.

Hiking the Smokies.

Waking up Ebeneezer Scrooge, AKA Lucky.

Still waking up…

Amazing tree roots in GSMNP.

Charlie’s Bunion, GSMNP.

Lucky!

Lucky and Carrot in GA.

Chunky Gal Trail!

Yay for Chunky Gals!

Lucky modeling the latest Frogg Togg fashions.

Blood Mountain Shelter

Emily enjoying our wine Lead Dog carried for us the final 2 days.

Sisters.

4 miles left!

And…Done!

Emily and I both promise longer post-trail posts soon, but we just wanted to let everyone know that we completed the Appalachian Trail on June 22, 2013 at 11:00am surrounded by our families and friends. It was emotional and wonderful and maybe a little bit sad too. Here are a few pics (to be followed by many more!)

Almost?

We have been a bit cautious when using the word “almost”. Starting 400 miles back people kept telling us we were “almost” done. We would always smile and say “well, we know a lot can happen in (insert # here) miles”. The last few days have been a prime example of that.
We had to pick up our food drop Monday before leaving Fontana Dam. Jen lost the Rock/Paper/Scissors game and had to shuttle into the village early for the box. It was raining, of course, and we had gotten up early to get to the PO when it opened. Jen left for the shuttle and I continued to fill water and break down our camp. I had our stuff ready to go and just needed Jen to return with the food for our packs so I read while I waited, and waited. Soon I decided to heat up water for coffee and wait some more. It was pouring rain. Finally at 1145 poor Jen returned to the shelter looking like an angry drowned rat. When she arrived at the village, after waiting for a shuttle that never came and taking a ride from a random resort employee, she found that we were in resort summer hours and the PO did not open until 1145. So she waited… And waited. They were nice enough to open “early” at 1130 for her to get our package and get back to the trail. By the time she got back to the shelter neither of us were in the mood to hike out into the rain, so we took a second zero day.
The good thing about a second zero day is that you are ready to hike when the time comes. We were getting antsy and were excited to head out for a long day. The other nice part was that we headed out into a sunny day. The weather was warm and humid, but we were not complaining. Sun = Happy Hikers.
This day saw us 18.2 miles further down the trail. There were many short steep climbs, but with the sun shining we were just happy to walk. At the end of the day we set up camp in one of the many gaps, and proceeded to cook dinner. Unfortunately the wet weather has brought in lots of gnats. It wasn’t long before they set their sites on us and the dog. Poor Georgy had to fend for himself as we sought shelter in our trusty tent.
On the twelfth we walked down into the NOC. A large outdoor center on the Nantahala river that specializes in rafting and kayaking. We were very happy for we ate BBQ and drank beers. After lunch we secured our status as professional hobos outside of the outdoor retailer. We rested in their display hammocks and charged our phones in the outside outlets for about, I don’t know, three hours. It was great. Bear laid on the cool concrete near the door so he got wafts of AC as shoppers went in and out. As I said, professional hobos. Once digested we walked another 0.8 miles to the nearest shelter to sleep for the night.
We woke at our normal time, 8-8:30, and started hiking. The morning was sunny, but very windy. We snacked at an overlook and were able to get phone service. After looking at the weather it became obvious that the wind was moving a storm our way. We continued to walk and the sky changed quickly. Soon it was that sickly green you witness before a hurricane or tornado. The wind was strong and our adrenaline spiked when a tree crashed down to the right of the trail. That wood cracking was enough to quicken our pace along to the next shelter. There we decided to just stay the night and make up the miles in the morning.
June 14, up early and hiking before 8am! It was a clear, cool morning and the sun was starting to shine. We walked easily and covered the miles quickly. We met a father and son around lunchtime who shared some food with us. Jason and Jeremy were out to cover a section of the trail. When we ran into them again a few miles down the trail they offered us a ride into town! Traci and Zach, mom and son, made up the rest of this fabulous family. After not only giving us a ride to pick up our box and taking us to the hotel, they insisted on picking us up in the morning to take us back to the trailhead. Trail Angels! We are so grateful for their generosity. Once again it is hard to find the words for how thankful we are for their acts of kindness. Franklin was the kind of town where cat calls are still whooped out of windows of trucks and hitching made me nervous.
Fast forward a few days of walking and we are continuing to make great time. We are looking forward to seeing our families in less than a week! We have crossed into GA and have less than 60 miles to go. I think we are almost ready to use the word almost. However, we are still cautious. Maybe we will say “almost” when have less than a mile to go. Maybe when there are just a few steps left. It is a tricky word and our emotions and exhaustion level change by the day, sometimes hour. I can say that we are ready to see our families and our significant others and look forward to sharing this massive achievement with those who have helped make a lifelong dream a reality.

Smokies? Check.

It has been a long, wet week for Lucky and I in Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP/Smokies). We had been anticipating this 72-mile section of trail for many states as Northbounders had recounted their tales of difficulties in the Smokies. Cold temperatures, snow, endless wet days, and lots of climbing combined with the park’s “No Dog” policy made us dread what was coming. So after dropping Georgy off with Lida from Loving Care Kennels (who picked him up at the trail side before entering the park), we headed up into GSMNP. We stayed the first night at Davenport Gap Shelter, which stood out as the only shelter in the park that is still caged. This is suppose to prevent bears from entering the shelter, but ends up just making us humans feels like we are on display in the zoo.

Day 2 we hiked 14.8 miles to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter, the most remote shelter in the park. We enjoyed our only day of sunshine of the week and made it to the full shelter before the evening rains began (which would continue every night the rest of the week). We made our current favorite dinner (Thai peanut pasta) and bedded down in the spacious shelter as our sheltermates kept the fire going in the shelter’s fireplace.

Day 3 was our shortest day of the week, 12.6 miles to the most popular shelter in the park- Icewater Spring Shelter. Being forced to walk shelter to shelter was one of the other frustrating rules of the park. Everyone has to stay at shelters each night and must have a permit for each specific shelter (luckily thru-hikers are exempt from the second part). Since we had a shorter day we decided to “grease the groove”, which involved doing push-ups and planks every hour on the hour to improve our fitness. Though it was tough, it really broke up the day! At Icewater we got to meet some great folks, including a couple of married nurses who gave great career advice. We also met some of the coolest kids ever! Amelia (10 years old), her brother Brody (8 years old) and their friend Porter (also 10 years old) were on a camping trip with their dad’s Jason and Adam. The 5 of them were hiking the 72 miles of the AT in the park and were doing the same mileage as us. These kids were doing 15 miles a day with few complaints and an awesome attitude. They were definitely the most hard-core (as well as the most fun and well-behaved) kids we have met on the trail!

Day 4 we knocked out 15.5 miles, crossing our first two big milestone of the smokies- climbing Clingman’s Dome (the highest point of the AT at 6,643 feet) and having less than 200 miles left! Both were exciting and we were also able to sneak into the shelter minutes before the evening’s deluge of rain began.

Day 5 was our longest day in the park, 17.5 miles to Mollie’s Ridge Shelter. We enjoyed our final lunch with the awesome kids and dads before climbing to the top of Rocky Top and a HUGE milestone- 2,000 miles completed! A photo shoot ensued, along with calls and texts home to share our accomplishment. As usual, the trail made sure we knew our place and rewarded us with an incredible lightening storm and 4 inches of rain in under an hour. Needless to stay we looked like wet rats when we entered the full shelter too late. Thankfully everyone welcomed us to set up our tent in the cooking area and we were able to have a dry night despite the endless rain.

Today was day 6, and we exited the park with glee. We finished the last 10 miles in under 4 hours, leap frogging with a group of Sierra Club members who had been very sweet to us, providing us with morning coffee and even hanging our bear bag in the rain! The kindness of strangers never fails to warm our hearts and every moment of trail magic means a lot to us. The final amazing moment of the week came when Lida returned my gorgeous boy to us- a happy Bear, groomed for the summer. Now all three of us can continue a Smoky-free adventure for the last 165 miles!

Top Ten Essentials

In outdoor stores across the country they provide a list of 10 “essentials” for an outdoor adventure. These usually include a compass, map, sunscreen, etc. After 2,000 miles we have decided to create our own list- Carrot and Lucky’s 10 Thru-Hiker Essentials. Here it is:

1) Ear plugs- After many a sleepless night in the shelters with snoring hikers and loud early morning risers, We realized the importance of ear plugs. Lucky and I pop them in early and enjoy the blissful peace of muffled noises we can’t quite decipher. Our quality of sleep in shelters went through the roof.

2) Eye mask- This one closely follows #1, this time allowing us to get to sleep before sunset and stay asleep after sunrise. I use a bandana and Lucky uses a Buff.

3) Fruit snacks- We eat these constantly throughout the day. They provide quick bursts of energy while our bodies digest the protein bars, and they are delicious. Also, they have 100% of your vitamin C-bonus!

4) Visor- This one provides a duel purpose- it not only protects from the sun (so you can send expensive sunglasses home), but keeps the rain out of your eyes as well. Love it.

5) Benedryl/melatonin- These have become begrudging essentials to our trail life. While we would love to be able to sleep well without them, after years of nightshift it just isn’t possible. The extra help these sleep aids provide is priceless!

6) Thermarest Neoair- This is the last sleep essential, but a huge one. It is expensive ($160) and worth every single penny. It provides warmth and an incredible 2+ inch barrier from the ground. We have slept the whole night on huge roots and not even noticed!

7) Platypus- While the name brand isn’t necessarily important, Platypus is making a great hydration bladder with a zip closure. Having a straw available with water at all times makes hydration a lot simpler when you are hiking all day long.

8) Drink mixes/Coffee- While we try to drink as much water as we can, eventually we need some extra energy or electrolytes. I have tried to go caffeine free in the backcountry in the past and it was not worth it. Instant coffee in the morning and caffeinated energy drinks in the afternoon improve our quality of life tremendously!

9) Compactor bag- After many weeks of rain, keeping the inside of our backpacks dry has become key. We line our packs with heavy duty trash/compactor bags and it keeps everything inside completely dry. Amazing!

10) Dry sleep clothes- This one goes along with #9. After being soaked to the bone for 8-12 hours in the rain, putting on dry clothes to sleep at night makes all the difference. Essential!!!