Sherri’s 2025 Trifecta Triathlon

 

15k Hot Chocolate Race 2025

 

Lake Tahoe Rim Trail Backpacking Trip

This year’s summer backpacking adventure led us out to the Tahoe Rim Trail in California, a 170 mile rim trail circling the 7,000 ft. elevation lake with peaks reaching 10,000 ft. Our trip started by pounding the dusty trail out to South Dakota. About 9 hours later, we found ourselves winding through the Needles, slipping through the narrow rock tunnel, gazing at the towering rock spires, eventually pulling into Sylvan Lake campground. After setting up camp by headlamp, we grabbed a beer and walked down to the lake under the stars and dimly lit water. Interrupting our evening solitude, an old cruiser mobile came screaming down the pass with headlights blaring, turned onto our road, pulled in right behind the bench where we were sitting, turned around, and raced back the same way it came from- so weird. We crashed hard that first night in the new tent, tandem sleep pad, and down quilt. Yay for great gear!

6/25/24 (Miles Hiked: 4)

This morning we packed-up camp early to catch sunrise views atop Flashers View, a short out-and-back summit climb. After hanging-out with the vulchers overlooking the rock spires, Sherri & I vowed to return for an extended stay with the mountain bikes since it’s only a day’s drive away. Traveling through Wyoming, we took a pit stop at Independence Rock State Historical site, quite an unexpected surprise. We learned that this massive slab of rock, strangely situated out in the middle of nowhere, welcomed wagon trains headed west on the Oregon trail, marking the halfway point of their journey across the U.S. We bouldered to the top for birdseye views of the still visible wagon wheel ruts cutting through the weathered grasslands. While battling the fierce winds along the ridgeline, we observed a crow sweeping across the rock face, effortlessly cutting across the headwinds, headed directly toward us. As it approached, the crow dipped its wing around us with a perturbed look, letting us know that we were obstructing its flight path. We later pulled into Rock Port State Park alongside shores of a massive reservoir. That night, we enjoyed a Moosedrool Brown Ale while watching lights glow from the homes perched high on the opposite hillside. Bats clumsily flew along the shoreline, silhouetted by the waning sunset.

6/26/24 Day 1 Tahoe Rim Trail- TRT (Miles Hiked: 4, Trip Total: 4 miles)

Waking-up pre-dawn, we snatched another shower since it will be our last official shower. Once we arrived in Tahoe City, we dropped-off our re-supply box at a local outdoor store. While enjoying a beer & slice of pizza at a local restaurant, a disheveled backpacker stumbled through the front door. After striking-up some conversation, the only thing he could talk about was how bad the mosquitoes were. After explaining how we live in the land of mosquitoes, our honored state bird, he issued a final warning. “These are professional mosquitoes. Make sure you buy bug spray that is proven to cause cancer within at least 3 months of application, otherwise it won’t work.” Driving around to the other side of the lake to Heavenly Ski Resort, we threw on the packs, fingers crossed that our car’s catalytic converter was still intact upon our return. As the sun began its final descent, we climbed about 4 miles to a little campsite nestled underneath a chairlift at the base of an avalanche chute still holding onto remnants of snow.

6/27/24 Day 2 TRT (Miles Hiked: 13, Trip Total: 17 miles)

Today, we hiked 5 miles to Star Lake for lunch, relaxed for awhile, enjoying the alpine scenery. We then hiked another 8 miles where we pitched our tent next to a small patch of snow alongside a meadow with a bubbling creek- not a bad place to bed down for the night.

6/28/24 Day 3 TRT (Miles Hiked: 13.5, Trip Total: 30.5 miles)

We hiked to Round Lake where we took care of some laundry and soaked up some sun along the shoreline. The water was surprisingly warm, yet the wind put just enough chill in the air to squelch ideas of swimming. Later, we moved on to Showers Lake where we set-up camp for the night, hiking around the north side of the lake where we found a secluded stream carving its way through a huge snowfield- perfect location for dinner and a spitbath. 

6/29/24 (Day 4 TRT, Miles Hiked: 16, Trip Total: 46.5 miles)

This section of the trail temporarily joins the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). We crossed paths with several PCT hikers tackling the 2,650 mile trek from Mexico to Canada. Sherri and I have given the PCT some serious thought, but are now reconsidering after observing how every hiker we encountered never even stopped to acknowledge the scenery. They’re nice enough people, but I imagine that being on the trail for that amount of time eventually kills nature’s grandeur, pounding-out torturous miles only to get to the next camp. Come to find out, this is exactly what we would get a taste of as we approached the Desolation Wilderness area. It’s really too bad since it’s such an interesting stretch of wilderness, yet so EXTREMELY annoying with all the camping restrictions, permits, and mandatory bear canisters- barf. Bear canisters are possibly one of the most reckless ideas ever- planting a bunch of beef jerky bombs next to camp, luring predators into a futile boxing match with a stupid can, frustrating them beyond belief, and see how that works out- sheesh. Sherri & I vowed to never carry another bearcan since the advent of Kevlar Ursack. Together with a polyurethane sealed liner, it not only protects your food, but also keeps critters and bears from even catching a whiff of it. So out of defiance to all the regulatory rigmarole, we opted to through-hike the entire 26-mile restricted wilderness area. Adding insult to injury, while attempting to locate a place to bed down for the night, we discover that we’re currently located in another NO CAMPING zone along the southern boundary of Desolation Wilderness Area. As a result, our meager 10-mile forest fire graveyard walk turned into an unexpected 36-mile mandatory extended hike. While taking a break to assess our options and cook some dinner, a passing PCT hiker named Guardian and his wife struck-up conversation with us before pulling off the trail. We really enjoyed their company, sharing trail stories and swapping gear knowledge. Strangely enough, while hiking to Echo Lake later that evening, a car screeched to a halt right in front of us as Guardian poked his head out of the window, “Want a beer?” Wow, was that ever a treat, just what the doctor ordered in preparation for a brutal upcoming 24 hours of non-stop Desolation. We continued pounding trail along the shoreline of Echo Lake, past all of the luxury cabins lit-up around the lake. Approaching the alpine zone, the rougher the trail became, awkwardly clamoring around on ankle twisting scree. Hiking by headlamp made navigating a bit dicey as the trail began blending in with the snow and rock outcroppings. The few times we felt comfortable enough to break our laser lock focus on the ground, we’d look up in amazement at the stars. At 8,000 feet elevation, the Milky Way looked like smoke rising from the mountain peaks. Having already hiked 16 miles, we pulled into Aloha Lake in the pitch black, covering-up under our quilt along an open patch of shoreline for a few hours of sleep.

Kevlar Ursack (alternative to bear canister)

6/30/24 Day 5 TRT (Miles Hiked: 20, Trip Total: 66.5 miles)

Waking up in the middle of the night, we achily rose from our twilight nap, pressing on several miles under Gibbous light until finally reaching the sunrise at Gilmore Lake. On our Bushbuddy Mini stick stove, we cooked-up a few breakfast burritos packed with scrambled eggs, sausage, onion, bell pepper, cheese, and hash browns. Bellies full, we began our ascent up Dick’s pass. It took a good couple hours to reach the summit, carrying packs in 80+ degree heat approaching 9,000 feet elevation, snow fields still strewn across the path. After another couple hours of downclimbing through boulder fields spotted with emerald mountain lakes, we took a dip in a river flowing out of Fontinella Lake. While cooking some fettuccini & noodles, I accidentally spilled some on the ground beside the stove, at which time a huge golden retriever yanked a little kid off trail, and licked it up in 3 seconds flat. The remaining 9 miles out of the north end of Desolation Wilderness really lived up to its name, nothing but old growth forest and mosquitoes until finally able to celebrate the end of our Desolation Wilderness debacle. We hiked a final agonizing mile beyond the boundary on exhausted legs until reaching Richardson Lake where we washed-up in the pitch black, and crashed HARD.

7/1/24 Day 6 TRT (Miles Hiked: 8.5, Trip Total: 75 miles)

After sleeping-in at Richardson Lake, we took it easy with only an 8.5 mile hike that day until stumbling upon a beautiful campsite perched on a cliff overlooking Lake Tahoe. A creek carrying crystal clear snowmelt trickled down the valley not far from camp, making it one of our favorite campsites of the trip. A girl we met on the trail earlier came into camp, and we invited her to set-up camp nearby, which she gladly accepted. We learned that she was a local civil engineer in Lake Tahoe, which she openly acknowledged is a snooty, high-class flutin’ overcrowded lake town with way too many ski resorts. It’s still a beautiful place nonetheless.

7/2/24 Day 7 TRT (Miles Hiked: 14, Trip Total: 89 miles)

Eager to make it to town, we left camp at 4am, hiking 14 miles straight to Tahoe City, our half-way point on the TRT. While crossing a road along the trail, a truck screeched to a stop, honking like crazy. A lady rolled down her window yelling, “Just to let you know, there’s a bear in those woods.” As our heart settled back into a normal rhythm, we murmured under our breath that there are hundreds of bears “in those woods.” We saw bear scat all over the trail, every single day. Come to find out, a big scare swept through town since a black bear apparently strolled into the Tahoe City during a music festival a few days back that put everyone in a frenzied panic. We pulled into town around 12:30pm where we found a perfect little dive bar named Pet & Peters where we ordered a beer and some real food. I had chicken enchiladas, smothered with some kick butt habanero hot sauce made by a local guy. After picking up our resupply box, we checked into a hotel, and took care of some laundry. Later, we walked down to the grocery store, picked up a couple sandwiches, chips, and a 4-pack of Moscow Mules for dinner while watching American Ninja Warrior and re-packing for the second half of our trip. All of our gear, food, and clothes were sprawled-out on the bed as we slowly packed everything back into our now much heavier packs. 

7/3/24 Day 8 TRT (Miles Hiked: 14 miles, Trip Total: 103 miles)

We picked-up a breakfast crescent at a local coffee shop before climbing a steep gravel road leading us back onto the Tahoe Rim Trail. Another 14-mile hike led us up to Watson Lake, a clear little alpine lake nestled away at an impressive 8,000 feet elevation. It provided the perfect training ground for putting in some swim time in preparation for my upcoming triathon.

7/4/24 Day 9 TRT (Miles Hiked: 17 miles, Trip Total: 120 miles)

While taking a snack break on the trail today, another backpacking group passed us, led by a couple of guys talking about different drum beats. We called them the “Beatbox Boys,” and when we crossed paths with them again later on down the trail, we had a chance to talk with them about where everyone was planning to camp that night. Come to find out, they were also planning on detouring around the less desirable Mud Lake to camp along a secluded stream fed by Grey Lake. They read a review that described Grey Lake as having drinking water as clear as Unicorn tears, but they suspected it was written by mosquitoes luring hikers into their lair. It proved to be a gorgeous little lake tucked away a few miles off the beaten path with a crystal clear stream trickling down the hillside.

7/5/24 Day 10 TRT (Miles Hiked: 19 miles, Trip Total: 139 miles)

This last stretch Tahoe Rim Trail proved unexpectedly treacherous, but not for reasons that one might expect. As if ascending an average of 2,000 feet elevation per day in 90+ degree heat weren’t bad enough, piling on the condition of zero access to water made the hike downright torturous, darn near taking us out. Even with our additional 2 liter reserve water bladders that we filled up at Grey Lake, we barely had enough left over for our meager spit bath upon reaching the boundary of Spooner Lake Wilderness Area, which we soon discovered has a NO CAMPING restriction. Consequently, we had to camp less than a mile away from Twin Lakes, sitting within arms reach- dumb.

7/6/24 Day 11 (Miles Hiked: 20 miles, Trip Total: 159 miles)

We hiked less than a mile to Twin Lakes the next morning where we cooked breakfast, washed some laundry, and filled-up with as much water as possible for the continued dry patch ahead. Fortunately, an old style hand pump drinking well located at Marlette Peak campground with a bunch of warning labels zip tied to the handle indicating that the water likely contained heavy metals and whatnot, so that’s what we drank. Little did we know that this would be the last few precious drops of water that we would encounter for the remainder of the trip. By the time we reached mile 20, we were nearly bone dry on water again. We quickly realized that this survival portion of the trail was all about urine analysis, reporting to each other our dehydration level by the color of different beers. Peeing a Lager meant we were doing pretty good, or a slop-and-foam Pilsner even better. A Hazy IPA on the other hand indicated that we were severely dehydrated, and an Amber Ale meant we were practically dead. As evening approached, we felt as though we were playing out an old western film, tipping back our canteens in the middle of the desert, trying to catch the last drop of water, with a dead horse laying by our side. Fortunately, we crossed paths with another backpacking couple who offered us a liter of their water since they were exiting the trail tomorrow. We refused at first, but they insisted, and looking back, we would have been in REALLY rough shape without their help. That night, we found a place to camp high on a beautiful ridge, without barely a lick of water to drink. Needless to say, we couldn’t wash that night, crawling into our sleeping bags with dried sweat caked all over our bodies, which felt like prying sticky notes apart whenever our skin made contact with another part of our body. Thus began the incubation period of zombie bacteria breeding throughout our bags and clothes, scoffing at the sight of even the most powerful detergent on the planet, begging for a chance to defeat every single laundry infomercial challenge known to man.

7/7/24 Day 12 (Miles Hiked: 14 miles, Trip Total: 173 miles)

This final homestretch eventually led us to a stream no less than 3 miles from our car where we filtered and guzzled water until we couldn’t drink anymore. Upon reaching the car, we threw our packs in the backseat, relieved to find our catalytic converter and windows still intact. We drove around to the other side of the lake to pick-up our supply box containing a bunch of gear that we threw overboard at the midway point of our trip. Little did we know that 4th of July weekend at Lake Tahoe = Total Chaos! Quite reminiscent of my hometown, Detroit Lakes, when the police force from neighboring towns were brought in to help deal with all of the craziness on the 4th. If we would have known that, we might have opted to stay on the trail a few more days without water, waiting-out the tourist invasion. Instead, we sat in standstill traffic for 3 hours in order to reach Tahoe City where we picked up our supply box, and walked over to Pete & Peters bar and grill tucked away off the main drag where only locals hang out. Those sitting at the bar congratulated us on completing the TRT, asking us questions, and later, someone bought a round of drinks for everyone. After enjoying some real food, we headed over the the Truckee River where we dropped our inflatable kayak in for a float, which was precisely what the doctor ordered after a blistering, dehydrating last few days on the trail. The crowds of tubers and rafters started waning that afternoon by the time we put-in. Every now and then, we ran into a stretch of class II rapids which was fun to play around in. However, as we approached the take-out, we observed some people taking out along a boardwalk area, while others sped around a blind bend. Naturally, I followed the sound of whitewater, greeted by a couple of massive boulders that we narrowly slipped between with our awkwardly long 20 foot tandem kayak. Pulling into a massive swirling eddy crawling with paddlers dragging their rafts up a ramp to the parking lot. While making our way up to Lassen National Park that night, we took a pit stop at a small town ice cream shop, and eventually pulled into a rest area to catch some shut eye. While sleeping that night, I woke up completely nauseous and dizzy. Attempting walking to the restroom, I stumbled along the sidewalk until eventually passing out and falling flat on my face. Fortunately, Sherri woke up and saw the whole thing progress. While running over to check on me, she noticed two girls simply watching from a bench beside me, smacking gum like this was an everyday occurrence. Eventually, I snapped out of it, waking up to Sherri asking me questions to assess for concussion. After completely flushing out my bowels, I was back to normal, except for a massive lump on my forehead that I have no memory of.

7/8/24 Lassen National Park

Early this morning, we drove through Lassen National Park to summit Lassen Peak before continuing onto Portland. This was a redemption climb since the last time we visited the park, Sherri wasn’t feeling well enough to summit Lassen. We finished the 5 mile, 2,000 ft. elevation round trip hike before noontime heat, settling back into the car for our drive up to Portland.