We spent the next two days hiking solely to make sure we ended each night at a water source. The first of those nights we diverted from the trail a mile down to a tiny creek on the topomap. A slow drip from a culvert never tasted so good! The second of those nights, we hiked our longest day with the most elevation up over Relay Peak, the highest elevation we would reach on our trip. The views were the best of the trip, sweeping down to the azure vista of the entire lake. Miniature boats zipped across leaving wakes thin as silk. The miles were worth it too, getting us to a solitary campsite tucked next to a well-fed stream.
The next day, we only had one option to sleep at. In the Nevada Tahoe State Park, camping is only allowed in one spot, the Marlette Peak Campground. While it was initially annoying to be forced into a specific spot, I quickly realized this provided a unique social opportunity. By limiting the campground to a single backcountry location, all the through hikers ended up sharing a space for the night. Everyone swapped stories, trying to sound tough and relaxed at the same time. Everyone had modified in some way due to the snow. We met a cast of characters from “The Looper” who did the entire loop 8 times last year to a guy who we had seen on his Day 1 all smiles and optimism notably less peppy pounding his vape pen and contemplating an early exit. The TRT allows for a wide variety of folks to grace its dirt.
Our last night we did our only true dry night of camping, but we were able to lug several gallons the last mile due to a secret cache of water learned about from new friends the night before. That night was a mix of sheer excitement to finish the hike and eat pizza coupled with a sad appreciation that it might be a long time before I’d l be sitting in the woods with no one else besides Grete and the dogs around for miles. I spent the last evening watching my first full sunset of the trip settle over the western shore with finality.
The last day was 12 miles that went by pretty quick. It’s funny how finishing a hike always feels like you’re going downhill, regardless of the grade. Despite our modified route, I was incredibly proud of the hike. I’d never backpacked more than a few nights in a trip. I’d never hiked close to the 125 miles we ended up doing. And we’ll be back next year to close the loop. It’s too beautiful of a place to only see once.
Sasha sidenote: While the TRT is itself a closed off loop, you need to approach that loop from a parking lot somewhere. The spur trail to where our car was parked was about half a mile. The last day, Sasha was dragging pretty hard (along with me). It had been a lot of hot, hard miles since Tahoe City. But when she turned onto the spur trail, boy did she pick up the pace. She knew immediately this was the way out. After two weeks, she remembered the exact trail to bring her home. She even sprinted up to the exact spot where the car had been parked. She would have been able to jump right in if not for us moving the car due to the snow. Sometimes that dog is wildly smart.