June 25, 2020
- Start – Tahoe Vista (mile 39.5)
- End – Marlette Peak Campground (mile 66.3)
- Daily Mileage – 26.8 trail miles + 1.2 extra miles round-trip to Spooner Lake (28 miles total)
The comment I read yesterday in Guthook about a 200-pound bear reportedly hanging around Edgewood Creek was on my mind all night. That area is near Summit Village, a condominium development that caters to the local ski resorts. So, it makes sense the bear would want to hang out nearby – given the food wrappers, scraps, and domestic rubbish that accompanies human homes.
But, I kept wondering if I was within that bear’s roaming range and whether my food smells would lure it up toward my camp. After all, bears have are believed to have the best sense of smell of any animal on earth. They can detect animal carcasses from a distance of 20 miles. Wasn’t it a reasonable worry that it could be drawn to my pot of Annie’s mac n’cheese last night? Would I have a midnight visitor traipsing through my campsite? Or would the allure of closer, easier neighborhood trash bins be satisfying enough to keep it localized?
These thoughts kept tumbling through my head as I lay in my tent trying to fall asleep. Then, around 10 pm, a dog started barking from down somewhere. It sounded miles away, but this noise went on for what seemed like 15 minutes straight. Was the dog alerting its people that a bear was nearby? Was the bear on the move and headed in my direction?
In reality, the dog could have been yapping for any number of reasons. A cat. A neighbor walking by on the sidewalk. Or it could just be one of those dogs who barks to express its desire to come back inside again. Barking did not equal imminent bear activity. I had to remind myself not to let my imagination and unfounded fears run amok. But, it wasn’t easy!
LOGISITICS
Despite my simmering bear worries, I eventually dozed off and slept just fine until around 5 am. Although it was still early, I started moving early because I’d decided to try to see if I could make some bigger miles today. The section of trail ahead had a few logistical hurdles coming up.
First, I would be traversing a drier section of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) with fewer water sources. Kingsbury Grade lies about 3 miles ahead. And once I got north of that, there wouldn’t be any water for 13+ miles until I reached the notorious Spooner Lake. Additionally, getting water from Spooner would require me to take a detour somewhere between 1.2 and 2.5 miles to either filter water from the lake or use to a piped spigot on the far side of the lake.
The second challenge was the camping restrictions that extends from just south of Spooner Lake until beyond Twin Lakes. for During this 16-mile stretch of trail, hikers are supposed to limit themselves to two established backcountry walk-in campgrounds – the North Canyon Campground and the Marlette Peak Campground.
The closer of these two campgrounds is North Canyon at 21 miles ahead, but that campground also requires a steep, 1.5-mile (each way) descent off the trail to get down to the campground. And there’s no water source there! So, the best case scenario for the day is that I’ll be hiking 23.7 miles of hiking to the North Canyon Campground (21 trail miles + the 1.2 mile detour to get water at Spooner Lake + the 1.5-mile side trail to the campground). That’s a pretty long day.
But the other alternative isn’t much more attractive. The Marlette Peak campground has the benefit of being just 0.2 miles off the trail, but it’s almost 5 miles further in distance from today’s starting point. So, getting there would require ~28 miles of hiking. I’m not sure if that distance is feasible on the third day of my thru-hike. My feet and aching shoulders might balk at the request.
Being pigeon-holed into these two campground options is a bit frustratrating. Why can’t I just pick somewhere to stop and set up camp for the night where I want? But I don’t see any way around the rules. So, I just figured I get an early start on the day and see where it led me.
KINGSBURY
The morning started off on a positive note. The first few miles were easy downhill terrain as I worked myself toward Edgewood Creek. As I got closer to the water source, I noticed lots of nice flat areas to camp in, but opined that none of them was quite as nice as the sunset views I had last night with dinner.
I ended up stopping at a small stream just before the creek and tanked up with 2 liters of water (and guzzled another full liter for good measure). Then, I was headed toward Kingsbury Grade – or Highway 207 – the steep, curvy road that brings cars through the mountain passes to the town of Stateline, Nevada, on Lake Tahoe’s eastern shore.
The TRT skirted the road on the hillside just above Kingsbury Grade for about half of a mile, then it was time to play a game of “Frogger” with the morning traffic to jog across safely to the opposite side. Beyond the grade, there was one more water source, and then I was walking amid a smaller trail network criss-crossing the TRT and currently in use by some early morning trail runners and mountain bikers.
It was a pleasant morning to be out and about, and the terrain seemed to be pretty moderate. Large boulders dotted the area beside the trail, and one in particular caught my attention. It was at least 25 feet high and flanked by 40 foot pines!
As I worked my way through the next section of moderate terrain, I noticed the pain in my the bottom of my left heel had returned with a vengeance. And while the downhill section at the beginning of the day was a pleasant way to start, my shins were feeling a bit of soreness too. Hopefully, these pains would subside as my body continued to warm up. I need to make some miles today!
BIRD WATCHING
Shortly after the Kingsbury North trail junction, I spotted a laminated flyer posted on several of the trees. When I stopped to read one, I learned the territory around this bit of the trail was a nesting area for Peregrine Falcons. These birds of prey are an endangered species in California, and active nests were discovered in the Lake Tahoe basin just in the last 15 years.
Apparently the falcons are very sensitive to human disturbances, so when hikers (or other trail users) get too close, it can stress the birds and cause them to abandon their nests. The signs further warned hikers that if they observed raptors diving or making loud bird calls, it might mean they’d walked too close to a nest. Luckily, there was also a few photos of these falcons, because I’d have no clue what to look for otherwise.
I didn’t spot (or hear) any of the falcons as I walked through the immediate area, but decided I’d wait until the Sierra Canyon trail junction – in another 5 miles – before I took an extended morning snack break and rested my feet.
THE BENCH
The TRT left the forested nesting areas and gradually climbed the next few miles toward some open balds with more views of Lake Tahoe. The sun felt nice on my face, but the trail was definitely exposed and would heat up later today for whoever happened to be hiking through. The trail’s surface also changed during this section, transitioning from soft dirt to lots of chunky and flat rocks.
There were several lookout spots atop one of the balds, and one of them also had a bench made out of a logs for weary travelers to rest. It made a pretty picturesque spot with the open meadow in the foreground, tree-covered foothills beyond, and then views of Lake Tahoe with the snow-peaked Sierras beyond the opposite shoreline. I almost felt like I was standing in the middle of a postcard during my brief pause atop the mountain.
As I worked my way north on the TRT, the trail headed back into the trees and I could hear a loud bird calling. It was pretty high up in the trees, and at least 100 meters away, so I can’t be 100% sure what type of bird it was. However, based it’s size, markings, and silhouette, there’s an excellent chance it was a Peregrine Falcon. Wow! If not for those signs a few miles back, I probably would have no clue that I might be looking at an endangered bird in the wild!
WATER DILEMMA
After my panoramic views of Lake Tahoe and return to the tall forests, I had several more miles of uneventful, but pleasant hiking on my way to Spooner Lake. My early start and limited breaks meant I arrived at the Spooner Summit trailhead just before 1 pm. I’d hiked close to 17 miles before lunch! Holy cow, I might actually have a chance at making it to Marlette Peak Campground this evening.
As I popped out of the woods near the trailhead’s parking lot, I noticed there appeared to be a picnic area and some pit toilets. This was perfect timing because my bladder was full. I was down to the end of my two liters of water and needed some relief. Unfortunately, when I opened the door to the bathroom, I had a RUDE awakening. There were giant heaps of trash all over the room, and feces everywhere. There was poop on the toilet seat, the wall, and more. It was honestly one of the grossest things I’ve ever encountered, and I was genuinely disappointed people would had such disrespect for the place.
Unfortunately, my full bladder was still an issue though. So, I dropped my pack at a picnic table and went in search of a modicum of privacy amid the nearby trees. While I took care of business, I noticed something interesting in the bushes. It was a water cache with several gallons of water. As I inspected it closer, I could see a name written on the jugs in marker — and there was a date on them too.
Clearly this person knew about the reputation of Spooner Lake’s nasty water and distance off trail required to obtain it. I kicking for not having similar forethought to cache a few gallons for myself too (like I did back on the PCT in January). As I looked closer, I also noticed the month and day written on the jugs was still two months into the future. Who would cache water that far ahead of time??
Were these jugs part of a water cache from 2019 that didn’t get used up? Or was it more likely that they were for a hiker coming through here in another two months’ time? Hmmm. I spend a bit of time thinking about this. If they were 10 months old, surely that person wouldn’t mind if I used one. On the other hand, what is the likelihood the water had really been sitting there that long and the jugs were still intact through a long, snowy winter?
In the end, I knew I wouldn’t touch the water. It wasn’t mine. I didn’t put it there. And I’d be peeved if I’d taken the effort to cache a bunch of water for a hike only to have some inconsiderate hiker come along and help themselves to it. Not cool. And so, I returned to my pack and crossed the highway toward Spooner Lake
SPOONER LAKE
After crossing over to the north side of Highway 50 (i.e., the second busy road I needed to dart across today) I discovered some unexpected trashcans where I could at last dump the past couple days of trash from my pack. Then I was off on the a side trail around Spooner Lake to get enough water for this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow morning.
Earlier today, I’d had a fleeting hope that if I pushed really hard miles to get to Marlette Peak Campground, they would have water available there. There’s a well with a hand pump located beside the campground. So in the past, hikers have been able to use that as a reliable water source during this dry stretch of the TRT. But as I looked more closely at the notes in Guthook, there are repeated comments over the past two years about the campground pump being inoperable.
So, either: (1) this old pump is completely unreliable and keeps breaking; or (2) the Nevada State Park system isn’t interested in maintaining it. Either way, I was fairly confident it was still broken today. Especially given the signs I passed on my way to the Spooner Lake trailhead.
The trail looping around Spooner Lake was nice and easy, and after about 0.6 miles there were a handful of places where hikers could make their way down to the water and gather what they needed. I decided to make this off-trail water expedition into my lunchtime break, but didn’t set up my tent like I’d done for my last two lunches on the TRT. There simply wasn’t room and the bugs weren’t too bad.
The lake water didn’t look dark or murky, but I knew my Sawyer water filter was going to get a workout for sure. Yesterday when I talked to Tick Magnet, she referred to the lake as “goose poop water” and her assessment wasn’t wrong. There seemed to be close to 100 geese and ducks swimming in parts of the lake this afternoon. I don’t know much about geese, but I suspect they pollute the water even more frequently than six year old kids in a public pool.
I could have avoiding drinking the lake water. But that would have required walking all the way around to the opposite side of the Spooner Lake to fill up at the water spigot inside the park. And here’s the weird thing about a lot of long distance hikers. Many of us have no problem hiking as many ‘trail miles’ as you put in front of us. But, the moment you ask us to walk down a side trail to a water source, campsite, or around town for resupply – we balk as the audacity of the request. It’s absurd logic to eschew anything that doesn’t get me closer to my mileage goal. Trust me. I know this. But, that’s the only reason I went ahead and filtered the goose poop water instead of walking another mile out of my way.
Stopping at the lake also allowed me to rinse of my feet and legs, which is something I enjoy immensely. But, I didn’t walk right into the water because I’d read there are leeches in the lake. This information wasn’t just hiker lore and rumor either. I’d read it right on the state park’s website, which had posted, “Spooner Lake is a catch and release only fishery, stocked annually with trout. Swimming is not recommended due to the abundance of harmless yet pesky leeches in the lake.” Yeah, so there’s that.
After inspecting my feet and legs for any “harmless yet pesky leeches,” I guzzled a liter of filtered lake water mixed with Crystal Light to mask the taste. Then I decided I would carry 3 liters away from the lake. That would allow one liter the rest of the afternoon’s hiking; another liter for dinner and breakfast while at camp; and a third liter of water to hydrate with as I walked to my next water source tomorrow. Of course, water weighs about 2.2 pounds per liter, so that meant I was adding another 6.6 pounds to my pack this afternoon. Ugh!
UP THE HILL
After walking the groomed lake path back to the trailhead, it was time to get back on the TRT and walk the remaining miles until camp. The trail junction for North Canyon campground was only 4 miles ahead, and the Marlette Peak Campground was 5 more miles beyonds that. I was still undecided on which one I would stop at for the night, and would make that call when I got there.
The elevation profile showed a long, 6-mile climb up from Spooner Lake and the afternoon was now roasting. I pulled out my sun gloves to shield my hands, which were turning pink after 2.5 days of hiking at elevation in extreme UV. And then it was time to make my move.
I won’t lie. The afternoon climb was difficult. I don’t know if it was due to my fatigue from already hiking 17 miles, or the afternoon heat, or my super heavy pack, or the constant battle upward. But I was moving slow. I’d pushed myself too hard in hot conditions before and experienced a heat injury in both the Camino de Santiago the Appalachian Trail. So, I was being more mindful than ever about resting and going slow.
I stopped to rest in the shade every 30-45 minutes during the climb, and it was taking me much longer than I hoped to make it to the trail junction for the North Canyon campground. When I eventually arrived, I stared at the sign (which said it was ONLY 1.2 miles down to the camp) and internally debated about whether I wanted to do it or not. I knew the trail was closer to 1.5 miles – in reality – and when I did the mental math and compared those three extra ‘non-TRT miles’ to/from the campground to the five additional miles to Marlette Peak campground, I decided I’d rather just push on and make it up the rest of this blasted mountain today.
Marlette Peak
In the end, I’m so glad I decided to keep going to Marlette Peak campground. Yes, I still had another two miles of hiking before I go to the top of the long, arduous climb toward Snow Valley Peak. But, when I got to the top, the terrain opened up and I was big grassy balds again overlooking Lake Tahoe.
The remaining miles were walking much easier miles up on these balds, which reminded me the Roan Highlands in Tennessee. I could see for nearly 20 miles in every direction and toward the mountains on the north side of Lake Tahoe. This morning when I passed the log bench, it seemed like I was near the three o’clock position on the lake. But now, I was so much further north that I could see the lakeshore curving around at the top of the lake. Man, I made some progress!!
In the distance ahead of me, I could also see Lake Marlette, which was nestled between the forest and Lake Tahoe. It was a beautiful oblong lake with the views nearly took my break away. This was definitely worth walking those extra miles. Emerging at the top of the peak and seeing this scene was breathtaking, and it kept be going those final miles to the campground.
CAMPGROUND LIFE
The trail descended back into some trees as I approached the Marlette Peak campground. And about a quarter mile before the actual campground, the trail splits between the TRT and an alternate. At this junction there were a flurry of conflicting signs, with some of the permanent signs saying there was water at the campground, and other laminated signs stapled to them announcing that the pump was broken and there was no water.
When I finally arrived at the campground, there were already several tents and hammocks set up and about half a dozen adolescent boys running around playing. A fatherly-looking guy was walking toward me with four or five empty Nalgene bottles in hand. I asked him if the pump was working, and he confirmed it was still broken. But then announced there was a stream flowing across the trail about a quarter mile further north, and that’s where he was headed to get his group some more water.
Oh boy! This news stirred some serious emotions in me after this long 28-mile day. On one hand, I was so elated to hear there was fresh water nearby. And I’m sure it tasted far better than what I was currently carrying. On the other hand, I probably just wasted a lot of energy lugging close to 3 liters of water up this last 9-mile stretch from Spooner Lake, only to learn there was better water here.
Exhausted, I dropped my pack near one of the campsites and started setting up camp. I was bone tired, but I needed to get my tent set up and get dinner ready before the sun went down. Then I was off to gather some fresh water from the stream.
As promised, there was a stream flowing down the side of the mountain and across the alternate trail only about a quarter mile from camp. The water was ice cold and tasted so delicious. I was over the moon to have this bonus seasonal water flowing and quickly put a comment into Guthook to let other hikers know it existed too.
With these basics chose done, I took in my surroundings and noticed each campsite had it’s fire pit, dedicated bear locker, and picnic table. And there was even a pit toilet up here. But then, I quickly remembered why I prefer stealth camping over these campgrounds. Sure, it’s nice to have a bear box and pit toilet nearby. But with those conveniences also comes campers.
In my case, those people seemed to be half a dozen adults and about 10 boys in age from 9-12 years old. I don’t know if this was a family trip or scouting adventure, but the adults seemed to be 100% focused on setting up camp while the boys ran around like little banshees.
The boys had come up with some sort of game where they were chasing each other, and one had a large branch and was hitting various tree trunks and shouting about how it was the “murder tree.” Then there was more chasing and loud yelling. And more murder tree proclamations. And so on. This was incredibly annoying, but the parents seemed completely oblivious to the ruckus. And this nonsense went on until 9 pm (!!) before it miraculously stopped all at once.
And so that’s how I ended my marathon long day.
DAY 3 OVERVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS
- Those lovely views of Marlette Lake in front of Lake Tahoe toward the end of the day, and walking on the balds with their panoramic scenery.
- Discovering the bonus fresh water source running 0.2 miles from Marlette Peak Campground, despite my expectations that I’d have a dry night.
- Hiking 28 miles in a single day! Man, I feel like a superhero.
CHALLENGES
- The 3 liters of insanely heavy water I toted up from Spooner Lake. Thank goodness for the Crystal Light drink packets I was carrying to mask the horrid goose poop tasting!
- The game of “murder tree” at the campground. Seriously, why?!?
PHOTO OF THE DAY
