Ryan and Amber: Tahoe Rim Trail FKT

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." —T.S. Elliot

The Tahoe Rim Trail has been my favorite trail for the 12 years I've been running. When I was living in Reno I would often drive up to Mt Rose Meadows to get my long run done as an out an back heading south from Mt. Rose. The views along this section are stunning. In places one can see both Tahoe and Washoe Valley. About 3 years ago I first thought of doing the whole trail, but originally my plan was to do it as a fast pack over 4 days. After moving to South Lake Tahoe a year and a half ago I first thought about doing the trail in one shot.

With the low snow year the backcountry opened up early and I made a go at the trail in the end of June. I started in Tahoe City and went clockwise. My goal was to get Desolation done in the daylight. It is a brutal section around 35 miles with no easy access should things go sideways. I made it nearly 80 miles (Freel Pass) before Ryan pulled the plug for me. It was the right decision. I hadn't consumed enough calories and was having trouble taking in fluids. I had audible wheezes and was having difficulty breathing. After a brutal 6 mile hike out I was back at the car. I was bummed, but I looked at the experience from a learning standpoint.

We learned a lot about how to plan for this in the future. Doing something like this is a bit of a logistical nightmare. Planning included food, fluids, crew, maps for crew, lights, clothing for day and night running, pacers, and what to bring on each section. For each section I carried my own water, food, and lightweight windbreaker. The pacer carried the water purifier and puffy jacket, gloves, extra lights, and space blanket. The pacer was also my extra set of eyes to make sure I didn't miss a turn and in case things went sideways they were my safety.

I wanted to try the TRT again this summer but between other planned trips and work my summer was completely full. August included a 3 week racecation in Colorado for the Trans Rockies Run. I'll try and get a post about this up soon. The Trans Rockies Run was 120 miles in 6 days with Ryan as my teammate. We had a great time during the run and the next week we slowly meandered our way back to Tahoe through Southwest Colorado. We did a couple mountain bike rides in Crested Butte and Durango, but the highlight of the trip for me was 2 runs we did on the Hardrock 100 course. One was up Bear Creek Trail and the other was up to Island Lake. On the long drive home I started thinking about TRT. We had plans to run the Wonderland Trail the first weekend in September with friends, but the crew fell through. A couple text messages to friends later and TRT attempt 2 was in the works.

FKT Tahoe Rim Trail

One of the hardest things about this run is all the planning. We had a little bit of a skeleton crew on this attempt with 2 main pacers running 7 of the 8 segments, one additional pacer, and family coming along the way to help at some of the major crossings. The day before we sat down and went over the plan. Ryan and Keeven were planning on running about every other segment up until Brockway to Mt Rose. After pacing they would them jump in the van and get to the next trailhead where they would organize and hopefully get some sleep.

Section 1: Kingsbury to Big Meadow- 27 miles

We started at Kingsbury at 6am. I actually turned the delorme (tracker) on at the car and then walked to the trail. Because of the road construction we started on the trail that connects into Buchanan Road. The first 15 minutes were dark, but then we had our first sunrise.

The view over Garnerville

Me cruising past Star Lake. We filtered water here and refilled. With the low water year I wasn't sure if the streams would still have water and I didn't want to chance it.

Climbing up Freel

On top of Freel Pass. One mountain down

Section 2: Big Meadow to Echo Lake - 17 miles

After a quick refill of my pack and restock of food I was on my way. Keevin paced me on this section. He was one of my friends I had initially planned on running Wonderland with, and we were super excited to have him along on this adventure. This section is one of my favorites when I run it in the opposite direction. Clockwise there is a ton of climbing, but the scenery is stunning. Earlier in the year running here there were waist high flowers overflowing onto the trail.

Still smiling at Round Lake

Meiss Meadows

The view of Tahoe on the descent to Echo Pass

The descent here is steep and a little technical. I was really glad to have it done on somewhat fresh legs.

Section 3: Echo Lake to Barker Pass - 34 miles

Echo Lake was a welcome site and I ate and relaxed for about 10 minutes. It was also my first shoe and sock change. I ran in Hokas for most of the run, but for this section I put on a lower profile shoe. I was headed into nighttime and this section is a super technical rocky section. Ryan was with me again on this section. This is my favorite section of the trail, but it's not an easy one. It was the longest time we would be without crew support.

Ultraman sighting!! Jen (super crew) from Hawaii was here crewing an athlete for the Tahoe 200 and popped over to say hi. It was really good to see a familiar face.

There was a beautiful glow as we got to Aloha Lake. The lake had been drained since last time I was here.

Heather Lake

Full moon over Heather Lake

Our plan was to a partial water refill at Susie Lake and then fill up at Fontanillis Lake. At Susie we stopped and Ryan discovered he forgot the bag part of our water filter. Crap!! I didn't freak out too much. I was ready to just fill up from the lake and worry about Giardia later when Ryan saw a couple backpackers. Turns out they had the same water filtration system and we borrowed their bag. 15 minutes later with full packs we were on our way hoping the water would last until Barker. This was about sunset and we were into our first night!

Top of Dicks Pass

The rest of the section went smoothly and the water lasted the remainder of the segment. At about 10 pm we came across a guy standing alongside the trail just past middle Velma Lake. He asked, "Are you guys lost too?" I replied no and asked what he needed. Turns out they had passed Velma Lake where they had wanted to camp. I left Ryan behind to help him with directions.

Section 4: Barker Pass to Tahoe City -17 miles

At Barker Pass I got in a sleeping bag and tried to sleep for about 30 minutes. My legs were too achy to sleep, but I do think stopping and letting my heart rate drop helped. Keevin ran this leg with me and I was bummed for him because it was still dark. It's a stunning section in the light. A couple miles from Tahoe City I got to see sunrise number 2 of this adventure.

Section 5: Tahoe City to Brockway - 20 miles

I took 10-15 minutes and ate in Tahoe City and changed my shoes and socks again. Thankfully my sister and brother in law Sami and Dan were there to help the boys out and keep me moving. It was such a mental boost to see them. Ryan was supposed to run this section with me, but he looked cooked. I told him to sit this one out. I wanted him on the night section from Mt. Rose to Spooner more than this leg in the daytime. The nice thing about this section is that they could drive in and were planning on meeting me at Watson Lake. It was a good thing they did because about a mile out from Watson I ran out of water. It was getting hot out, and I ended up sitting in a mud hole for a minute to cool off. After a quick fill at Watson I asked Keevin if he wouldn't mind riding his bike with me for the last 6 miles of this section. I usually like running solo, but this was getting long and I was enjoying seeing people.

Trailhead in Tahoe City

Using the stick on my ouchy legs

My brother in law Dan and Keevin getting me ready to head out

Somewhere past Watson Lake

Section 6: Brockway to Mt Rose Meadows - 21 miles

It was getting hot out and I wasn't looking forward to this next section. It is basically one reaaaally long climb with a short descent. There are no water sources to filter at so the crew was going to drive in a couple miles to top us off. Sienna an ICU RN was my pacer on this section. I was moving slow here and she was power hiking faster than my shuffle. I was having solid type 2 fun with dashes of type 3 fun. Food was not easy to force down, but I kept on moving. The last section of the climb up to Relay Peak seemed to drag on forever. Once on top it was just a little descent to the next trailhead right? nope! We passed a sign that had 2.5 miles to the the trailhead posted, but since that sign went up they extended the single track and keep us off the fire road. Amazing new single track, but I wasn't so jazzed about the added miles at the time.

Cooling off at Brockway

Quick top off

Pringles were my go to salty snack

Relay Peak

Eating soup before my "nap"

attempting nap #2, eyes closed but no sleeping

Section 7: Mt Rose Meadows to Spooner -23 miles

After a 40 minute rest and attempted nap at Mt Rose I headed out with Ryan. I was excited about seeing some of the Tahoe 200 runner that would be coming from the opposite direction. This section was pure mental as everything hurt and I started wheezing. Shortly after the sun went down I started hallucinating a little. Unless there really are human sized lizard sitting along the trail. It was a little chilly going over Snow Valley Peak and I put on a puffy and gloves. We saw a couple runners coming the other way and cheered them on as we moved along. Just before getting to Spooner I saw a guy curled up in the fetal position on the side of the trail. Unsure if he was real I asked if he was okay. He replied, "Yes, I started hallucinating so I'm taking a little nap". He didn't want anything so I carried on and was soon at Spooner.

Somewhere on the spine above Washoe Valleys and Tahoe

Section 8: Spooner to Kingsbury - 15 miles

Keevin and I were quickly off for our last segment. I had a handheld (usually bar mounted) bike light because my headlamp had called it quits. I was in solid type 3 fun by this point and having a hard time breathing. I think breathing the fine dust for over 2 days was the problem. My breathing was limiting my pace at this point. It was a little nerve wracking not being able to get a good breath.

We started to see more and more of the Tahoe 200 runners that kept telling us we were going the wrong way. It was a big boost to see other people out there from the middle of the night to the early morning. About a half mile from the finish Ryan was waiting. Right before crossing Kingsbury Sienna and here fiance Scott were waiting. We all jogged in to the finish together where family and friends were waiting.

Final finish time was 49hrs and 17 minutes. This stands as the current women's FKT. I have no doubt that one day this time will fall. That's what records are there for. I enjoyed the challenge of pushing myself further than I thought possible and look forward to new challenges.