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| The
Trip:
From Reno we take U.S. Highway 395 south to Highway 431, also known as the Mt. Rose Highway. Traveling about 20 miles on 431 we reach the Mt. Rose Summit and arrive at the Tahoe Meadows Trailhead. At the Tahoe Meadows, we meet Mark Kimbrough, the Executive Director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association is a volunteer, non-profit organization established in 1981 to construct and maintain the Tahoe Rim Trail. Tahoe Meadows offer two trailheads for the Tahoe Rim Trail as well as a one point three mile long interpretive trail, all of which are located above 8000 feet in elevation. As the Rim Trail cuts through the meadows, the display of wildflowers is spectacular and the water of Ophir Creek refreshing. But, we have a lot of miles ahead of us and are anxious begin our trek in earnest, so we leave the meadows behind and hike into the forest canopy. In less than a mile, the trail climbs out of the meadows and into the pines. Then, for the next 7 to 8 miles we hike along a north-south oriented ridge. Mt. Baldy, Rose Knob Peak and Relay Peak all sit on the ridge just north of our path. The trail takes us up and down a number of gullies along the way until we reach the trail intersection of Tunnel Creek Road and the Red House Flume Trail. This is a busy mountain biking area. And, our path is marked with reminders that the Tahoe Rim Trail is a multi-use trail.
About two and a half miles from Tunnel Creek is a trail spur called Christopher’s Loop. It is a short hike to Herlan Peak just off the Tahoe Rim Trail. This path is closed to bikes and, as we quickly realize, offers breath-taking views. We are standing on a granite outcrop fifteen hundred feet above Sand Harbor. From here you really experience the incredible beauty of the Tahoe Basin. The vista offers unobstructed lake views of both Tahoe and the nearby Marlette Lake. This view is definitely worth enjoying for a while. So we take off our packs and enjoy lunch. Feeling very much like we are on the top of the world.
We enter the Marlette Peak Campground around 6 o’clock and right on schedule. We have plenty of time to make camp and prepare dinner before the light fades. We are all ready to get some rest. We have another long day of hiking ahead tomorrow. Early the next morning we strike camp and head back out to continue our hike. But before we return to the Tahoe Rim Trail we make a short side trip up a spur that’ll take us to the top of Marlette Peak and another breath-taking view.
As we hike toward Snow Valley Peak, we more and more we find that we are leaving the pines. Soon we find our selves in open fields of low-lying wild flowers and sagebrush. This area is often covered in snow for months at a time. Even in dry years it is common to find snow up here into the summer months. We come across a couple of snowfields along the trail. Just below Snow Valley Peak, the Rim Trail crosses a dirt road coming from North Canyon and a large forest of aspens below. Our path then follows this road south for a number of miles dropping down in elevation and back into the trees as we move toward Spooner Summit. The appearance of Spooner Lake on the west side of the trail tells us that we are getting close to the trailhead. Giving our trail-tired feet enough encouragement to get to the end of a great trip and a gorgeous hike. Thanks to the advisors and contributors of Wild Nevada Program #204:
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The
Tahoe Rim Trial is a 165-mile, single-track trail which is open to hiking,
equestrians, and mountain biking with a few restrictions. The trail
encompasses the ridge tops of the Lake Tahoe Basin. It crosses six counties
and two states; it also overlaps approximately fifty miles of the Pacific
Crest National Scenic Trail. 
The
Tahoe Rim Trial tries to keep a 10% grade on its climbs and descents.
Trail builders often use switchbacks to help break up the path’s
steep inclines and declines.
At
the trail junction for Marlette Peak we meet Jay Howard, a Resource
Ranger with 
This
trail spur is closed to bikes. As sandy and steep as the trail is, it
would be very difficult for most cyclists anyway. The path to the peak
is a bit of a climb, but it serves as a good morning warm up for our
legs.