Friday, September 4th, 2020
I felt like shit. I felt horrible all night and barely slept. I had zero appetite and I would hardly eat a thing the rest of the day. I think all I could stomach was a pouch of applesauce in the morning, and a cheese and meat stick near the end of the day. Definitely not enough calories for how much ground we covered.
On top of feeling like a garbage pile, I started off the morning getting lost. My GPS appeared to be directing me in the right direction, but there were no signs of the trail. The trail wasn’t in plain view, was unmarked, and went parallel to the road I was currently on. I made a wrong turn, and I continued walking on the road instead. It turned out not to be a big deal. I wasn’t far from where I needed to be, but it caused a great amount of frustration when I was already feeling awful.
I was surrounded by ski lifts and there was a lodge nearby, which was the direction I was starting to head to. A young lady with orange hair walking with her dog (named Snickers) was going for a hike. She was heading towards me after I had been circling the area for a good 15 minutes. Not knowing if she were a local or a tourist, I asked her if she was familiar with the Tahoe Rim Trail. Fortunately, she was a local and knew exactly where I needed to go.
“I’m actually heading that way anyway, so I’ll show you how to get back. If you’re looking for a nice place to camp, I highly recommend Star Lake! It’s kind of far away, but it’s a very pretty spot.”
I thanked her for helping me re-locate the trail. Then, I looked up the mileage to Star Lake out of curiosity. It was only about 9 miles ahead. For your average person, this was a long distance away. However, the three of us would be passing it. She was right about one thing though, it was really pretty!
Before I got there, I’d pass under many more ski lifts, see several views of Carson Valley and would cross the border back into California. Frisbee was there waiting for me. By the time we reached Star Lake, I decided to take the plunge. It was really hot, I was feeling really awful and thought it might cool me down. It was refreshing, but pretty cold, so I didn’t stick around long.
This stretch was super pretty. It was sandy and surrounded by granite cliffs covered in conifers. I was really enjoying the flora! There were so many variations of conifers, dead and alive, that were all so beautiful. We ran into a runner named Brad who was out with his dog named Larry. I love when people give their dogs and cats human names. He told us that he passed by Dr. Thunder about 20 minutes prior. The guy flies!
After going over Armstrong Pass, very slowly, I would start to get closer to where the guys were. I felt terrible. We ended our hike at mile 103.5 near Highway 89. I was glad to be done. I felt ill and would feel worse as the night turned into day.
24.7 miles (39.8 km)
Jump Ahead to The Tahoe Rim Trail: Part 6
Jump Back to The Tahoe Rim Trail: Part 4
or
Start from the Beginning: The Tahoe Rim Trail: Part 1
Stubbs Rambles On 