Sunday, August 21, 2011

Segment 2: Brockway Summit to Tahoe Meadows

Trail map at the Brockway Trailhead
Segment Length: 19 Miles

Start Elevation: 6,900 ft.

End Elevation: 8,900 ft.

High Point: 10,338 ft. (Relay Peak)



Mileage sign at the trailhead.
After taking some time to rest my knee and working 7 days a week for 2 months straight, I finally got a morning off to tackle my second segment of the Tahoe Rim. This segment, from Brockway Summit to Tahoe Meadows at the summit of Mt. Rose Highway, turned out to be the most punishing 19 miles I have ever run. Hands down.

9,000 ft. Only the toughest trees and baddest trail runners survive beyond this point.


Starting at 6,900 ft., the trail climbs for 15 straight miles to the summit of Relay Peak, the highest point on the Tahoe Rim Trail at 10,338 ft.  Some parts of the climb are steeper than others and there are a couple brief flat spots, but overall it is a relentless ascent for the entire 15 miles to Relay. The first 7 miles climbs steadily to the head of the Martis Valley at roughly 9,000 ft. At this point the climb mellows out a bit 
Head of the Martis Valley. Still plenty of snow.
and the trail traverses the ridge toward Rose Knob with beautiful meadows and incredible views of Lake Tahoe. The 2-3 miles along the top of this ridge was by far my favorite stretch of the Tahoe Rim that I have run so far.

Steep meadows and amazing views along the ridge near Rose Knob.


Mud Lake
At the 11 mile mark I reached Mud Lake. Mud Lake was my only source of water for 19 miles and its a good thing I didn't blink. Mud Lake is more like a mud puddle, and it is a couple hundred feet below the trail. I scrambled down to the lake and filtered some nice, warm water from the insect larva-infested pond. It was better than nothing though, and I would have been in trouble without it.
Mt. Rose Hwy in the distance. Unfortunately it wouldn't be that easy.

After Mud Lake it gets brutal. The trail is very rugged and exposed, and it dips down a couple hundred feet just to make sure that the final push to Relay Peak thoroughly destroys you. There is one point where you reach the top of the ridge only to turn the corner and realize you still have 400 vertical feet and another mile to go. At this point all you can do is put your head down and keep charging. Despite being pretty exhausted, I stubbornly managed to run every step of the 15 mile climb to Relay Peak. 

Mileage marker near the summit of Relay Peak.
 From the top of Relay it is either 4 miles down the gravel road or 4.7 miles down the trail to Mt. Rose Hwy. Even though both are considered to be the Tahoe Rim Trail, I decided to take the trail and run the extra .7 miles. Unfortunately, taking the trail adds an additional climb and my legs had already decided that they weren't going to climb anymore. I started feeling a twang in my hamstrings as if they were about to explode into severe cramps, so I took a few minutes to sit down and work it out. A couple guys that I had just passed caught back up to me and asked me where I had started running. Astonished that I had run from Brockway they started hooking me up with water and almonds and trail mix and all kinds of good stuff. The older guy was named Hans and apparently he owns a natural foods store in Reno and has bicycled around the world 4 times. He invited me to take a tour of his store the next time I'm in Reno and I might have to take him up on that. The extra calories were a life saver, and after a few minutes of rest I was able to coast the final 2 miles to the trail head at Mt. Rose Highway.

Mileage sign at the Mt. Rose Trailhead.


















Thank you, Tori, for giving me a ride back to my car! I don't think I had the energy to hitch after that one.

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