Tahoe Rim Trail condition report

“I went up to the Tahoe Meadows trailhead for the TRT on Highway 431 on Saturday and it is still completely covered in snow. The snow is still between 4 and 8 feet deep. Man, I can't believe how much snow is still up there, usually by this time the trail is open. I ended heading to a lower elevation in order to get some hiking done.”

“Wow, good to know, tahoe. I'll be up there in July when a friend tries to hike the whole 130 (?) miles in about 5 days. I'll be doing "support," which basically means I'll go out to the trailheads, do a little hiking, wave and hand him some food as he passes by, then head back to his in-laws' house for a beer and dip in the hot tub....”

“There were a lot of late season snow storms up there this year, but I would imagine that by July the trail should be open, except for possibly some of the highest passes. To clarify, open would mean free of snow, not open to travel.”

“Yeah, I think it's the last weekend in July, so it would probably be OK by then. But, then again, I only care about the trail from the deck to the refrigerator....”

“Oh wow, Martyb, I hope your friend appreciates your "sacrifice"...lol...”

“Martyb - when are you going to be there? Maybe I will drive up for a day of support!

I was at Donner Summit last week and we ran into some snow that we couldn't cross in our treadless tennies, but it was mostly pretty clear.

The whole trail in 5 days?? Like averaging 26 miles a day??? Wow!!”

“Plans won't be confirmed until another few weeks, but basically the last weekend of July.

Yeah, the whole thing in 5 days. I hang with some pretty nutty guys. I don't usually backpack with them, though, because they are just way too fast for me. Some of them did the whole John Muir trail in 10 days a few years back. The guy doing the TRT just ran a marathon in about 2:40 a few months ago, and some others do these ultramarathon things (50k and above) and have even set national records, etc.”

“My plan for the TRT looks more like 14 days, Martyb, those guys must haul tail when they are hiking.”

“The first TT trip I ever organized was on a Memorial day weekend a few years ago, I thought most of the snow would be gone, or at least manageable by then. Whoops... we ended up (1) losing the trail in one location as it was covered by snow, and (2) doing waist-deep post-hole slug over Dick's Pass for a couple miles. I think I permanently chased away a couple ex-tt'rs with that trip!! It was "challenging".

Moral of the story... check in often to get current snow reports before you head out! Don't make the mistakes I did!”