Day 14 on the Tahoe Rim Trail: Celebrating the arrival

• Miles they walked: 15.6
• Miles covered: 159.4-175.0
• Miles remaining: 0
• Number of dogs: too much

It was a strange feeling arriving on the last day of hiking the TRT after the various challenges along the way. We had breakfast, packed up camp for the last time and left. Unlike other mornings it was very cloudy and cold when we left. I was walking around in my down jacket and wool hat, which was unusual. The weather seemed to become more autumnal.

An early lunch at Watson Lake

We were already in the forest and the trail continued downhill. There were also some views of Lake Tahoe. Walking felt much faster. I’m not sure if it was because we knew it was the last day or it was just the terrain. Or maybe he was now in full hiking swing on the last day! Even my cough had finally gone away.

through the forest

We arrived at Watson Lake in time for a very early lunch. Ben rinsed his smelly hoodie and I paddled. The sun that had risen earlier quickly disappeared behind the clouds and it was actually quite cold and windy on the lake shore.

Foot Rinse at Watson Lake

I ate my last package of chicken for lunch and also worked our way through most of the snacks we had left. The beef jerky, peanut M&Ms, gummy snakes, and dried mango (Trader Joe’s only) were definitely the best snacks of the hike for me.

Less than 10 miles left

We were now in single digit miles to Brockway Summit, where we had started and were finishing our hike. The countdown was on despite some dubious mile markers along the way: there were only six miles to go, but meters later, suddenly there were still seven miles to go.

Single digit emotion

The trail gave us one last climb, not very steep, before beginning the descent to Brockway. Most of this section of the trail was through forests with occasional sightings of Lake Tahoe.

The final stretch

The final section ran parallel to the road but through the forest. We could see the road and hear the traffic and I knew we were almost there. I was excited, but the cautious part of me still wouldn’t let me believe I could finish until I actually did.

We kept walking, crossed the main road 267, walked to the TRT bulletin board and map, and we were done! Ben captured my childlike joy on video as I walked up to the bulletin board and did a little jump and cheered for finishing.

We had completed the 175 mile TRT. Twelve days of hiking, a zero day when I was sick, and a near-zero (almost zero) day of 3.9 miles on our first afternoon. It felt very strange to think that this was it.

Celebrating with a ‘lime-rita’

We took some selfies celebrating the end and then took turns taking some photos of each other.

In Tahoe City we had purchased two small drinks that Ben brought us to celebrate, so we opened one of them and enjoyed a fresh Buzzball lime-rita to celebrate. I’m a big fan of margaritas and this was the closest we could get.

Celebrating completing TRT

While we were doing this, two ladies and three dogs appeared. One of them asked if we were going to do the TRT and we said we just finished. She congratulated us and immediately asked if she could take us, and when we said no, she offered to take us to Truckee where we had booked a hotel for the night. This was a very kind and welcome gesture, as we had thought we would probably have to get an Uber.

all dogs

It turned out that the lady’s daughter was also walking on the TRT and had come to accompany her for a while. He had parked his van about a mile from Brockway Summit, next to the TRT, and offered to pick it up and drive back.

Ben insisted that we walk back with her and she definitely set a good pace on the one mile return walk, now uphill. I was very glad that Ben was able to keep up with him, since I was left behind, not used to walking at that speed, and not expecting to put in extra miles after we finished.

She had warned us earlier that she had many dogs with her in addition to the three we had already seen. I’m scared of dogs and getting into any vehicle with dogs isn’t my idea of ​​fun, but I was on a high from finishing the TRT and wasn’t about to take a lift down.

While Ben sat in the back with three of the dogs, I got to sit in the front with only one: Stormy. Stormy was determined that we would be best friends, so I spent the 20-minute drive to Truckee with her snuggled against my leg. In some ways, this was a bigger challenge for me than TRT had been!

Up close and personal

Celebrating with a hotel and a Thai dinner

We spent the night at Gravity Haus in Truckee. A very charming chalet-style hotel that clearly had cheaper prices than usual as it was neither summer nor winter season. We were given free chocolates at reception when I said we had just finished walking the TRT, although it could very well be that everyone got free chocolates.

When we got to our room, the nicest one we had stayed in on this trip, I took a very long hot shower. I washed my clothes that still didn’t feel or look that clean afterwards. The amount of brown water that came out of my socks was also considerable. Ben also showered and I enjoyed just sitting on the bed with my legs up and made the most of the robes provided by the hotel.

We walked down the street to the Thai restaurant for dinner. And then I spent the rest of the night, legs up, enjoying the comforts of a hotel room. It still didn’t seem real that tomorrow we weren’t going to walk anymore. In a way, I was ready to have clean nails again, wear different clothes, and eat vegetables, but in another way, now that I was well again, I felt like I had just started walking so far every day and navigating life.

Celebratory Thai dinner

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