Wednesday September 25, 21.6mi/34.8km

Vista over Spooner Summit (129.2/7579ft) to Mt Rose Campground (150.8/8894ft) (NV)

It was another warm morning, I was even able to start the day wearing shorts.

After a brief climb up to a ridgeline, I had views of Lake Tahoe all morning.

And a mile later…

And again a half mile later…

The terrain was very dry here, and there was sage and scrubby desert plants everywhere.

I started a small descent, and I made an effort to look behind me today, for a different perspective on the scenery.

And then, I saw another lake! This one was Marlette Lake.

Part of the descent was thru an alpine meadow.

And of course, the view back up the hillside.

Marlette Lake kept showing itself every half mile or so.

I took my usual mid-morning break, and while I was spooning Nutella out of the jar, a hiker walks by. From the looks of his backpack, he was a thru-hiker. I catch up to him a mile later, and meet Johannes, aka “Perimeter Check”. He is a PCT hiker, who decided to hike the TRT as well.

We both haven’t seen other backpackers in awhile, and spend the rest of the day talking about almost everything – hiking, other cultures, aviation, favorite audiobooks, food, and even behavioral science. We took an afternoon break at a spot that had a view of two lakes at once. Lake Tahoe:

Washoe Lake, near Carson City:

At 6pm, Perimeter Check stopped to camp in a nice forest away from the Mt Rose highway. I continued another two miles to stay at the Mt Rose campground… I love a good picnic table! On the way, I passed thru Tahoe Meadows.

I enjoyed my last night camping on this trail, and I even had the whole campground to myself. I think because it late in the season?

Tomorrow will be a twenty mile day, to return to the spot I had started from a week ago!