As much as I love this hike, I also hate it!

What I love about this trail

Wildflowers are off the charts – The views are amazing – You get a great workout – It’s a favorite hike of the Truckee locals and they are nice folks to chat with along the way.

What I have to be aware of:

It’s hot – I blogged about my heat issues in the past) The trail (PCT) goes through the two tunnels under I-80. Until the snow at the top is completely gone, the tunnels are full of water. I mean knee deep cold as hell rushing water through both tunnels. This year it didn’t clear out until July because of the late snow dump in the Sierra. However, this means that the temps are now hotter than I prefer to get to the top. A very very early start is advised if heat is an issue like it is for me. This trail has a 1500 foot elevation gain in a little over 3 miles with hardly any switch backs making it a hard hike. It’s even a workout going back down as the footing is a little loose.

I try and this trail at least once a year and get up there as EARLY as my hiking partners are willing to go. This year it was later in the am than I would have preferred (8:00am) and we didn’t get back to the car until 2:00pm which is the hottest part of the day and I was spent! I felt like a sloth and my legs were full of lead. I like to get back to the car by noon.

Advice for Senior Flatlander Hikers

GO EARLY. 80 degrees up at altitude going uphill will feel like it’s 100. In the summer, sunrise is 5:30am or so. By 9:00am the sun is very high in the sky. You get the picture. Get an Ultralight hiking umbrella – carry lots of water with electrolytes – eat salty snacks- take a cooling towel to dip into the cold streams if they are still running – take LOTS of rest stops – Listen to your body. Enjoy the scenery

Now for the show!

I got the Relive app which takes the data from my navigation app Gaia and turns it into a cool 3D map of my movements on the trail. Pretty cool! Take a look!