I did another quick overnight training trip this weekend which was part of a long term exercise plan to get ready for the 170 mile Tahoe Rim Trail (A.K.A. the Tart) next month. A storm came in Friday night and I fought howling winds and rain all night long. I could handle the weather where I was, but up at Lake Tahoe it dumped 6" of snow.
For various reasons my trip date kept getting pushed back later and later in the year until the earliest I could do it was mid October. I've hiked locally in mid-October and the weather was fine. But if we get even one more storm between now and then or if we get a storm while I'm out on the trail I could suddenly be dealing with a foot of snow or more.
Also, it turns out that the next 2 weekends of training hikes will have to be cancelled due to other circumstances like my Grand Daughter's birthday party (which is awesome and I'd never want to miss it) and a weekend of splitting 2 cords of firewood to get ready for the winter.
So with the weather possibilities, lack of proper training (even though I'm walking around 25 miles a week), and home duties I'm going to have to cancel the trip for this season. Now I'm looking at a June or July time frame depending on how much snow we get this winter.
On one hand, I'm frustrated because I've been wanting to do a thru-hike like this for over a year. But I also don't want my first big thru-hike to become a case of "Embrace the brutality". There are many spots on the TART where, if I got hit by a sudden snow storm, I'd be 20+ miles from the nearest road. I'd rather wait until I have a better chance of success.
But man, it hurts to set a plan aside like this.
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