Kingsbury South Trailhead (0) to Sierra Canyon Trail Junction (11)

Mileage 11 miles (+1 mile side trail), total 11 miles

Campsite elevation: 8,448 feet

The day started very early at 5.30 AM with our alarm call. The drive to Lake Tahoe would take a little over three hours so, after a quick breakfast, we were on the road.

It was nice to drive through Northern California on our way to Tahoe. The traffic was fairly quiet with none of the crazy driving we’d seen in San Fransisco. We passed through Sacramento and the scenery gradually changed with more trees and we followed the south fork of the American River on our way into Tahoe.

Whilst traveling on the TRT does not require a permit, going through Desolation Wilderness does so our first stop was the ranger offices in South Lake Tahoe. After a few minutes with an overly officious but pleasant old lady, we were on our way.

After parking the car, it was time to head up to the Kingsbury Grade South trailhead. The section from here to Marlette Peak, which will be our home tomorrow night, is a 30 mile waterless stretch. Unfortunately for us, that meant a big water carry of 6 litres to have enough water for both days plus camp tonight.

The packs were very heavy with the 6kg of water we had and our total pack weights were around 20kg which is much heavier than we would like. The bear canister and microspikes we are carrying also add around 1.5 kgs to our base weight.

Needless to say, the initial climb out of Kingsbury South trailhead was a real slog. As we continued to climb, we finally left behind the hotels and ski lifts and got into the backcountry proper.

After this initial climb, the first part of the day was more or less downhill. The scenery was stunning and it was great to finally be on the trail. We passed lots of mountain bikers also out enjoying the trail. We didn’t see any thru hikers although we came across lots of day hikers. We should in theory come across more as the traditional direction is clockwise whereas we are hiking anticlockwise.

We passed our only water source for the next two days so ensured we got plenty of water down before refilling our water bottles. The second half of the day was much tougher as it was more or less a continual climb all day. There were some stunning views across the lake to Desolation Wilderness which was still covered in snow. We will arrive there in around a week.

There were some more beautiful views as the trail gradually climbed towards our campsite at Sierra Canyon trail head. We stopped around a quarter of a mile to have dinner. This was primarily to avoid attracting bears to our campsite. Then, we headed up the hill to our campsite just as darkness was falling.

It wasn’t a great spot as the ground was uneven but we were just happy to hit the sleeping bag and get some rest after a tiring day.