Badger’s Tahoe Rim Trail Gear List

Written by Zach

Talking in circles: bad; walking in circles: good. At least this is true when the inside of your circle contains one of the most beautiful lakes in the entire U.S. Earlier this month, I completed a thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). This was the third consecutive year I’ve made plans to hike the trail, with the first two attempts being upended by fires and a pandemic.

Conventional wisdom says that the best months to thru-hike the TRT is July-September. In recent years, with fires starting in California as early as July, I was unwilling to roll those dice and decided that I’d rather deal with some snow than either inhale smoke or have to throw in the towel for the third year in a row. This decision was rewarded with less crowded trails, fewer bugs, more moderate temperatures (albeit, downright cold at times), and a very pleasant experience overall.  I will likely do a recap of the hike at some point, but the purpose of this post is to share with you, the very smart and attractive reader, the contents of my gear.

Here goes.‍