I did this route northbound and started at Lower Echo Lake under mostly sunny skies and moderate winds out of the southwest. I would do the first 34 miles solo and then pick up friends along the rest of the way. I would resupply with food at Barker Pass, I80W rest stop, Lacey Benchmark, Henness Pass Road and had numerous water sources mapped that I could pull from.
The first 18-20 miles through Desolation Wilderness was super scenic but also a rock garden. My mantra was “be patient and pick up your feet”. Mentally I was avoiding thinking about the whole 100 mile effort and instead chopping it up into three pieces: Echo to Barker, Barker to I80 and I80 to Finish. Three 50 kms seemed much more manageable than one 100 miler. I felt fresh rolling into Barker Pass.
At Barker, I met my wife and sister where I resupplied with food, transitioned to night time gear/clothing and picked up Alex. Winds were forecast to gust up to 40mph that night. Not sure it ever got that windy but it did blow pretty good on the ridgelines all night long. We moved well and laughed hard all the way to the I80W Rest Stop.
Holly met me at the i80W rest stop, I resupplied again and we hit the road. I continued to move well but was definitely feeling the cumulative effort at this point. Holly’s stoke was invaluable and we kept the train rolling into the morning. We got to Lacey Benchmark and it was Sean Flanagan's turn to run the last 27 miles with me and put a bow on this thing. Miles 96-101were brutal. Rocky, loose, overgrown, thorny and hot. And the last three miles took forever but we got it done. This is such an absolute classic section of Tahoe trail and excited to see more people take a crack at it!