Turning onto the Tahoe Rim Trail, I was definitely sure the uphill was over. Wrong! I couldn’t believe how much I had climbed!! (Read about the first half of this bike ride.) With an elevation gain of 3000′ on my route, I really should have known better. But I just kept assuming the worst was behind me and kept trucking along. 5 miles on this trail to get back to the Tunnel Creek Rd which would take me the final 3 miles back to the truck.

Marlette Peak offered the broadest views of the trip. I had to stop for a water break to take lots of pictures. I was above tree line with 360 degree views of mountains, meadows, cities, and lakes. The wind was ripping through there like crazy though and it was bitter cold. So cold I almost pulled my pants out of my backpack to warm up. I found a few wildflowers along this section of the trail as well.

Finally at the highest elevation on my route (I believe it was 9,100′), I was not surprised to find multiple patches of snow covering the trail. This trail isn’t always open until at least the middle of June so I knew I was hitting it pretty early in the year. The snow was only on the east side of the mountain in shady areas. It really wasn’t a problem, except for one extra large patch that was about 6′ deep and 300′ across. This was the only time I lost sight of the trail and it only took me a few minutes to relocate it on top of the ridge. I enjoyed seeing some snow, come to think of it, that’s the first and only snow I’ve seen this season!! We spent the winter in Yuma, AZ so it was refreshing to see some snow. I did end up with soaking wet feet, muddy shoes, and sand splattered legs from wet bike tires though.

Now that I was headed downhill, it was time to cover ground while the sun shined!! 7:00pm knowing I was still several miles from the truck had me getting a tiny bit nervous.

I have to say, the Tahoe Rim Trail is technically a hiking trail, not a mountain bike trail. While this section of the trail is open to mountain bikes, it’s obviously not designed with bikers in mind. The rocks are pretty big and chunky, dropping off 6 – 8 inches regularly. On a downhill stretch, this makes for an extremely awkward ride! (Uphill too I’m sure!) More than once I had to stop and walk my bike through the rocks. Like I said, fine for hiking, not so perfect for bikes! This made for a frustrating section of trail, but the lower I descended off the mountain, the smoother the trail became. Eventually I was able to make some pretty good time and enjoy flying downhill on a mountain trail.

The switch backs down the back side of the mountain by Twin Lakes offered some more scenery and a nice trail. It what seemed like no time at all I was at the intersection for the Tunnel Creek Rd. 0.6 miles had me back on familiar territory, completing my loop for the day. Now for the 3 mile decent back to the truck, enjoying amazing sunset views of Lake Tahoe the whole way down the mountain. I pulled off at a look out point to take a few more pictures just as the sun dropped behind the mountains across the lake. I couldn’t have timed my trip more perfectly!

I would have enjoyed more time to leisurely enjoy the scenery and maybe not push myself so hard on the uphill sections. But I had just enough time, the perfect amount of food, and plenty of stamina for this trip, thanks to my regular workout routine!

Hopping back in the truck at 8:15pm, I completed a 19.3 mile bike trip in roughly 6 hours. So much beautiful scenery!