Leg 5 - Kingsbury to Big Meadow

Got another leg of the TRT in today, and it was hot and smoky from the fires in the area. Actually, not so smoky up where I was, but the haze in the distance sure cut down on the views. And it was hot because I got a later start than usual - dropped the kids off at about 8, and didn't get on the trail until 9:30. Here's the opening shot of the trailhead, right under the Stagecoach lift at Heavenly:



The trail stayed within or hear the ski area for quite awhile - almost 5 miles, I'd say. Here's some signage that was still in-bounds:



Not long after this, a pretty big bird decided to cross the trail right in front of me. I was able to get the camera out before it ambled away. Mich's dad and grandpa (who picked me up) said they thought it was a Blue Grouse.



Pretty much a lot of climbing - in the first two and a half hours, I got about 20 minutes of running in, wherever I could. Had some really breathtaking overlooks of the Carson Valley, somewhat obscured by the haze:



And some pretty cool parts of the trail:



Eventually came to a really nice looking lake called Star Lake - seemed to be camp spots around it, and if I remember, the guidebook says the fishing is good. I'll bet that's where the two sets of thru-hikers I passed were heading to or from.



Hadn't had any Tahoe views at all up to this point, but I think I caught a glimpse of it through the haze here:



At about 2 and a half hours in, I came to the high point - just below Freel Peak, right about 10,000 feet. Not going up there; not today...



So I THOUGHT it was pretty much downhill all the way out from there, and it did start with a pretty good downhill stretch that I could run. There seemed to be mor climbing after that than I had expected, though. I finally found my mistake: I had thought that one 5-mile stretch dropped from 8700 to 8330 feet, but had misread it - it actually climbed from 8700 to 8830! Wasn't expecting all that climbing there, and it kinda killed me - a little demoralizing when you're expecting an easy glide down. Made it town, though, and was able to run about 3 of the last 4 miles in. Showed up about 50 minutes late for my shuttle pickup (thanks Bill and Nick) which wasn't too bad considering I had started a half an hour later than I had expected. So really, I was only 20 minutes behind my projected time. Here's the finish trailhead:



So: on the trail for 5:20, and only got to run for 1:35. Lotta climbing there. After shuttle to my car and the drive back to Reno, it was 5:00 - that was a full day. Pretty stiff tonight, we'll see if I can walk tomorrow.