Tahoe Rim Trail

The Tahoe Rim TrailBuilding trail, changing lives, preserving nature -

a window to the future

Tahoe Rim Trail Mission Statement

To maintain and enhance the Tahoe Rim Trail system, practice and inspire stewardship, and promote access to the beauty of the

Lake Tahoe Region.

Words and design by Jenn Sheridan, Sierra Nevada College

Special Thanks to:

Shannon SkarrittSam and Jackie Viviano

John Davidson

for indepth research, photos, insights and fun stories

“Imagine a trail that winds completely around the most spectacular lake in the United States. As you hike along this 150-mile trail you meander through areas rich in Basque history, where some of the West’s first Basque sheepherd-ers roamed through mountain meadows over 100 years ago with their flocks… you wade through waist-high grass, large groves of aspens, through magnifi-cent stands of red fir and ponderosa pine, and stop to drink from cool mountain streams, sweet to taste… the trail wanders through old Washoe Indian hunting grounds, and long vanished game trails… as well as trails made by early settlers fresh from obtaining their provisions from Nevada’s first settlement at Genoa. You may wander high above mysterious places with names like “Hellhole” with its many small pools and ground that shakes, rolls and sways… you skirt the largest bog in the Sierras at Grass Lake… And most of the time you are able to view the highest and largest alpine lake in North America, Lake Tahoe. On the horizon… the Pine Nut Range in Nevada, the Sierra of California, the Carson Valley… You travel through six counties, three National Forests, and two states… a week and a half later you’re back where you started.”

Glenn Hampton,

Visionary of the Tahoe Rim Trail

The Tahoe Rim TrailBuilding trail, changing lives, preserving nature -

a window to the future

A Recreation and Resource staff officer with the US Forest Service, Glenn Hampton arrived in the Tahoe area in 1977 after

transferring to the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU)from the Angeles National Forest. In 1976 he initiated construction on a stretch of trail in the Angeles National Forest near the Angeles Crest highway. The trail, created and coordinated by Hampton was built entirely by the Lancaster Youth Center. Named the Manzanita Trail, the path provided a side trip off the Pacific Crest Trail where visitors could enjoy the local flora.

Stricken by the beauty of America’s largest and second deepest alpine lake, Hampton grew concerned about the rapid development around the 25,000-year-old lake. Casinos and high-rise hotels popped up along the shoreline which began attracting hordes of tourists to the once pristine Lake Tahoe. The development increased air pollution, algae growth and a loss of water clarity in the lake. Hampton envisioned a trail that cir-cumnavigated the lake showcasing beautiful vistas from the ridges that surround the Tahoe Basin and providing easy access for many while leaving a light impact on the land.

Glenn Hampton-The Visionary

Tahoe Rim Trail Association1

After an early retirement from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US Forest Service in 1984, Glenn Hampton and his wife moved to a 250-acre ranch in Whitehall, NY where they raise sheep. Hampton continued to teach Outdoor Recreation at Green Mountain College for a number of years.

Glenn Hampton

Tahoe Rim Trail Association 2

Glenn Hampton walks a section of trail near Martis Peak.

The need for dispersed recreation in the basin

Hampton recognized that the contrast of casino gaming and the solitude of the wilderness helped create a full Tahoe experience. At the time, most of the developed trail systems were limited to Desolation Wilderness and the Dardanelles backcountry, south of the lake. Although these areas comprised only 30 percent of the Forest Service land in the Tahoe Basin, they received the majority of foot traffic. Hampton knew that in order to decrease the negative impact of growing recreational in the Basin it would be necessary to develop designated areas for growing recreational use. His vision was to provide an opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy the numerous peaks, vistas and ridges that surrounded the lake while dispers-ing some of the traffic from existing trails.

Hampton’s new position with the LTBMU provided plenty of opportunity to follow his passion of exploring the outdoors through management of Desolation Wilderness and the entire trails system in the Tahoe Basin. Though his work schedule and funding kept him from drafting a formal pro-posal, his explorations around the Basin allowed him to envision and explain the best route for what he began to call his “impossible dream.”

Middle Velma Lake in Desolation Wilderness Area


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Heather Lake in Desolation Wilderness Area.

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In 1980 Hampton was selected, along with 25 US Forest Service employees to complete graduate courses in recreation management at Utah State Univer-sity in Salt Lake City. During the program, Hampton was required to develop a major recreation project proposal to be presented to a panel of Forest Service and University officials. With his vision already in place, Hampton now had full support to research and plan what would become the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Hampton received positive feedback about his proposal from its beginning; however, one lingering obstacle stood in his way: convincing the US Forest Service, which was already burdened with budget cuts, that a project of this magnitude was worth its time and investment. Part of Hampton’s vision and proposal included a volunteer driven program to provide the labor, logistics and funding needed to offset some of the burden and make the dream a true reality. Hampton spent years researching volunteer efforts, sources of funding, and building a team including US Forest Service Supervisor Bill Morgan and Landscape Architect Frank “Mac” Magary who helped with trail scouting and environmental impact assessments. After seven years his plan was approved, and the Forest Service would be called upon for an estimated 10 years or more of assistance toward the planning, construction and environmental evaluation of the trail.

The Planning


Bill MorganSupportive of Hampton’s idea from

the very beginning, Morgan was con-sidered a cheerleader for the Tahoe Rim Trail project. Working as the Forest Supervisor, he gave Hampton the freedom to research what resources were required to make his dream reality. Morgan broke ground with the first crew during the first construction day at Grass Lake and later helped resolve issues regard-ing mountain biking between Tahoe Meadows and Tunnel Creek.

Although he had the continued support of his supervisor Bill Morgan who headed the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit for the Forest Service after he had been the Execu-tive Director for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Hampton sought feedback from experts in many different disciplines including hikers, equestrians, US Forest Service employees and ecologists. He sent out more than 100 copies of his rough draft to agen-cies nationwide including members of the Sierra Club, Boy Scouts of America and the California State Horsemen’s Association. Though he received some mixed messages and many wondered where the money would come from, the overall response was positive. In a personal note to Hampton, Doug Leitz, second-in-command of the Forest Service in Washington D.C. wrote, “I know much of the country you propose for the Tahoe Rim Trail. The time is right for such a project – go for it.”

In addition to support from key industry people, Hampton’s proposal began to receive local media attention. In January 1981, just as Hampton was preparing to present his final report in Salt Lake City, he caught the attention of an outdoors columnist for the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Bill Tisher was so enthusiastic about the Tahoe Rim Trail concept he discarded the column he was currently working on to begin a new one introducing the trail to the public. Tisher would continue to become heavily involved in the Tahoe Rim Trail project, and become the second Board President of the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund as well as continue to write on the trail and the fund. A lesser known fact, Bill Tisher and his wife Vivian were one of the first large private donors for the Trail Fund.


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The time is right for such a project – go for it.

Doug Leitzu.s. Forest Service

The plan gains regional and national support

Tisher’s first column regarding the TRT in the Tahoe Daily Tribune

Forested area between Brockway Summit and Martis Peak

Hampton’s final project presentation was met with positive response, but the trail was not yet a reality. Hampton still faced a lack of funding. While he planned on all of the trail construction being completed by volunteer efforts the project still required a substantial amount of financial support. The Environmental Policy Act of 1969 required a costly Environmental Assessment to analyze the impact the trail would have on the land before construction could take place. In the meantime, Hampton continued to share his proposal and receive feedback.

At the same time, Hampton was hired to teach a semester of outdoor recreation at University of Nevada, Reno to a group of forestry students. The class adopted the Tahoe Rim Trail as a research project about how to designate the trail as a National Recreation Trail. They designed a slideshow, mock-ups of brochures and T-shirts that could be used to help promote the trail. Hampton was able to use much of what the class created in his presentation to the Sixth Annual Trails Sym-posium at University of California, Davis where he introduced the project to more US Forest Service officials during the symposium.

Funding the dream


Around the same time Hampton was investigating sources of funding, he discovered the Alpine Winter Foundation. The foundation had recently received a large endowment and was expanding its scope to include recre-ation in the Truckee-Tahoe area in addition to its usual mission of funding search and rescue in the Donner Summit area.

In summer of 1981, Hampton met with John Bryan, one of the direc-tors of the Alpine Winter Foundation and explained that he needed seed money to launch his volunteer organization. The foundation agreed to an initial investment of $20,000 with $5,000 to be delivered in the following year. This was the catalyst Hampton needed to make his dream a reality. The Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. was established and the first meeting of the Tahoe Rim Trail Board took place on March 23, 1982. John M. Bryan of the Alpine Winter Foundation served as the first chairman along with Dr. Ken Smith, Fritzi Huntington as secretary and Debra King who served as the attorney for the organization.

The Funding Comes!

Fritzi Huntington served as the first secretary of the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund inc.

In addition to the $25,000 from the Alpine Winter Foundation, the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund received national recognition that also gave the project a boost in the right direction. The Richard King Mellon Foundation had enlisted the help of the Appalachian Mountain Club to run its National Volunteer Project which would assist six regions in the United States to set up large scale volunteer projects. In December 1982, California was selected as the fourth region to take receive assistance from the Appalachian Moun-tain Club (AMC) through National Volunteer Project. The AMC provided its expertise, feedback and publicity for two trails projects in the region, including the Tahoe Rim Trail. By the end of the year the Tahoe Rim Trail project had passed a number of large obstacles. It had received needed sources of funding, gained national recognition and formed the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc.. Additionally, the first conceptual Environmental Assessment had been completed by Landscape Architect Frank “Mac” MacGary of the US Forest Service and was accepted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), California, and Nevada State Parks. Lastly, the LTBMU included the Tahoe Rim Trail in its planning schedule for 1983.


Tahoe Rim Trail Included in LTBMU Plans

Frank “Mac” MacGary

MacGary was one of the first US Forest Service members who works with Hampton to initiate the Tahoe Rim Trail project. He brought a wealth of knowledge about generating maps and map-ping software that proved bene-ficial in trail planning. MacGary was also one of the first landscape architects in the basin and per-sonally walked many miles of trail to review for alignment. MacGary wrote the first TRTA trail con-struction manual.

Appalachian Mountain Club

The beginning of 1983 brought a new stage of work in planning the Tahoe Rim Trail. Hampton’s next task was to create an advisory board, a group of individuals who shared Hampton’s vision and passion for the trail and had the knowledge to tackle a project of this size. He first turned to Bill Tisher who had been supportive of the Tahoe Rim Trail from the very beginning. Additionally Hampton turned to John Richardson of the Nevada State Parks for knowledge in moving the project forward. Fa-miliar with the conflicts between hikers and equestrians on many trails, Hampton sought a trail that was open to all users. He needed a voice to speak for the equestrians so he connected with George Cardinet, a past president of the California State Horsemen Association and a supporter of the Tahoe Rim Trail. Cardinet rode the entire proposed trail route on horseback, and later led 27 other riders on a trip to assess the trail. Car-dinet was also key in organizing backcountry camps where volunteers came together for a few days of work and nights under the stars. Cardinet helped carry in supplies and tools on horseback.

“heigh ho! heigh ho! it’s off to work we go”

George Cardinet

George Cardinet was key in helping to create a trail for hikers and eques-trians alike. In 1983 Cardinet rode the entire proposed trail route and kept a journal day by day describing what he encountered. Later in the same month he led 27 horsemen on the same route. Cardinet also helped organize the first backcountry work camps. He was a former presidents of the California State Horsemen Association and mem-ber of organizations including Trails Unlimited, Horse Council, National Trails Council and Heritage Trails Fund,

LD Bennett hauls tools to the trail on horseback during the first backcountry camp in 1984.


During the year of 1983 the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. advisory board grew to include members of many organizations including the California Conservation Corps, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Heritage Trails, Boy Scouts of America, U.S. Forest Service, Audubon Society, California and Nevada State Parks and the Appalachian Mountain Club. The members worked to draft by-laws, and create publicity materials including brochures, pamphlets and T-shirts. The Tahoe Rim Trail Fund would borrow from the Trail Building Manual of the Appalachian Mountain Club to begin staking and flagging the first segments of trail. Keith Thurkill, Chief Information Officer of the US Forest Service would tackle the first official environmental assess-ment.

In early 1984, Hampton was granted an early retirement. Though he was surprised to be leaving so soon, he knew the Tahoe Rim Trail was left in good hands with the group he had created. Bill Tisher was appointed as the second president of the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund. Bill Morgan took over Hampton’s place as Recreation Officer at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Bill Tisher Hampton RetiresA longtime journalist and

outdoors man in the Tahoe re-gion, Tisher wrote some of the very first articles announcing the Tahoe Rim Trail and served as the first President of the Board after Hampton retired in 1984. Tisher is also credited with designing the “Tisher Tool” a tool used to build trail. Tisher also helped design the first logo for the Tahoe Rim Trail.


Arthur “Art” Koerber

Former President of the Green Mountain Club in Vermont, Vice-President of the Appalchian Trail and Chair of the New England Trail Conference, Koerber brought a wealth of experi-ence to the Tahoe Rim Trail. He and his wife, Sylvia created the master map of the TRT and logged 2000 volunteer hours a year for three years staking and flag-ging segments of new trail.

Trail constructionIn the earliest stages of building it was very important for crews to be very critical of

their work. Under the direction of Art Koerber and Carola Hutcherson who worked as Trail Committee Co-Chairmen crews strived to meet strict trail standards fearing that poorly built trails would attract critics and slow progress. Art’s wift Sylvia worked as Trailhead Committee Chairwoman, and helped facilitate much of the conversation between trail crews, volunteers and boardmembers.

Following guidelines from trail building manuals by Nevada State Parks and the Appa-lachian Mountain Club crews scouted and staked sections of trail near Spooner Summit. They would return to the trail to replace stakes in places that needed realignment to cor-rect grade, slope and switchbacks. Special attention was paid to preserve native plants and wildlife.

The very first stake used to lay out the Tahoe Rim Trail.


An early map of the first section of the Tahoe Rim Trail

Bob McDowellMcDowell came to the

Tahoe area in 1976 to contin-ue his work for the US Forest Service. He provided early support for the Tahoe Rim Trail and led the first Crew Leader Trail Construction Training. He was also part of the first crew that flagged the initial section of trail near Grass Lake. The trailhead is now called Big Meadows.

Construction BeginsAn employee of the US Forest Service, Bob McDowell led a committee to

work with land owners, along with Fritzi Huntington, and Bob Macomber he worked to communicate with private property owners to best route a trail that took advantage of the landscape without impeding on property rights or becoming too close to neighborhoods.

The first crew led by McDowell, broke ground on the Tahoe Rim Trail on July 14, 1984 at Grass Lake, Calif. on the north side of Highway 89, Luther pass toward Tucker flat, but this didn’t mean the staking and planning was over. At the same time flagging continued from Daggett Pass to just south of Tahoe City in preparation for the next section of trail which would tie in with 40 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.


Growth in the Organization

Work in the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund office was bustling through the summer of 1984as the crew worked not only to build trail, but to grow an organization that would be able to tackle a project of this magnitude and remain sustainable for years to come. Volunteer Project Coordinator Vickie Raucci spent countless hours organizing trail crews, crew leaders and training days for future trail building. Action committee leaders, directors and supporters joined the organization daily. Keeping up with communication between all key players grew to be a daunting but not impossible task.

In August of 1984 the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. produced its first newsletter to keep members and volunteers informed about events and scheduled work days as well as celebrate the hard work accomplished. The front page of the first two page issue features a letter of gratitude by the newly appointed president, Bill Tisher of the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. who extended many congratulations to the first work crews. Addi-tionally the organization extended thanks to a lengthy list of individuals who donated financial support.

Tisher also announced that KXTV Channel 10 News in Sacramento had expressed interest in filming a documentary about the trail, and he was currently working with the producer, Diane Dedoshka to choose locations for the project.


An article written by Betsy Zeff in the Tahoe Daily Tribune announces the filming of a documentary on the trail.


By September 1984, progress on the first section of trail at Grass Lake was moving along.An environmental Assessment (eA) had been completed and was ready for review for the segment near Tahoe City and Vickie Raucci had completed the first part of another conceptual eA near Spooner Summit. A crew leader training day was scheduled once a month due to growing interest. in just a month the newsletter had doubled in size now celebrating progress on the trail and calling for more volunteers.

November brought the first Annual Meeting of the general membership of the TahoeRim Trail Fund inc. The meeting was held at Harrah’s Convention Center in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.was a chance for members, volunteers and board members to come together and celebrateaccomplishments as well as recognize where they could improve in terms of communication and

Making Progress

Trail crews working above Marlette Lake.

Trail view looking north from Kingsbury.

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Preparing for the Next Season

Former volunteer and project coordinator Vickie Raucci continued her dedicated work for the trail as the first paid employee of the Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. under the new title of Executive Director. The Organization also implement-ed the “Adopt a Mile” program. The program suggested by Art Koerber was a new fundraising opportunity to bring in donations of $5,000 or more to help grow and sustain the organization.

In late April 1985, a crew consisting of Art and Sylvia Ko-erber, Mac West and John West, a geologist working for the State of Nevada as an Environmental Management Specialist for air quality control, scouted a route near Spooner Summit that would allow for a crew of 32 horsemen from the Wash-oe County Mounted Possie to haul in tools and fencing to be used to create water bars along new sections of trail.

Vickie Raucci served as the first executive Director of the TRT Fund inc.

The Next Step to becoming a professional trail organization

By March of 1985, the snow had begun to melt and crews were ready to work on the Spooner Summit sec-tion of trail. The Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. strived to set up stronger lines of communication. It was hoped that more complete communication would intercept potential conflicts of interest during planning of what would be a multiuse trail.

The organization set a goal of 20 miles of trail to be completed in 1985, an ambitious chunk of work compared to the two and a half miles completed in the previous year. However, not impossible judging by the growing enthusi-asm and number of volunteers. The first overnight back-country camp was scheduled for August 5-9, and would be an opportunity for crews to come together work on trail and spend a few nights in the backcountry.

As interest grew about the trail, so did the need for more tools, and supplies and financial resources. The next thrust was coordinating efforts toward fundraising and membership. The Tahoe Rim Trail Fund Inc. was on it’s way to becoming a professional trail organization.

Caeser’s Casino completes trail work after being the first business to “Adopt a Mile.”


Wildflowers seen from the trail north of Showers Lake.

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Tahoe Rim Trail

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Transcript of Tahoe Rim Trail