Tahoe Rim Trail. Tim Hauserman
thimbles. This bush is usually found in large groups lying close to the ground near streams and in other shady moist areas. Thimbleberry has large leaves that resemble a maple leaf with three to five pointed lobes. The showy white flowers bloom in early summer.
Tobacco Brush This plant is also called snowbrush ceanothus and curlleaf ceanothus. Some say the strong pungent aroma of tobacco brush is sensuous and aromatic; to me, it smells like tobacco. With large, shiny, dark greenish-blue leaves, the plant grows up to 5 feet tall and has numerous small white flowers. Tobacco brush likes dry disturbed areas along road cuts and trails and can become the locally dominant plant.
Islands await at Middle Velma Lake.
3 Let’s All Get Along: A Trail for Everyone
The goal of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association is for all users to safely use and enjoy the trail while working to maintain and protect it. It is important that all trail users pleasantly coexist. Doing so comes down to understanding and being courteous to one another, and through recognizing that we are all out there to have fun. Hikers affect the Tahoe Rim Trail less than mountain bikers do. Although horse traffic has the greatest effect on the quality of the trail, there are far fewer horseback riders than other trail users. The only way to make sure that relations between the user groups improve and that the TRT is maintained is for users to follow some simple rules.
Rules for Mountain Bikers
When the Tahoe Rim Trail was first constructed, hiking and horseback riding were allowed, but mountain biking was prohibited on the entire trail. As opposition to mountain bike use declined and the numbers of riders increased, much more of the trail has been opened to bikers. Where bikes are allowed, bike riders are often the major trail users. Now you can ride a mountain bike on over half the trail.
While people both hike and ride, there can still be tension between the different types of trail users. Since mountain bikers have become major trail users and bike use continues to be controversial in some eyes, mountain bikers should make an extra effort to be courteous and sensitive to the environment by remaining on the maintained trails. They should urge friends and others that they meet to do so as well.
Cycling is a legitimate use of backcountry trails, but there are responsibilities that all bikers are expected to assume. Hikers have complained about encountering bikers on sections of the trail closed to biking, while many hikers, trail runners, or horseback riders have been surprised or threatened by bikers speeding past.
The Tahoe Rim Trail Association has published the Dirt Users’ Hints, the rules of the trail for bikers (see sidebar).
Preserve the Dirt
Respect Other Users
Hikers Take Note
In recent years, mountain bikers have taken great strides toward more environmentally and socially sensitive use of the trails. It is also the responsibility of hikers to make an extra effort to get along with other trail users. If hikers use common sense and follow the basic rules of courtesy, everyone will benefit and more fully enjoy the trail. If hikers don’t reciprocate, they may turn into the dreaded inconsiderate backcountry blockhead (see sidebar). Don’t let this happen to you!
Mountain bikers heading toward Watson Lake: Note the forest fire in the distance.
Sharing the Trail with Horses
While horseback riding can cause more damage to trails than any other use, equestrians account for a smaller percentage of trail users. Many equestrians, too, are actively involved in trail maintenance and construction. In my experience, horseback riders are courteous and willing to work with other users to share the trails.
Depending on individual circumstances and as a practical matter, all users should yield to each other. In general, hikers should yield to horses, while mountain bikers must yield to both hikers and horses: In other words, horses have the right-of-way on the trail. In the mid-1990s an article appeared in the Tahoe Rim Trail newsletter written by Sonja Willits, a woman with years of experience riding horses on Sierra trails. Willits did a good job of explaining trail use from the horse’s point of view. With her permission, I’ve summarized the main points below.
A horse believes that everything will eat it until proven otherwise. The first instinct of many horses is to run away, which can endanger both horse and rider, as well as anyone in the flight path who could get trampled or knocked off the trail. It is the job of all humans—equestrians, hikers, and mountain bikers—to assure the horse that no harm is intended.
When you are approaching a horse from behind, be sure to talk to the rider. Talking calmly lets the horse know that you are not something that will hurt it. A bike that comes speeding up from behind a horse can severely frighten it. Be particularly cautious when rounding blind corners—horse riders often can’t hear you coming.
When you see a horse coming toward you on the trail, talk to the rider. Again, this soothes the horse and assures it that you are not a threat.
When approaching a horse going down a hill, pull over to the downhill slope of the trail and allow it to pass. Spooked horses often want to go uphill.
If you are in a group of more than one biker or hiker, encourage everyone to move to the same side of the trail when you encounter horses. Horses can feel trapped between you if you are standing on either side of the trail. An entrapped horse is not a good thing.
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