THE COMPASS
Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the TRTA’s Inaugural 2001 Celebration Hike-Thru
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eptember 22, 2001, 17 adventurous hikers and two intrepid trail leaders completed the Tahoe Rim Trail Association’s inaugural 150-mile guided thru hike. The “Celebration Hike-Thru” started as a fundraiser co m m e m o ra t i n g the completion of the Tahoe Rim Trail, a project that, in 2001, was 20 years in the making. As we mark 20 years since our first TRTA by Lindsey Schultz sponsored thru Outdoor Programs hike, two of the Director Left: Ellen and Ro guiding together in 2008. Right: Ro and Ellen guiding the Thru Hike in 2016.
inaugural thru hike participants, who are still volunteering with the TRTA today, recount that first walk around the loop and why they keep coming back. Ellen Goldsmith and Ro Martinoni have been friends and hiking buddies for 20 years. Their friendship and decades-long commitment to the Tahoe Rim Trail Association all started with a local Nevada Appeal advertisement announcing the TRTA’s Celebration Hike-Thru. Before their thru hike, both Ellen and Ro had done day hikes and overnights on the TRT as it was being built. Ro even took part in a 1991 TRTA sponsored Backcountry Camp at Watson Lake and paid $26 to do so. She jokingly remembers being asked if she wanted to walk from Tahoe City to Watson Lake with a wheel to measure the distance. “It’s not that far,” she was told. “There’s plenty of water,” she was told. So she ended up paying to walk
a wheel 12.5 miles, without a drop of water in sight. The excellent food and cocktails waiting for her at camp helped turn that situation around! For both Ellen and Ro, the July 2001 advertisement provided a new calling, to be one of the first to complete the 150-mile loop to celebrate the completion of the Tahoe Rim Trail and its 150+ miles of views. It was an irresistible challenge and opportunity to be a part of local history. Ro recounts, “I had been to so many places around the trail but I wanted to see it all come together. Especially to be one of the first. That’s pretty historic.” Ellen was also drawn to the opportunity to be part of history. The trip for her was a lifechanging experience. “It’s a long time to be in the woods,” she says. “There’s nothing flat about the TRT. I love the challenge and the people sharing the challenge with me.” The trip started on September 8th and the itinerary was designed to have the group complete their hike by arriving at a celebration event marking the completion of the Tahoe Rim Trail loop. Along with the physical challenges that accompany a long-
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The first Tahoe Rim Trail Association website goes live.
