Toward the end of the trail season, a theme started to emerge in the stories about the Tahoe Rim Trail that arrived through our office doors, in our inboxes, and online.

Countless individuals spoke of the trail’s beauty, its much-appreciated maintenance, and the views it brought them to. Yet even more consistently, we heard about the internal journeys that folks had along the trail.

We heard about grief and struggle, but also of growth and joy. Time and time again, we heard different versions of the same fact: this trail is more than a trail.

The trail is an opportunity—for connection, exploration, and catharsis. It is a place to learn about yourself and others. In a time we very much need it, the trail is a place to come together.

This year, as we celebrate GivingTuesday and our year-end campaign, we want to highlight not just what your gift supports, but who.

John: 37 Letters Around the Rim

Your gift supports people working through grief like John, who carried 37 letters around the Tahoe Rim Trail to burn them on behalf of friends and family who wanted a symbolic way to let go of the grief weighing them down.

Step by step, letter by letter, the trail gave John—and the people he carried with him—a way to acknowledge their pain and begin to release it. The trail became a moving ritual of remembrance, release, and hope.

Diane: A Thru-Hike With a Friend’s Ashes

Your gift supports hikers like Diane, who carried her late friend’s ashes with her on her thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

For her, every climb, every vista, and every quiet stretch of forest was part of saying goodbye and keeping a promise. The trail was not just a line on the map; it was a way to honor a life, mile by mile, all the way around the lake.

Madigan: “I Feel So Alive When I Am Not on My Phone 24/7.”

Your gift supports the teens on our Youth Backcountry Camp, like 17-year-old Madigan, who realized:

“I feel so alive when I am not on my phone 24/7.”

On these trips, young people learn how to travel through the backcountry, care for themselves and others, and pay attention to the landscape around them. They feel what it’s like to be fully present, fully engaged, and fully alive outside.

What Your Gift Makes Possible

With a gift to the TRTA, you support the hundreds of thousands of life-changing experiences that the trail fosters each year.

Your generosity helps:

• Restore and maintain heavily used trail sections

• Provide transformative experiences for youth through backcountry camps

• Train and equip volunteers who care for the trail

• Protect fragile alpine ecosystems for the future

• Ensure that the Tahoe Rim Trail remains a place of wonder, challenge, and connection for all who seek it

A trail this loved doesn’t care for itself. Your support keeps it open, cared for, and welcoming—for John, for Diane, for Madigan, and for everyone who will find their own story here.

Double Your Impact This Season

Through the end of the year, generous members of our Board are matching all gifts dollar-for-dollar, so your support will have twice the impact in protecting and maintaining the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Whether you:

• Make a one-time gift

• Become a monthly donor

• Renew or start your membership

• Give in honor or memory of someone you love

…your contribution helps ensure that the trail remains not just a path through the woods, but a path toward healing, growth, and connection.