Bumping down the dirt road to the Freel Peak Trailhead, we had a crazy idea in mind. My climbing partner and I, for our rest day, decided it was time to give peak bagging, aka hiking to the top of a peak, a try. Not really sure what we were getting ourselves into we were giddy with excitement. Sleeping the van, I am not sure if either of slept. Maybe it was the lentil soup that bloated our bellies, or maybe, it was the excitement. Regardless, we knew attempting to tackle the Tahoe Triple would be an adventure.
The Tahoe Triple is an advanced hiking loop that summits Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, and Jobs Peak along a 12 mile loop with significant elevation gain. This challenging hike is often tackled in a day taking anywhere from 10 hours to 22 hours. The terrain is loose sand, trail walking, and scree fields. Many who attempt the Tahoe Triple find the challenge to be difficult, but manageable.
Read on to read about our journey, an overall route description, great photos, and some helpful tips for hiking the Triple.
The Triple overview:
Freel Peak: 10,881' (highest summit in Lake Tahoe)
Jobs Sister: 10,823' (2nd highest summit in Lake Tahoe)
Jobs Peak: 10,633 (4th highest summit in Lake Tahoe)
Distance: Roughly a 12 mile loop
Route: Starting at the Freel Peak Trailhead to access the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). This lead us to some "class 3" hiking so we could summit Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, and Jobs Peak in order.
Scott enjoying the sunrise from the top of Freel Peak in Lake Tahoe. Photograph by Dalton Johnson
Our Journey Doing the Triple
Kinda sandbagging my climbing partner on his first alpine start (3:30 am), we headed out of the van with the hope of catching sunrise atop Freel Peak (10,881 feet). We didn’t do to much research about the Triple, but we did read a couple of trip reports that mostly said follow the trail and then turn off the Tahoe Rim Trail at the saddle, then follow the ridge.
That was about all the information we really needed.
Roughly six miles from the van, we pushed our way to the top of the saddle and found the sign, which makes the beginning of the class 3 section. Once we embarking upon the class 3 (really class 2 because the route is so well traversed) terrain, I made Scott lead the way, his first time walking off trail.
He got us to the top!
Just in time for the sunrise as well! Stoked on the top out, Scott broke out his "victory apple". Yup, breakfast atop the highest peak in the Tahoe basin watching the sunrise... not too shabby!
As breakfast finished up, we signed the registry, packed our bags. Since it was late in the summer, most of the flowers had dried out, but there were some patches on the northern slopes, so I had to take some photos of the wildflowers.
Now that we had finished that break, we took off for the other two peaks. Cruising along, we just kept walking. Kinda laughing at ourselves, for this day was our rest day. The effort level was much higher than expected, this hike is difficult.
Reaching the summit of Jobs Sister was quick, maybe taking 30 minutes max, to our surprise. We took some silly photos (that can’t be shared) and just hung out for a short bit before moving on.
As we slid down the beach—this is what Scott and I were calling the sand slog— on the south side of Jobs Sister, we headed for Jobs Peak, our last peak of the day. We were tired. Not sure as to why we were so tired, but we both acknowledged that we were tired to each other. It could have been for a variety of reasons, but let’s speculate it could have been the lack of food, maybe the elevation, the lack of sleep, or really the lack of training that Scott halfway up Jobs Peak.
Sitting down for a few minutes helped him recoup. He was feeling a bit dizzy and didn’t know if he wanted to keep going, but, at this point, there really isn’t much of a choice. So, we pushed for the summit.
At 9:00 am, we reached our third summit.
We had topped out all three peaks and were ready to relax. So, kicking back, snacking a wee bit, and journaling is what we did. We both
After a bit, we headed back to the van for a nap!
What Gear should you have to Hike the Tahoe Triple
While the list of gear could be endless, I narrowed down what the essentials are for hiking the triple in a single day. If you plan to do this over several days, your list will look different:
Hiking Shoes or Boots: Hiking boots and shoes is a preference that changes for every person. Many people who do the Triple use trail running shoes, but I used La Sportiva approach shoes to have extra grip during the scrambling. These worked well for me.
A Day Pack: From the pictures you will see that Scott used a school backpack, that will work. On the flipside, I used a hydration pack that also had 14L of space called the Mule by Camelbak.
Sunshirt: For the last few years I have been exclusively hiking in sun-shirts because the lightweight material, long sleeves, and hood make them perfect for hiking/being outdoors. My favorite has been Belay Sun Hoodie from The North Face.
Snacks: I would bring a couple of bars, my favorite are ProBar Meal Bars, and maybe some nuts. I am not a huge fan of energy gu, but I do know that other hikers use these and enjoy them.
Camera: Overall a phone will do just fine, but if you are looking to carry a camera I would suggest using a Sony a6000 if you are new to photography. If you are looking for a professional camera, I would suggest using the Sony A7r5 with the Tamron 28-200 zoom lens.
Lots of Water: I would suggest bringing 3 to 4 liters of water because there isn’t any water along this route.
How Long Does Hiking the Lake Tahoe Triple Take?
I took a pull from those who have hiked the triple in a day and almost everyone was around 8 to 10 hours. Now, I do think this is on the faster side and if you are hoping to hike this as a personal challenge know that it could take you up to 15 hours, but most likely not more than that. If you are worried about the hike you can prepare for it by hiking Freel first, so you know the route. Additionally, if you can hike Mount Rose in a day, you will be able to do the Tahoe Triple, they are about the same in terms of effort level.
Other Hikes to Consider in Lake Tahoe:
Lake Tahoe is home to some of the most diverse hiking trails in California, so make sure to explore around the area to find something you like:
Mount Rose
Mount Tallac
Are you looking for other challenging hikes in Lake Tahoe? If so, I wrote an article about 5 Enjoyable Challenge Hikes of Lake Tahoe that you can check out here.
Now that you read about our journey, an overall route description, great photos, and some helpful tips for hiking the Triple it is your turn to get out and experience this challenging hike for yourself! If you have any additional information that would/could be helpful to other adventuers in this community, please drop a comment below.
