Lit up with anticipation, we arrive at the launching site...
Welcome to the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), a 170-mile long-distance hiking trail that forms a loop around the Lake Tahoe Basin — and we’re here to count down the miles by collecting cache finds all along the way. What better way to celebrate circumnavigating the lake than by remembering those who have orbited the Earth? This series combines three of my passions into one massive project: hiking, geocaching, and space.
As the miles count down, the missions count up — tracking the full history of crewed human spaceflight from its beginnings to the present day. Astronauts, cosmonauts, and taikonauts: that’s a lot of history and a lot of hiking, two of my favorite things.
The series spans the full 170-mile loop, with a few caches per mile all the way around the Tahoe Rim. We use the official TRT mile marker system, which lists Mile 0/170 at Tahoe City counting clockwise — but our series is anchored near Echo Lakes, closer to my home on the South Shore, and counts up in missions as the miles count down headed counterclockwise. First launch is at the southern edge of Desolation Wilderness (we’ll cover the Wilderness a different way) — but there’s no need to go in order. Jump on at any trailhead, in any direction, at any time. All containers should look the same. Spoiler photos are included. Welcome to the mission.
About the Mile:
Mile 120-119 traverses the ridge through the Caldor Fire burn zone above the Nebelhorn / Echo Adventure Mountain parking lot and operational area. Trail here offers expansive views of the Echo Summit area, which was once the site of the US Olympic Trails!
Tahoe Rim Trail Segment:
Big Meadow to Echo Lakes · 18.3 Miles · “Enter the Lakes Region”
Between Big Meadow and Echo Summit, the trail wanders from meadows to lakes to creeks, and through dense stands of pine, fir and aspen. The trail heads south from Big Meadow trailhead across a gently rolling landscape of grassy meadows and fragrant conifer stands. The shaded shores of Round Lake is nestled beneath high cliffs. Further on, the TRT merges with the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) and swings north through flower filled Meiss Meadows and alongside the cool head waters of the Upper Truckee River. The trail then climbs past granite lined shores of Showers Lake and through a rocky bowl where seasonal creeks tumble down steep ridges into lush meadows. Further north the landscape becomes more rugged and much drier, and opens into occasional views of Lake Tahoe. The trail drops over a granite ridge in a long steep downhill traverse before leveling off. A small stream outlined with ferns and flowers provides a refreshing respite before the short ascent to the Echo Summit Trailhead.
About the Mission:
Gemini 3 was the first crewed mission in NASA's Project Gemini and was the first time two American astronauts flew together into space. On March 23, 1965, astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young flew three low Earth orbits in their spacecraft, which they nicknamed Molly Brown. It was the first U.S. mission in which the crew fired thrusters to change the size and shape of their orbit, a key test of spacecraft maneuverability vital for planned flights to the Moon. It was also the final crewed flight controlled from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida, before mission control functions were moved to a new control center at the newly opened Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas.
The mission's primary goal was to test the new, maneuverable Gemini spacecraft. In space, the crew fired thrusters to change the shape of their orbit, shift their orbital plane slightly, and drop to a lower altitude. Other firsts were achieved on Gemini 3: two people flew aboard an American spacecraft (the Soviet Union launched a three-person crew on Voskhod 1 in 1964 and a two-person crew just a few days earlier on Voskhod 2, upstaging the two-person Gemini and three-person Apollo programs), and the first crewed reentry where the spacecraft was able to produce lift to change its touchdown point.
The mission also tested a system that had originally been designed for the cancelled Mercury-Atlas 10 mission, in which water was injected into the plasma sheath surrounding the capsule during re-entry. This had the effect of improving communications with the ground.
About the Insignia:
The mission insignia was not worn by the flight crew as a patch, like those from Gemini 5 onwards. The Gemini 3 The Molly Brown emblem was designed and minted on gold-plated, sterling silver, 1-inch (25 mm) medallions. The crew carried a number of these medallions into space to give to their families and friends. The same design was printed on the cover of Grissom's book Gemini!: A Personal Account of Man's Venture Into Space. Young was seen wearing the emblem as a patch, produced post-flight, on his flightsuit as late as 1981.
See you on the next pass. — Mission Control