Three Tahoe Adventure Hikes

What a weekend!
Over the weekend of July 16-17-18, three fantastic adventure hikes were enjoyed by severalBenicia Day Hikers. The waterfalls were fed by melting snowfields and water drenched high meadows. The wildflowers were well on the way to the peak and were showing us their brilliant colors.

On Friday afternoon, four hikers met at Starbucks in new Truckee and my
daughter, Sheila, provided the car-pool for all. She drove us up the
switchbacks on the Old Donner Pass Road (aka Historic Route U.S. 40) and we parked at the Tahoe Rim trail head near the Sugar Bowl Academy. We started out on the Tahoe Rim Trail but soon left the trail and scrambled over the granite ledge above School Rock, a popular rock climbing area. The temperature was over 90 degrees so we decided to shorten the hike to about three miles.

Wildflowers were in full bloom and abundant. We were headed for a small
hidden alpine lake snuggled between two tiers of granite ledges. A
"SECRET SPOT" of mine that I was pretty sure not many people know about. What did we find? We found two groups of about 20 each of high school students with guides and instructors that were providing an educational wilderness experience.

Well, it turned out to be a positive learning experience for us too as we
listened to the guide talk about the fish in the lake. I had always
wondered why there would be cat fish in such a small isolated lake. One theory is that the Chinese immigrants who built the trans-continental railroad over Donner pass, may have stocked the lake. Finally, back to the car and back down the switchbacks. Part way down we pulled to the side and explored some ancient Indian petroglyphs carved onto the glacier polished granite.

Saturday was incredible and was enjoyed by eight hikers. We drove up the
Mount Rose Highway to the pass between Mount Rose and Slide Peak. There is a really nice trail head there with toilets and a large parking area. When we arrived around 9:45 a.m. the parking lot was already nearly full. The trail starts up a steep open slope covered with wildflowers and strewn with granite boulders. Views of ultra blue Lake Tahoe draw your attention to the detriment of your footing on the rough trail. After about two miles of crossing mostly forested slopes we approached a waterfall that cascades for several hundred feet over granite ledges. We dallied about half an hour with cameras clicking away. There was a snowfield adjacent to the waterfall and one of us, name unmentioned, got the snowball action under way. Yeah, what fun! Sheila had one more special treat in store and kept everyone in suspense for about a half hour as the hike continued. Then we stopped and she asked,"who sees something special?' Heads turned this way and that and every which way but the right way. Finally, Sheila gave a hint and said, "look down and what do you see?" In fact, we could see a stream emerging from the ground; a spring with crystal clear water just gushing out. Again, the wild flowers were incredible with whole slopes covered with Mules Ears, Forget-me-nots, Penstemon and on and on.....

After our hike were all pretty tired and sweaty and Sheila announced she
was going for a dip in Lake Tahoe. And did anyone want to join her? Well,
of course we all did. We stopped at a small pull out near Sand Harbor NV
State Park on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, put on our bathing suits,
climbed over some granite boulders and jumped in. Well, I must confess not everyone had a bathing suit and so had to improvise....

After a refreshing dip in the Lake, we returned to the parking area and
there was Ignat cutting open a huge red ripe water melon. If you every want to know how to slice up a water melon just right be sure to take a lesson from Ignat. Finally, on our way back to our respective lodgings (motels, campsites, condo) we stopped in at Steamer's Restaurant in King's beach where we enjoyed salads, pizza and refreshing drinks.

Once again on Sunday, we had eight Benicia Day Hiker's and we enjoyed a non-conventional hike in the vicinity of Castle Peak. We started at the trail head adjacent to highway I-80 at the top of Donner Pass. We started up the road that leads to the Sierra Club's Peter Grubb hut. Soon we diverted off and up a winding mountain bike single tract trail leading us up to the ridge that is the continuation of Andescite Ridge. Once on the ridge, the leader (yup that is me, Bob) announced we are leaving the trail and would be wandering through an evergreen forest and hoping to arrive at a beautiful volcanic rock outcrop that overlooks I-80 and Boreal Ski Area. Hikers were strongly advised to stay in sight of the hiker in front as well as the one in back and thus avoid the necessity of launching a "search and rescue" operation. Indeed after about a half hour of what seemed aimless wandering in a deep forest, we came to the outcrop. A short rock scramble easily negotiated by all put us on top of a magnificent viewing area. From there it was a hop, skip and jump back to the cars and the end of a great trip.