Tahoe!

Just got back from a weeklong stint in Lake Tahoe.  Or more precisely, we stayed in Carson City because its cheaper and did day trips to Tahoe and surrounding areas. Fabulous trip!  Nothing better than fresh air and wilderness time. 

The first day we sought out the Tahoe Rim Trail.  I'll be thru-hiking this 165 mile trail sometime in the next few years so was excited to get a feel for it.  We found the trailhead that's just off highway 50 and started walking south.  It was 35 degrees and windy- brrrrr! The satellite on my garmin wouldn't load so I don't know for sure how far we went but we walked for a couple of hours.  I was giddy with excitement to be walking this trail!



Dennis pulled his hamstring pretending to climb this tree.  He also rolled his ankle.  I heard the stumble and the screaming start up behind me and I rolled my eyes and muttered "Here we go again."  I turned around and waited for the screaming to subside and then asked if he was okay.  He said "I tripped on an acorn!"  That was it- I lost it and laughed so hard I had to cross my legs to keep from peeing my pants.  He showed me what he tripped on and it was a pine cone, not an acorn.  LOL!!!!  I laughed all day about that. Don't worry, his ankle is fine.





When we were done hiking, we went on over to Lake Tahoe and messed around.  It's a beautiful lake and I was surprised how clear the water was and with a sandy beach too.

Making PB&J for lunch.  It's cold!







We also did a hike along Taylor Creek which is past Tahoe.  It was a lovely jaunt.





We then went out to Washoe Lake out by Carson City to check it out. 



I'm sure I'm not remembering all this in order but oh well!
For dinner I had a subway sandwich and Dennis had chicken wings.  It was actually very warm in Carson City- mid 70's all week. Much warmer than out at Tahoe.

The next day we headed back to the same Tahoe Rim Trailhead except going northbound.  We walked for a couple of hours.  My satellite didn't load again so I have no idea how far we went.  We tried doing some Big Foot calls and Dennis sounded really good.  Mine sounded like a hurt dog.  Needless to say, Sasquatch did not respond.









After hiking, we made our PB&J sandwiches up at King's Beach by Incline Village.





After all the hiking, we headed back and drove through Reno just to see what it was like.  No big deal to write home about.  We stopped in at Cabela's, a huge outdoor store, to check it out since we don't have that in San Diego. 



That night we had dinner at Olive Garden and I had my usual, portabello mushroom ravioli.  The 20 year old bus boy was hitting on me, I'm pretty sure.  In fact, it got so awkward that I just stared into my ravioli to try and avoid eye contact with the dude.  Dennis thought it was amusing. 

The next day we headed out to Spooner Lake to do some hiking.  Again my garmin didn't load but we walked for a couple of hours around the lake.  The weather was beautiful.







The rest of the day we just drove around looking at scenery and the lake and ate our PB&J, checked out the ski lift at Heavenly and walked out to the Queen Bee, a boat that sits on Lake Tahoe that you can tour.




We had the chipotle burger at Burger King for dinner as well as the stuffed tator tots.  Those were good!  No one tried to hit on me.

The final day, we hit some other trail heads for the Tahoe Rim Trail just so I  could see what the area looked like.  We found the one off highway 431 for Tahoe Meadows and it was covered in snow.  There were people snow boarding down the hills by the highway at the Mt. Rose area.  We were also able to see the trailhead at Brockway Summit off highway 267.  Traveled through Truckee and back through Reno to Carson City.



The final afternoon, we were pooped so we just laid around in the hotel.  Then we went to dinner at this funky little pub in old town called Ferkin and Fox.  The weather was beautiful and we sat out on the patio and they had the fire pit going- very relaxing!

That's it.  I need to keep a daily journal I guess so the events aren't so jumbled.  It's hard to remember what we did after a week!  I don't like getting on the computer when I'm on vacation so that's one reason why I don't just do a daily blog while I'm away. 

I have an overnight backpack coming up on the PCT and also backpacking Mt. San Jacinto at the end May.

YEEHAW!  Living the dream.

Lake Morena to Cibbets Flat Overnight Backpack

I did another meet-up group this weekend that was an overnight backpacking trip.  It was a very positive experience!  We walked from Lake Morena to Boulder Oaks and camped there (6 miles) and the next day we walked to Cibbets Flat (7 miles).  I carried all my gear so it was about 27 pounds.  Everyone else managed to shuttle cars back and forth so they didn't have to carry much.  I wanted to practice so I kept with my original plan of carrying everything.

This hike was a gorgeous one out on the PCT. The spring flowers were in full bloom and I got alot of good pictures.  Not sure of the names of plants or flowers- I guess I should start learning that.  I was in the back of the pack as usual, much slower than everyone else- lolligagging, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.  I made it to Boulder Oaks in about 3 hours.  We camped all in one camping spot so I pitched my little one person tent and busted out my beef stew.  Delicious!  We sat around and chatted for a bit and then I needed some alone time so I said good night and bundled down into my sleeping bag to read my kindle.  I had a couple of dreams so I know I must have slept but it wasn't a good sleep.  We were by the road and I could hear the traffic all night.

Next morning I made my decaf coffee and ate beef jerky and trail mix.  We were ready to start walking by 7:30 so off we went.  The hike from Boulder Oaks to Cibbets Flat was HARD.  It was mostly uphill so I took frequent breaks.  By myself, as usual, which is just fine.  I passed 4 people on this section that thought I was a thru-hiker but, sadly, I had to tell them I was not.  I passed a boy scout troop which was cool to see.  They were trying to earn whatever badge or whatever it is they do.

Towards the end I went through a section that had a warning sign that said there were unexploded military devices in the area and to stay on the trail.  Scary!  I guess a helicoptor had crashed in the area back in the day and was carrying a bunch of grenades and mines or whatever and so it was impossible for the military to find all of them. 

I found the fire road that led down to Cibbets Flat and started down, relieved that I was almost done.  Pretty soon I saw Jasper heading up the trail and we walked it back down together.  He was parked off the fire road so he gave me a ride the last 1/3 of a mile down to the campground.  It took me 3.5 hours to walk this section.  Everyone had already left so Jasper left me to my own devices at a picnic table to wait for Dennis to pick me up.  I pulled out my trail mix and beef jerky and made myself a cup of decaf while I waited.  Ranger Tim came over and started chatting with me.  He thought I was a thru-hiker but I had to sadly tell him that I wasn't.  We chatted for about half an hour while I waited on Dennis and I learned all about the border patrol tactics for illegal immigrants on the PCT.  Did you know there are foot motion sensors planted along the trail and cameras along this section of the PCT?  I didn't!  Made me feel a little creepy.  I also learned from Ranger Tim that those woodpeckers I saw at Mt. Laguna are called Acorn Woodpeckers.  I also learned about the life and times of Hiker Bill who is a local character on the trail who lives to drink and smoke and wander around looking for people to conversate with.  He wears cut-off jeans to hike and he hopes to die on the trail but despite his best efforts, helicoptor rescues keep saving his life.  LOL.

Dennis finally got me and took me down to Carl's Jr. where I had a Bourbon Burger.  I have to say it was not nearly as good as an Angry Whopper so I'll be sticking with Burger King from here on out.

Enjoy some pictures!

Here's my rad trail mix that I made:



Group shot in the beginning:

Jasper:

Ed the organizer:

Lake Morena in the distance:

What kind of animal crap do you this this is???

Road crossing at Kitchen Creek:

Cool rock formations:

Pretty flower shots.  I learned what yucca looks like!