Marlette Lake

On Saturday the 12th of October, the group that went to Winnemucca Lake (plus or minus a few members) met and carpooled to Spooner Lake (Nevada) State Park, to hike the 4½ miles to Marlette Lake, a reservoir a few hundred feet above Lake Tahoe.

The first almost-a-mile of the hike is along the locally-famed North Canyon Road, known for its many cabins and its access to the wilderness area along Tahoe’s east shore. After this distance, we reached the marked trailhead for the hiking trail that was completed only a few years ago.

Half the group is waiting for the other half. Again.

After the group leader took a group picture, we started up the trail. We quickly became spread out. Joe and my own DW were out in front, with me a few hundred yards behind them, and the next fastest group–including a young woman about 25 years my junior–probably about the same distance behind me.

The hike to Marlette Lake is nearly all uphill, with a couple of sets of switchbacks. Not terribly steep, but mostly constant. About ⅔ of the way there, the trail reaches the top of a rise with a somewhat expansive view of the valley and road below.



Approaching the apex;
note the stump.

There’s that stump,
with the canyon below.

The trail continues to climb, and soon I was entering elevations where the early-season snowfall of the previous week was not yet completely evaporated:

Shortly after that, there was snow actually ON the trail!

OK, maybe there wasn’t much snow on the trail, but I did see a bit more before reaching the summit, where the trail starts back down toward North Canyon Road and the lake.

At one point, the hiking trail comes within a few yards of the road, and an access trail–fit for bikers as well as hikers, that leads to the trailhead off of NV SH 28–crosses both. Because this was only the second time I’d been on this trail, and I had no other hikers to guide me, I mistakenly took the access trail down to the road. Since I knew the road led to the lake, by the time I realized my mistake I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to go back and regain the hiking trail. Besides, only the road had views like this:

When I reached Marlette Lake, the north wind had come up, and was quite chilly after blowing across the water. I made my way to a pile of rocks where I expected to find DW and Joe, and I was not disappointed. I was surprised, however, when they told me I was only about ten minutes behind them! I did not expect to have moved so quickly.

We ate lunch there, hounded by this chipmunk:

It was very aggressive, and even climbed on DW’s lap when she wasn’t looking, trying to get a nut from the snack-size bag she had there. Startled, she moved the bag away, and this cute little fellow bit her! Not hard enough to draw blood, thank goodness. No rabies shots for her.

Finally, we had had enough of the wind and rodent harassment, so shortly after the rest of the group arrived, the three of us decided to leave, and take the road back to Spooner Lake. On the way out, I noticed this plea for people fishing there to complete an “Angler Survery”:

Your tax dollars (and donations) at work.

The walk back was pleasant enough, especially after we had crested the summit again and were somewhat protected from the chilly north wind. We discussed all sorts of things, from politics to pop music, from advertising to Zurich (Joe had recently been to Switzerland, although he spent most of his time in the area near Locarno). We made it back home just in time to cook supper! I think we had chili, to warm up from being outdoors all day.

Relay Peak via Mount Rose and the TRT

On Saturday, 20 July, a somewhat larger group of us hiked another part of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), this time North from the Mount Rose Summit trailhead. The trail goes up somewhat steeply from the highway along the side of the southernmost peak of Mount Rose–at least, logic tells me that the Mount Rose Highway touches Mount Rose.

We had a largish group of about a dozen people, most of whom were just introduced to each other at the trailhead, and we got separated fairly quickly. I spent a fair amount of time talking with some people who I thought were part of our group, but were actually part of another largish group that started at about the same time. Oh, well. More new friends!

Our group coalesced again at the base of a waterfall–scratch that: the waterfall. It is the only one on the Mount Rose Trail, and is a destination for some, and a waypoint for others. This is because from that point, the TRT turns west, and the Mount Rose Trail continues north and east on its climb to the summit.

Oops, I stand corrected. This trail map at the Tahoe Rim Trail Association site says that part of the trail climbs Tamarack Peak. It also says it’s about 2½ miles to the waterfall.

The hike leader Dave had been working over the past two (or three) summers on a new section of trail that climbed through the forest on the south side of the fall, replacing the old trail that climbed the rocky, bare slope on the north side. So he was sort of showing off his work a little, and he certainly had reason to be proud. The trail consists of several switchbacks through the forest and brush, with a couple of small rocky sections. It’s much more pleasant than the old trail, and much less prone to erosion (which was probably the main motivation for it).

Unfortunately, I have no pictures because I was mainly trying to keep up a pace so as not to be the last one through. I guess I did pretty well, because I even stopped for water once, and was still in the first half of the group to reach our second waypoint, which was where the TRT crosses the dirt access road to the radio relay towers on Relay Peak. (Hmm, I wonder what that peak was called before the radio towers were installed?) This map tells me that was another 0.7 miles, for a total of 3.2 miles so far.

The rest of the first half

Joe likes his sun protection.

Everyone made it! …this far.

Besides, I’ve already shared a couple of photos of that trail on this post, from a hike we did in 2011.











From this point, it was only another mile-and-a-half to the top of Relay Peak–if you take the boring road. No, you want the nice trail cut through the forest! It only adds another half-mile!

Well, we actually stopped for lunch about a tenth of a mile short of the peak, on top of the ridge called (unassumingly enough) Relay Ridge. From it, we had extensive views of the east shore of Lake Tahoe to the south, of course, but also Washoe Valley, and to the north the Truckee, CA area, including Donner Lake and the three reservoirs of Prosser, Boca, and Stampede.

W view; Truckee over that ridge

N view; Oregon over there somewhere

Panoramic view of the north side of the ridge

Panoramic view of the south side, from Washoe Valley to Kingsbury

After lunch, a few of the group wanted to continue on to the peak, but most of us relied on the hike leader’s opinion that the view wasn’t any better there than where we were, and we headed back down the way we came. There are some ups and downs, but it’s mostly down. This time, DW and Joe nearly broke records getting back to the parking lot, and I was blissfully alone on the trail for most of the return trip.

The next weekend, we did a hike with yet another group, this time to the south of Lake Tahoe. That post will have more pictures than this one. Don’t miss it!

Tahoe Rim Trail, Sheep Meadows to Diamond Peak and Beyond

On the 2nd weekend in June, DW and I went with our friend Joe (from the previous Lakes Basin hike) to hike a short, 5½ mile or so (each way) section of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). Joe wanted us to see this section of the TRT, because he was part of a group that built a mile of that section.

We accessed the TRT by hiking a short distance on the Ophir Creek trail. We parked at the top of the rise just (highway-) south of Tahoe Meadows, aka Sheep Meadows, and trekked through the well-worn bush to the trail. This spot is very popular year-round, for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and mountain biking. We got there early enough to get a nice spot that would be shaded most of the time we were on the trail.

When we got to the intersection of the Ophir Creek trail with the TRT, Joe insisted we take the left fork. We went maybe ¼ mile down that trail, and he realized we were still on the Ophir Creek trail! He remarked, “I always take the wrong turn there!” and we set out bushwhacking west toward the TRT. Well, there aren’t many bushes; mainly ground cover and pines. Anyway, in what seemed like an even shorter distance than we had gone the wrong way, there was the trail we wanted. And we were on our way!

The first place we took a photo break, and a little water, was a view of Washoe Valley on the east side of the Sierras.

Fearless Leader Joe

Washoe Lake (R) and Little Washoe Lake

The TRT isn’t called a “rim” trail for nothing, and we spent a lot of time meandering back and forth between views of Washoe Valley and Lake Tahoe. The next place we stopped was on the Tahoe side.

Crystal Bay, Agate & Carnelian Bays, Dollar Point beyond

We continued on south, and pretty soon we saw the top of the Diamond Peak ski resort.

Poles mark the ski boundary

From then on, we were on the Tahoe side, with lovely views of the lake, Incline Village, and the Ponderosa Ranch. About another ¼ to ½ mile down the trail, Joe pointed out a clearing where his trail-building group’s supplies were stored, and said that was the beginning of the mile they built. That mile was mostly uphill, but not terribly steep, and ended where the trail turned back to the east side of the crest, at a big pile of boulders.

That isn’t Joe.

The views of the southwest side of the lake were wonderful, with snow-capped mountains above Rubicon Point.

I believe Tunnel Creek goes down that slope.

Just for fun, I experimented with the panoramic mode on my iDevice.

After lunch, and before we left there, I noticed there was a very good view of Incline Village, the golf course and condos, and the bottom of Diamond Peak resort.

Joe checked the elevation using his phone (about 8,350'), and we checked again as we approached the parking area (about 8,650'). We were a little surprised that the turn was actually lower than where we started, but of course being a rim trail, the TRT does go up and down quite a bit.

We were back home within about 6 hours of when we left the house that morning, and all tuckered out! Well, DW and I were, but Joe is a powerhouse. He even went to our local Total Wine store and tasted a few of the wines they were offering that afternoon.

Some Recent Photos to Share

I’ve shared most of these on TwitPic, but I wanted to put them in a post. I’ve decided to do this occasionally, as I take the odd photo here and there while not strictly on an outing.

On the evening of 13 August, smoke from a forest fire began pouring in to the Truckee Meadows. As DW pulled out of the driveway the next morning, she called me and said, “Look at this sun!” So I grabbed the camera and walked out on the patio in my boxers–hey, it was not even 6:30 am, and nobody was out jogging in that smoke! Anyway, this is the resulting photo.

On Friday, 14 September, the Reno Ski & Recreation Club had our weekly TGIF gathering at Idlewild Park in Reno, where the food trucks were selling all kinds of goodies. I got there a bit early and, not seeing any other members yet, I decided to walk around the park. I came to a nice quiet spot by the river and snapped this shot.

Early in October I was driving home, and we happened to have some clouds in the sky–very rare through the summer. Suddenly the sky lit up with the orange glow of the setting sun, and I had to pull over to take a photo or two, the second one a panoramic experiment.

Finally, also in early October, I had occasion to visit the Grand Sierra Resort here in Reno. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the hotel tower was lit up, not brightly in white as usual, but in a nice rosy shade of pink.

I expect this will be one of many posts like this, unless you, gentle viewers, tell me to stick to the narratives. There will be more of those as well, to be sure. Please leave a comment with your opinion either way.

Eagle Lake: A Worthwhile Day Hike

My wife and I like to try hiking trails we’ve never used before. Fortunately for us, there are dozens of trails in the Reno and Lake Tahoe area. A couple of summers ago, we decided to try the somewhat popular, moderate-to-strenuous Eagle Lake Trail at Lake Tahoe.

To get there, one must drive to Emerald Bay. Just south of the parking area for the family-oriented Vikingsholm, on the mountain side of Hwy 89, is the entrance to the smaller parking lot for the trailhead. There are actually 2 or 3 trails accessed from the same trailhead; the lot fills up quickly, so it pays to get there early. We arrived around 8:30, and it was about 3/4 full. We filled out our day-use paper and dropped it in the box, and we were on our way.

The Eagle Lake trail takes a left turn a few yards up the hill. It’s a pretty easy walk up to Eagle Falls, with a picturesque viewpoint from a footbridge over Eagle Creek (where I apparently neglected to take any pictures). After crossing the bridge, the trail turns uphill and becomes a bit steeper for about a mile-and-a-half.

South Lake Tahoe

Rubicon Peak

At different points along the climb, the views of Lake Tahoe open up, and the Jewel of the Sierras reveals her true splendor. My photos do not do justice to the magnificent remains of the ice age. (If you look at the valley between Maggie’s Peak, where we were standing, and Rubicon Peak from the East Shore, you can see the tell-tale U-shape caused by glacial carving. The eastern part of the Tahoe Rim Trail is on our list, and I’ll try to remember to take photos of this when we do that, if we can see it.)

Emerald Bay, Vikingsholm, Tea House, & Tahoe

We emerged from the creek-side climb onto a large meadow just below Eagle Lake, then continued up about another 60 vertical feet, over about a half-mile, to the lake itself. We had a snack on the shore, and I took a couple of photos of a nearby unnamed peak and some of the local residents.

We then went on around the shore until the trail was lost in some boulders on the southeast side. We climbed in them a bit, then decided it was time to head back. By the time we got back to where we’d rested, there were quite a few other people there, evidencing the trail’s popularity.

When we left the parking lot at around noon, there were cars parked on the shoulder along Hwy 89–a common sight in the summer. It was just beginning to get really warm, which is another big advantage to starting early. Of course, “early” to me is not all that early. Those of you up before first light should be able to get primo parking spaces!

Postcards from the Rim, conclusion

Part two, the conclusion of pictures taken on trails around Lake Tahoe, plus an epilogue.

The background image of this blog!

On Thursday 9 July 2009, we took the lower part of the Mount Rose Summit Trail. First, though, we went around the opposite way for a bit to try to get to the lake in this picture, Tamarack Lake. It is the immediate source of Galena Creek.





The Summit Trail starts at around 8,900' (2,713m) elevation, and climbs to the very top of Mount Rose, at 10,776' (3,285m). Partway up that trail, I saw this boulder resting in the forked trunk (3 or 4 trunks) of a tree. I assume the tree grew up around it.













At the end of the lower part of the Mount Rose Summit Trail (c. 2.6 mi.), there is a cascade. In July, there was just enough water coming over it to make a nice sound and a decent creek. I can imagine in March or April, after a good winter's snow, it's quite a torrent.

The Summit Trail goes on for another nearly 7 miles to the summit. We were not in good enough shape to go that far at that altitude in one day, so we went back down from there.






On Saturday, 11 July, we drove to one of the many pullout parking areas on NV SR 28, on the East side of Lake Tahoe. Our goal was a small cove called Skunk Harbor. We learned that this "trail" was actually an old road that led down to an abandoned stone building on the shore of the cove. The road is still maintained as a fire road, so it was a very easy hike.

While we were putting our boots back on after wading in the lake, a couple of chipmunks came down to see if we had any food for them. We didn't, but I got a picture anyway!





Epilogue

On Saturday, 4 July (Independence Day), we went to a presentation about photographing trees as art, in a city park in Reno. It was a part of the Artown activities.

While we were standing around the first tree getting an orientation, I noticed a couple of robins flitting around, and it looked like one was carrying a worm. So I started looking up in the tree and found a nest. It took me a few minutes to realize that there were two chicks in it.







Finally, earlier this summer I happened to pass by a small pond near our power company offices. I noticed a goose family out for a stroll, so I pulled over (across the street) and snapped a few pics. This is the best one of the proud parents and their six goslings.






I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the sights near my home.

Postcards from the Rim, Part 1

The week following Independence Day (2009), I took time off work. I went hiking with a friend on a few trails in the Lake Tahoe basin (including parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail, or TRT, hence the title). The next few posts will exhibit a few of the photos we took. I had planned to put them all on one post, but I've learned that getting pictures where you want them is not the easiest thing to do with Blogger, so I'll break them up.

The first trail we took was the Big Meadow trail up to Anderson Pass, at the junction with the SE part of the TRT. It was only two miles, but it was all uphill, so we were very pleased when we got to the top.

On the way down, we saw things from a different perspective--and it was easier going--so I took more photos. Here is a mountain Sequoia that has been charred in the middle.

This is a dead tree that, from a distance, looked somewhat like a woman gathering her children into her skirts. I'm not sure how well that shows up in the picture.

We also saw some wildlife that was more shy when we were going up. This is probably a common bird in the mountains, but unfamiliar to me, perched in a big Aspen.

Then a bit further down the trail, we saw what I believe is a Sage Grouse hen and her three chicks foraging, pretty much ignoring us. Of course, we were a few yards away. I only got a good picture of one of the chicks. Mom's on the left, chick's on the right, if you can't tell.

Finally, my friend noticed this scene as we crossed a creek: a branch with a few leaves on the end casting a sharp shadow on a rock in the stream.