A Week by the Lake; 6,000 Ft Up

Lake Tahoe, I made it. Now what? That was the question when I got here last week. I wasn't quite sure. It seemed that Lassen was out of reach, but going around the lake? That seemed possible. So off I went.

A beautiful campsite overlooking NV.

In my quest for more adventure, my first day brought me to the Tahoe Rim Trail, a backpacking and somewhat mountain biking trail that circles the lake (parts are closed to bikes). I decided to give this trail a try. It would prove to be my downfall. The beginning of the trail from Kingsbury Grade was nothing but rocky steps, in which I hauled my bike over time and time again. By the time I was finally ready to ride the rocks were going the other direction. The front suspension MTBers were popping right over them, but fully loaded on a rigid cross bike I worried, rightfully so, at some point I looked down and had a snapped spoke and my toe clips had the same fate. I was not too pleased. I forced the bike over the hill and walked a lot more of the trail than I wanted to, that by the time I reached the scenic overlook I was exhausted and unhappy. Lesson learned, my bike is not a mountain bike. The original plan was to continue on to the Flume Trail, the classic Tahoe mountain bike trail, but once I found pavement again I bailed back into town and felt utterly defeated. I was ready to head home. My mind was fried I couldn't decide what to do. I went to the local bike shop (called The Bike Shop, actually), where Pete, a friendly fellow talked me up some and pointed me in a better direction, sending me on paved roads up to a dispersed campground at Mosquito Lake, a brilliantly quiet camp, where my head fell back into place and I felt ready to keep going.

The Tahoe Rim Trail, it all didn't look this good.

Surly at the bench of Tahoe Rim Trail.

Surly Cross Check at Mosquito Lake

The following morning I was to descend into Tahoe City, the main tourist spot on the lake, but before I could make it there the road was closed. It seems that a mountain bike race was taking place, so I popped my bike down and watched some of the race. It was a qualifier for the Leadville 100 and these guys and gals were moving. I watched them at this gravelly corner where some took it with great skill and one guy ate it pretty hard. Then I went to the top of the hill where the MTBers were complaining and utterly torn apart, which was funny when I saw how short the hill actually was, funny how much a "mountain" can take out of a mountain biker. From there I headed into the Main St of Tahoe City, where I overheard about a festival down at Squaw Valley and feeling adventurous headed in that direction. It turned out to be a yoga festival, what an interesting place to find myself. The best news though is that yoga people love vegan food, so I was able to get some great vegan food and great vegan free samples (SO Delicious Ice Cream! yes!). But I could only take so much granola crunching hippies and upper crusties, that I headed back up River Road to town (which River Road is a fast road in either direction, I ended up passing most of the weekend traffic on my way into town), where I had a beer then headed to camp out at DL Bliss State Park.

Caught in a MTB race!

The Truckee River.

The Lake.

DL Bliss was a blast as I was invited to join a fellow Nick who fed me beers, whiskey, and tequilla til 1 in the morning. Apparently the whole campsite was one big group of people, who wandered in and out sharing adventurous stories of mountain lion scares hiking stories and what not, it was pleasant to meet such hospitable people. The following day at DL Bliss I decided to walk some instead of ride, taking the extra night at DL Bliss to avoid Sunday traffic. Hiking along the lake was beauiful, and at first peaceful, until I hit the beach full of loud boats playing loud country music, putting a foul taste in my mouth, so instead I walked back trying to find a quiet place along the way, which was hard to find. Oh well, back to my campsite where I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and having a few beers.

The beers would be a bad idea as my goal of waking up early this morning failed because of a hangover/dehydration. It reminded me of the sickness I had in the Salt Flats of Bolivia a few years ago, I bet the elevation had something to do with it. So today, I'm taking it easy, drinking iced coffees and snacking out in South Lake Tahoe. All in all, Tahoe is a pretty incredible place. I'm already sad to be leaving, but I can't vacation forever, now comes the fun part (the downhill) and the very unfun part (the Central Valley). I'm already planning on what comes next and I'm not even home yet!