Archive for the ‘Lake Tahoe’ Tag
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Bears coming up the stairs from a home on Lake Tahoe during the fall. ~Photo by Michelle Portesi
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Residing here in the rural mountains of the Sierra Nevada, wildlife sightings are fairly common, and it is one of the cheap thrills of living here. Learning to live with the nature that surrounds you does also come with some responsibility on our part, so that we can both coexist, with neither one of us becoming a nuisance or a detriment to the other.
Anyone who has lived here for any length of time finds out quickly that unsecured trash, unattended open windows or leaving food around will invite one form of opportunistic scavenger or another – usually insinuating themselves where they are not particularly wanted. Animals are like any other force of nature…path of least resistance. Unlike ourselves, survival is not based on waltzing down to the local grocery store for a meal. For the animals, it requires a great deal of expenditure of precious energy hunting and gathering to make it in this life. Anytime someone offers a much appreciated (by them) short cut, they’re going to take it.
As we head into winter, bears especially become extremely active this time of year, their need to fatten up before hibernation intense. Metal bear boxes have become the only real solution of choice, as even a metal can secured in a locked garage can prove to be none too effective in keeping out a truly hungry bear, resulting in property damage in the process. God forbid they should get into the house itself. And if it’s not the bears hitting the trash cans waiting for disposal pick up, it’s the raccoons, the coyotes or the neighborhood dogs…(and to be entirely honest, the dogs make a much bigger mess. Bears tend to plop down and eat trash where they found it. Dogs strew it all over the neighborhood!)
Our early snowfall covered up many food sources that animals would normally be attracted to this time of year, berries, grasses and seeds that would make up much of their diet in the fall. In this case, the early snowfall and some poorly secured trash resulted in a rare serendipitous sighting that almost made the mess worthwhile. Below are photos of a Sierra Nevada red fox! That’s right, a species that is considered near extinct in the Sierra Nevada.
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Photo by Michelle Portesi
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Now, I’ve never even seen a fox of any sort in the Sierra’s in all the years I’ve lived here, let alone a rare red fox. But my friend Michelle, who helps me with the blog, caught site of one right on Donner Pass Road at Donner Lake the evening of Halloween, foraging through an ill gotten trash bag. Fortunately she had a cell phone and snapped these few pictures before he scuttled off looking for more edible booty.
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Photo by Michelle Portesi
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For more information on this rare but beautiful creature (as one joke goes: They’re just dogs with bad P.R.), you can go to the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_red_fox
http://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/FC_SierraNevadaWildlifeRisk/SierraNevadaRedFox.php
These animals are so rare, that the California Fish and Wildlife department does research to get an idea of their numbers and range, and asks you to report it if you’re lucky enough to see one yourself. (Michelle had no luck with the form on either Firefox or Explorer, so she e-mailed the department directly)
California Red Fox Survey
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
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Sunny skies on Sunday at Tahoe
Yes, it’s that time of year again. When crisp mornings are followed by warm afternoons, and the bright yellow leaves of the aspens and cottonwoods shine brightly against the deep blue skies. But then, just when you are nicely lulled into complacency with the beauty of autumn, the snows of winters arrive, usually with a vengeance with just a day or two of warning. Will you be ready?
-Are the hoses disconnected and stowed away? Has the sprinkler system been turned off and drained?
-Is everything out of the yard that you don’t want covered in snow for the next six months? Kayaks? Lawn chairs? Planters? Bike racks?
-Do you have all your firewood stacked and ready to be easily accessed so you can stoke the flames of winter?
-Has your heater been serviced?
-Have you installed a stop and drain valve to easily shut off the water in your house when you leave for an extended period?
-Have you reorganized your garage so that you can actually get a car in there? And does that car have its winter tires on? Do you need new windshield wipers?
-Is the snow blower ready to go, or the snow poles installed along the driveway so the snow plow company won’t dig up your landscaping?
-And where is that @#*& snow shovel and snow and ice scraper?
View from my office this morning!
Phew, you’ve finished those pesky chores. Now you just have one more fun step before winter. Go shopping. Can’t find your warm gloves and need to get another pair? What about that jacket that died in April? Now’s the time, and the local businesses would love to see you come walking in the door. Or better yet look up the local ski swaps. I’ll have information on ski swaps later in the week so check back in a few days.
Finally, satisfied that you are ready, it’s time to sit back, relax and dream of what that fresh dumping of new snow will bring you: Is it a smooth glide across Euer Valley, or would you prefer to catch a view of Tahoe as you make your turns from the top of the Sherwood Chair? Or perhaps your dream is simply sipping on a hot toddy, sitting close to the crackling fire, and watching the big flakes float to the ground.
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No, I’m not trying to tell you to get lost. The high Sierra are filled with many wonderful places to explore the beaten or unbeaten paths, back country, hidden lakes, gorgeous waterfalls, or just enjoy nature while getting some exercise and fresh air.
One of the favorite hikes is what locals call the ‘Shirley Lake’ hike. Located at Squaw Valley, you can either take the tram up to the top and hike down (you’re now committed to doing the entire hike. No taxi to pick you up if you decide you’ve had enough fun halfway down), or you can start at the bottom and hike up as far as you like, and turn around when you choose to. (Take the road that is right of the tram building. Follow the road straight until you see some boulders in front of the dirt trail head veering off to your right. Follow until you meet up with the main trial head which will veer to the left and start rising uphill).
The bottom half of the hike is relatively easy, and even most kids can manage it. It’s the prettiest part of the hike as it follows Squaw Creek and there are waterfalls aplenty for most of the way…depending on what month you do the hike. Some years bless us with ample winter snowpack and the creek is flowing well into the fall. On years that mother nature gets stingy with the white stuff, the creek can stop flowing by August. Hike early in the summer and the water rushes and gushes. Later in the summer and you can hike up the middle of the falls while water gently flows around you.
Wild shooting star columbine and thimbleberry
Wildflowers greet you throughout the hike. Look for columbine, penstemon, squaw carpet and thimbleberry, among many others along the trail.
Partway up the hike you enter the area we call ‘the enchanted forest’. Here the trees are thick and the area heavily shaded and mysterious. It has the look straight out of an illustration for any given book of fairy tales. One half expects to greet little red riding hood along the trail or a few pixies peeking out from behind the flora.
The top of the hike is much more strenuous. Most of it is above the treeline, so it can feel pretty toasty up there on a hot summer day as you scramble across granite sheets of rock. Wear plenty of sunscreen. You’re at altitude and can burn easily here…and don’t forget plenty of water.
You eventually will come to Shirley Lake, which is at the bottom of one of Squaw Valley’s famous ski runs. After taking some time here to relax and catch your breath, hike the rest of the way up to Squaw’s high camp for some refreshments, swim in their pool, and/or to take the tram back down. Make sure to bring money or a credit card. You’ll need to pay to use the pool or take the tram to get back to the bottom again. Otherwise you’re hoofing it all the way back down again.
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