Archive for the ‘Lynn Richardson Coldwell Banker Real Estate’ Tag
By Michelle Portesi
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Here at ‘Your Friend In High Places’, the plan is to get all of our favorite hikes archived on the blog. There are many popular hikes in the area that are local favorites. Yet, with so much close access to the High Sierra back country, there are always new ones to discover.
This post is focusing on The Rubicon Trail out of D.L. Bliss State Park on Tahoe’s West Shore. The California State Park and Campground is located on the lake side just before Emerald Bay. Day parking is $10 per car. If you frequent our state parks often during the year and don’t already have a membership pass, you might want to spring for one of the many day use options the California State Park Foundation has to offer that can really save you some money.
Along the Rubicon Trail, West Shore, Lake Tahoe (Photo by Michelle Portesi)
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After turning into the park, drive all the way down to the bottom (You’ll be paying your fees at the campground kiosk near the day use beach and hiking parking lots.) There are bathrooms at the parking lot, so take the opportunity, as you will not see another bathroom until you get to the boat campground on Emerald Bay. While you can turn around at any time, if you want to make it to Emerald Bay, plan for this hike to take most of the day. This is a relatively easy to moderate hike, but I guarantee that you will be stopping to take many photos along the way.
The Rubicon Trail out of Bliss follows the lake for most of the way to Emerald Bay. You will be high above the lake for panoramic views, occasional glimpses of osprey and/or their nests and insanely vivid hues of blue waters. What makes this hike so amazing is the underwater geography of this particular part of the lake. Many millennia ago, part of the lake’s rim in this area sheered off down to the incredible depths below, creating sheer drop offs from the waters edge. In these areas, the color of the water stuns in deep shades of cobalt blue, as if someone had dropped many gallons of dye off Lake Tahoe’s shore. Further along the hike, shallow coves appear with white sand bottoms, in as many vivid shades of aqua as any exotic oceanic island.
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Boating in cobalt waters, Lake Tahoe (Photo by Michelle Portesi – no photo color adjusting required…)
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As you near Emerald Bay, there is a separate trail that veers to the left that will take you to the headland of the entrance to the bay. Here you will see the many boats on the lake that come for a glimpse of the bays many charms.
Back on the main trail that veers to the right, you are now down close to the shoreline. Many sandy beaches appear along the way. Continue on to the boat campground, thus named because most people boat in their camping gear for a stay instead of slogging it the long hike down. (Only park rangers and the camp host is allowed to drive down the fire road to the campsites.) From here you can view Fannette island in the middle of the bay, with the still visible remains of the stone tea house where the original owners used to ferry their guests for high tea in the afternoons. You can also see part of Eagle Falls in the distance.
If you’re feeling up to it, you can continue along the trail to the Vikingsholm Historic Site and the museum right next to it at the end of Emerald Bay. (Bring money with you if you want to do the tour through the estate). While you could theoretically hike back up to the highway from here, remember, your car is still at the base of Bliss State Park several miles away. Unless you’ve got some elaborate carpool plans going, most of us just turn around and hike the Rubicon trail back to our cars.
Congratulate yourself on getting a substantive amount of exercise. Now treat yourself to a margarita or an ice cold beer at one of the many West Shore establishments. You’ve earned it!
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Rubicon Trail, Lake Tahoe
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By Tim Hauserman
The Tahoe Rim Trail is a 170 mile trail that circles Lake Tahoe. It passes mountain lakes, crosses high alpine passes, and runs for miles through deep forests of red fir, hemlock and majestic white pine…but most importantly, it gives you miles and miles of opportunities to gaze down into our favorite big patch of blue.
The trail is divided into eight sections of between 15 and 32 miles. These bite sized chunks give TRT hikers and mountain bikers, regardless of their physical condition, a chance to enjoy the trail. But have you ever thought of becoming one of the few who have thru-hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail? Here’s a few reasons why you should:
-The trail circles the entire lake. Which means that if you hike it all you can start out in one place and about two weeks later end up right where you began. What is especially cool about this is that for much of the journey you can gaze across the lake at where you have been, while also envisioning where you will soon be.
-If you join one of the annual thru-hikes put on by the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, someone else will handle much of the logistics and provide you with food and water at key points. You will also have a group of companions that are sure to become great friends, and you will be supporting the TRTA in it’s mission to maintain the Tahoe Rim Trail. For information go to http://www.tahoerimtrail.org
-Make no mistake about it. Thru-hiking the TRT is not easy. It’s a tough, bucket list challenge…but it is one that normal humans who hike about 13 miles a day can do in two weeks, as opposed to hiking twenty grueling miles every day for four and half straight months to conquer the Pacific Crest Trail.
-When you finish, you will have the pride of becoming one of the heralded members of the Tahoe Rim Trail 165 mile Club, and obtain a number. Mine is #11.
Need more information? Pick up a copy of my official guidebook to the Tahoe Rim Trail, now in it’s 3rd edition. Its’ available at local bookstores and outdoor shops.
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By Michelle Portesi
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Cascade Falls along the Bayview Trail, with Cascade Lake and Lake Tahoe seen in the distance. (Photo by Michelle Portesi)
I try to do all of the hikes that have waterfalls earlier in the summer season, especially when we’ve had sparse snowfall the previous winter. Cascade Creek that feeds the falls can slow to a trickle, and often by the height of summer, disappear entirely.
The Bayview Trail is one of my favorites. The parking area is located across the highway from Inspiration Point Vista on Emerald Bay, and it’s a wonderfully moderate day hike that will take you past Cascade Lake, up to Cascade Falls and beyond, with views of Lake Tahoe in the distance. There is also a campground there at the entrance, if you are so inclined, right off of Highway 89. (If you’re camping, bring plenty of food and gear. It’s a loooooong way to the nearest market and/or restaurant for eats and supplies.)
Early in the season, Cascade Creek can be so intense, that it is hard to get past all the water engorged tributaries that are gushing around you. Go a little later in the season, and you can kick off your shoes and hike up the middle of the boulder strewn creek for a ways, the granite smoothed to tenderfoot friendly appeal from eons of rushing snow melt. An abundance of flora lines the canyon, Sugar pines, cedars, spirea, wild lupine, alders, ferns and mountain ash. The latter will be filled with brilliant red berries if you do this hike closer to the fall.
Pack a lunch, find a nice wide boulder under a shady tree and relax while the music of water burbles all around you.
Two of our AAUW Gourmet Group Gals relax along Cascade Creek
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