Archive for the ‘Truckee’ Tag
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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.
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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Spring has sprung in the Tahoe basin…or what passes for it in the High Sierra. We’ve been unseasonably warm for this time of year, which gets many of us itching to be out in our yards and dreaming of seed packets and gardening. Those of us who have lived here for any length of time know better. It’s not uncommon to have a substantial snowstorm in May, thus destroying all our best laid plans for flower beds.
That being said, it’s never too early to start picking up winter’s debris in anticipation. Raking up the deep carpet of pine needles, miscellaneous trash that mysteriously seems to appear once the snow drift dissipates (now how did THAT get here?) and the ever copious pine cones is never a bad idea. Nor is amending the soil to make ready for a bountiful harvest of blooms.
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The Villager Nursery, Truckee, CA
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Towards those ends, the local nurseries have opened early to take advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures. For Truckee residences, there is the Villager Nursery, where in addition to plants, you can also find hydroponic and composting supplies. Visit their website for many informative articles on High Sierra Gardening and events happening at the Villager Nursery in Truckee.
http://www.villagernursery.com/
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In Tahoe City, there is The Tahoe Tree Company dba McBrides Nursery. The large log building has a gift shop in addition to garden supplies and seeds. Set on 10 acres, they also grow many native plants on site in addition to their property in Loomis.
Follow them on Facebook for all the upcoming events they have planned for this summer.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tahoe-Tree-Company-dba-Mcbrides-Nursery/119035988121811
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Memorial Day Weekend, (Friday through Monday) they will be having John’s Truckload Sale. 25% off selected shrubs!
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Tahoe Tree Company, Tahoe City, CA
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Did you know that The Tahoe Tree Company also has a secret garden that they host weddings and parties at, in addition to a special events coordinator? Check out their website for more information on this wonderful venue for your Garden Tahoe Wedding.
http://tahoetreecompanyweddings.com/.
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The building is also home to Mountain Magic Catering to feed all your hungry party guests. Now that is one stop shopping!
http://www.mountainmagiccatering.com/tahoe-tree-company-gallery.htm
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Also, Dave’s Garden Website is a great resource if you need help looking up plant information or need advice on gardening tips.
http://davesgarden.com/
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
Castle Peak at Donner Summit
The history of Donner Summit is about much more than the horrible struggle of one party of California bound travelers that gave the area it’s name. Donner Summit is a center of California history because unbelievably it was one of the easiest ways to get over the Sierra, but as we all know, it can be an incredibly challenging passage, especially if you try to do it in a snowstorm.
The first wagon train to reach California was the Stephens Murphy Townshend Party in 1844, which traveled over Donner Pass two years before the ill-fated Donner Party. They stopped on their journey at Big Bend long enough for the first European baby to be born in California, Elizabeth Yuba Murphy. One member of the party was Moses Schallenberger who spent the winter at Donner Lake, and later had the ridge above the lake named after him. Other party members went on to start the cities of Sunnyvale, Murphy’s and Stockton.
The Railroad was completed in 1869, but to get over Donner Summit required fifteen massive tunnels, including Tunnel 6, which was over 1500 feet long and blasted through solid granite by crews of Chinese workers. Some of the rock removed from the tunnels was used to construct the still visible China wall, which was built without the use of mortar.
Serene Lakes
Without refrigeration, ice was a necessary commodity in the west in the mid 1800s, but it was transported all the way from Boston or Alaska at great expense. So when the railroad opened, entrepreneurs saw opportunity in our cold climes. The Summit Ice Company began operation in 1868 at what were then known as the Ice Lakes, later the Serene Lakes. But the operation only lasted four years before Donner Summit’s heavy snows made nearby Prosser Lake, which had even colder temperatures, but little snow, a more attractive alternative.
The three Serene Lakes, were turned into present day Serena and Dulzura with the raising of the water behind a dam in 1941. The construction of a new road into the lakes in 1959, issued a development opportunity, leading to the creation of eight separate subdivisions at the lakes, and over 600 homes as well as Royal Gorge Cross-Country, and the Ice Lakes Lodge.
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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