Tahoe – wandering chardonnay

People sometimes ask what’s your next adventure? Really I never know. Things just kinda happen. Like, I wanted to thru hike the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). However, I just started a new job and taking a week off is currently not an option. So a friend and I decided to section hike it together.

We decided to do the first leg over the 4th of July long weekend. I dusted off my gear and boom it was on. Getting a late start after work and shuttling cars we hiked up to a nice camp spot then hiked down out of the trees to catch the first set of fireworks out of Kings Beach. Doing the Brockway Summit to Tahoe Meadows was a good choice for firework views but that was still A LOT of snow.

It was really nice trail, then the higher we climbed the snow patches started. Seriously considering some crampons after this hike. All that slipping, sliding and trying not to fall really suck your energy. Found a lovely spot on Mt. Baldy to camp at 9,200 feet. Watched the moon rise on one side of the ridge and the fireworks of Tahoe City, Incline Village, Zepher Cove and South Lake was over the opposite ridge. Afterwards I stood watching boats glide across the lake and the traffic build up on the roads. I was super grateful that I was just ten feet from sliding into my tent for the night.

The section is only 21.6 but I was really glad that we had planned to do it over multiple days. There were certainly parts where we were just hoping for the best only to find we were way off trail. Spent 10 miles picking our way through some sketchy snowy areas. Hiking on snow can really slow your roll and tire you out. We decided to scramble up the granite rocks to get to Raley’s Peak (the highest point on the TRT) at 10,335 feet. It was a way more fun than picking our way over miles of suncups (bowl-shaped open depressions into a snow surface) what a workout that is!

Getting to the top of Relay’s we were rewarded with amazing panoramic 360 degree views. Then we had to get down. Without crampons taking the trail towards Mt. Rose was out of the question…..so sliding down the steep face of suncups then high stepping over the depressions of the only choice. Skiing this area next season has got me a bit excited.

I really enjoyed this hike, I’ m so glad to be living in the Tahoe Basin. Hiking the Sierra’s on the PCT was my favorite section. It is a true privilege to have access to the Sierra’s and all it’s beautiful possibilities. What will my next adventure be? Hard to say….. I just go with the flow and trust the universe will put the correct opportunities in my path.

With the end of the hiking approaching, seeing pictures of hikers completing their hikes I have been reflecting on my own experiences. Looking at old PCT pictures and getting all teary. Maybe it’s just all the Pearl Jam and Martin Sexton I’ve been listening to that brought on all the feels.

I got a lot going on in my little corner of the world currently, don’t we all huh. The currents are shifting and as usually I am just gonna ride it out. Over the last 3 or so years figuring out “what to do next’ has been easy…another trail of course! The choice was easy as I was comfortable there or at least familiar. But if growth starts outside our comfort zone…I got to mix it up a bit right?

Bears, rattlesnakes, heck even bold squirrels are not as scary, to me, as stepping into a new adventure. There are so many unknowns, but thus is life, mine anyway.

So, I’ve decided to take a position in Tahoe for the winter! (i had to go back and change that period to and exclamation point) Been saying for years ‘I’m gonna ski more’ so what a better way than- total immersion! It’s gonna be hard, cold AF, new people, new experiences, new places I have never been. I’m not even sure where I will be living or with who? The uncertainty is exciting and scary all at once. On the upside I am looking forward to taking a swing a snowboarding (again), checking out that Rim to Rim trail (in snowshoes probably) and whatever else they got going up that way! Look at me getting out my head and my own way. This should be interesting. What you got going on this winter? Get outside!!!!