This would be my first visit to Lake Tahoe. My whole paternal extended family had rented a cabin on its shore for a five-day reunion. Such a gathering had not happened in about fifteen years and the next one might not be for as long. The drive was exceptionally long, but I appreciated the new territory- once we drove through Bridgeport everything was new to me. The Walker River gorge was particularly interesting with it's near-constant outcrops of landslides. Lake Tahoe was as expected- big, blue, clear, deep, ridiculously over-developed and over-crowded. The mind boggles to consider the billions of dollars in "cabin mansions" that crowd portions of its shores. We stayed on the north shore near Carnelian Bay which had good opportunities for mountain biking and kayaking. My dad and I kayaked about 8 miles round trip from where we were staying to Nevada. I had a few tries with a paddleboard (weird), and some cold swims. I got on my mountain bike every day, exploring the trails on the hills behind the lake until I knew my way around. I biked a portion of the Tahoe Rim Trail with my brother. With my parents I biked the nice paved trail from Tahoe City to Squaw Valley along a very sad, mostly non-flowing Truckee River. Unfortunately the rivers were in poor shape so packkrafting was out. I was also suffering from chechen I picked up in Mexico- essentially poison oak- which seemed to kill my motivation and will be my excuse why I seemed to take almost no photos!
The adventure highlight was a impromptu bike ride from Truckee to Carnelian Bay. I caught a ride to Truckee with some of my family with the plan of going for a bike ride while the strolled the streets and shops. After downing a banana split with my dad, I identified the Sawtooth Trail as the nearest bike trail and worked my way through Truckee to the trailhead. Once there I realized it would be possible to mountain bike on single track and dirt road all the way back to Carnelian Bay- 22 miles! Nevermind I had no sunscreen or water or food or anything other than my phone...the trip ended up being a good butt-kicker with about 2000ft of elevation gain. The Sawtooth Trail was good fun, if a little rocky and over-sinuous. I then took a dirt forest road up and over the saddle near Mt Watson, past Watson Lake, and then some excellent screaming downhill all the way back to Carnelian Bay. I arrived tired and ready for dinner.
We ended the week with a short walk to Eagle Lake near Emerald Bay where
I entertained myself scrambling up the peak behind the lake and then
finding a delicate route threading me back through the cliff bands on
the steeper side. Of course the trip was really about family, and that there was plenty of. Big communal dinners, lawn games, watching the stars, spending quality time with relatives I had hardly seen in about 10 years. That was all excellent. Tahoe? Meh, a big over-exploited puddle. There are much better places half the distance.
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