Fall is in the air

Hello Friends,
Days are getting shorter. Early morning daylight is giving away to darkness a little more each day. Winter is inching our direction, but for now fall is in the air which means the air is cooler in the morning, and lighting is changing as shadows lengthen giving us crisp clear views when enjoying the outdoors.

Traffic is thinning in Tahoe, beaches are less crowded, trails are slowly lacking as many hikers, and kids are back in school. Life is not as slow going into the off season as it was at one time many years ago, but it is still more inviting to locals to be out taking advantage of our backyard this time of year.

View from a point along the mountain bike climb to Stanford Rock

Tahoe tends to be flat in the mornings in the fall which makes for great water skiing, paddle boarding, and kayaking. We have had a few lovely kayak paddles over the past couple of weeks along sections of the west shore. Meeks Bay to Bliss Park or Meeks Bay to Sugar Pine Park are nice paddles as it is easy to put the kayaks into the water at Meeks Bay, and you end up at lovely beaches for lunch. There is a $10 day use fee at Meeks Bay.

I also like paddling from Grand Ave. to Chambers Landing where you can disembark and sip a Chambers Punch at the bar on their pier.

With cooling temperatures, although this week it is supposed to be hot, hiking or mountain biking should be on the schedule. One of the last hikes we did recently involved riding the Tram up from the village at Squaw Valley. A good way to make use of your IKON pass during the summer. From the top of the Tram we walked up to the saddle just south of the top of the Emigrant Lift. Next there is a trail that leads down toward Granite Chief where you will find a trail marker indicating the Tevis Trail (to the left). Follow this trail for a short distance and you come to an intersection indicating the Pacific Crest Trail to your left. Once you are on the PCT leading south you remain on it until you reach a junction where the PCT continues off to the right heading toward the top of the Summit Chair at Alpine or straight heading to Five Lakes. Take the Five Lakes trail. Stop at Five Lakes for a dip or just continue to the trailhead at the Alpine Meadows Road. Of course this hike requires two cars. One dropped off at the Five Lakes Trailhead and one at the Tram in Squaw. You can also do this hike in reverse by starting at the Five Lakes Trailhead and ending at the top of the Tram which you can ride down free of charge.