Hello friends,
The 4th turned out to be a lovely day in Tahoe. There was a good breeze blowing in the afternoon, but it dissipated in time for the fireworks. I decided to skip the crowds and headed out for an early morning hike.
This day I walked up the ski area road to the top of Summit Chair. The road begins from the Alpine Meadows lodge and takes off from a point about 1 half way up the Hot Wheels Chair. From there it headis to the base of the Alpine Bowl Chair (known as the Loop Road in the winter). It continues to the top of Yellow chair and then winds across the hillside to the bottom of Wolverine Bowl where it continues to the top of D8 Chute and on to the top of Summit Chair. The hillsides are filled with wildflowers, running streams, and a green background of spring leaves. From the top of the mountain I headed north on the Pacific Crest Trail to a saddle above Estelle Bowl. From the saddle that overlooks a steep hillside above Estelle Lake, I followed a minimal trail that leads down to the lake from which I hiked back down to the top of Kangaroo Chair completing a very nice loop. A longer alternative to this hike is to continue on the Pacific Crest Trail to Five Lakes and then down to the Alpine Meadows Road. This was a great way to avoid the crowds on the Five Lakes Trail with the option of a dip in Estelle Lake on the way down.
I watched the fireworks from my kayak just of the westend beach at Donner Lake last night. We had a nice paddle to the viewing site as well as a little more exercise on the way back in the dark. There was dancing and music on the beach before the fireworks started which we heard from offshore. Our viewing point turned out to be awesome as the fireworks were exploding right over our heads. I heard that the fireworks in Tahoe City were well attended and also a booming success.
Enjoy your day.
Andy Wertheim