Hello friends,
It is warm in Tahoe this weekend. 90 degrees are predicted for Truckee today. The sky is clear, with the exception of a few clouds this afternoon. Winds are minimal, so the lake is fairly flat. The Truckee River is flowing nicely which will make a ride down to Alpine Meadows from Tahoe City a pleasant way to spend a weekend afternoon. There is a big event in Squaw Valley for yoga enthusiasts. Wanderlust is in full swing with classes, music, and vendor stalls. Flowers are still blooming in the higher elevations. There are plenty of people in the area, so time your trips into Tahoe City before and after high traffic periods (earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon).
I just returned from a week trip down the Colorado River through the Upper portion of the Grand Canyon. If you are looking for a way to remove yourself from the everyday world that we all live in, then consider a rafting trip down this incredibly scenic river.
Our trip was with Canyon Explorations, a commercial tour operator that has been in business for many years. The week varied from rafting quiet slow moving water set between high colorful canyon walls as old as 1.8 billion years, to bouncing through wild rapids that splash cold water onto warm skin, and hiking into narrow canyons where the wonderful sounds of a Canyon Wren can be heard. We lucked out with the weather which varied from a hot clear day to cooler days with overcast skies. The sounds of thunder that were rarely followed by significant rain echoed up and down the canyon in the afternoon. The attached cloud cover helped cool down the atmosphere. This is a trip through time filled with history, geology, and wild stories about river runners from the past. If you have the opportunity to make this trip, do not think twice.
We ended at Phantom Ranch and hiked out the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Lucky for us the air was not too hot as cloud cover filled the sky in the early afternoon. The hike is about 8 miles long and gains about 4500 feet in elevation. This is a famous trail that is on many bucket lists, so the grunt with out gear from the week on the river was worth it. However, if I had the time and knew better, I would have signed up for the entire trip down river which lasts from 13 to 16 days and offers an easy out at the end. I do not know about other tour operators, but I can highly recommend the Canyon Exploration Company. Everything was perfectly organized and the guides were just outstanding in every way.
Enjoy your day,
Andy Wertheim