Going To Tahoe!

On September 12, Tam and I are headed to Tahoe! We've been trying to get up there all summer long, ever since we moved to California, actually. I am craving some higher elevation!!! Living at sea level has been pretty boring for me. The weather never changes, really. Its always somewhere between 65 and 80 degrees, and sunny or foggy. It hasn't rained since we moved here, unless you count fog so thick you can feel it and it covers the pavement with moisture. I miss the mountains a lot. If you look at the left side of the picture here toward the bottom of that big rock cliff you'll see a trail with a biker coming around the corner. That is the famous Flume Trail, and that biker is going to be me, and maybe even Tamara! This trail starts at about 7500 feet above sea level, slowly climbs to just over 8000, and then you've got a ten-mile dive back down to the lake, which sits just above 6000 feet, and I managed to get a "maybe" out of Tamara when I asked if she'd be interested in renting a bike and joining me for this ride. We'll have to rent a bike and take a shuttle to the trailhead (the other option being a 30-mile, 2000 foot climbing ride which if she survived she would never want to ride anything ever ever again). I'm actually very excited to see how she likes it and if its something she'd be interested in taking up and coming with me on my incredibly exciting adventures.

Anyway, we're camping for our trip on the west shore, which is quieter and less developed. The south shore is where all of the stateline casinos are, and subsequently, all of the people tend to end up there. We won't go down that way except to pass through on our way to the Flume Trail, which is on the east shore. The east shore is a lot more rugged, as the land somes straight up out of the water to the awesome trails that run on the rim high above the lake (like the Flume Trail). There are a couple of ski resorts up that way, and a few more on the south shore. We might head up that way too and see if there is some good lift-assisted mountain bike riding. In the end, of course, we intend to enjoy a few quiet hours in the sun and sand at the edge of one of the clearest crystal-blue water lakes in the world.