Day Hikes -part 2

Last week I went to the OCTA convention in South Lake Tahoe.  On Thursday Calvin rode his bike to South Tahoe from Reno to meet me after classes were over. After he had recovered from his ride a bit and I had finished my last class we did a little exploring around the South Shore.  We have been to Lake Tahoe many times in the past 30 years, but we hardly ever get as far as the south shore.  We checked out Taylor Creek to see if the salmon were spawning, but we were too early in the season. Then we headed toward Emerald Bay looking for a short hike.  We found a trail to Cascade Falls, which in September in a drought year is not a very impressive display of falling water.  The interesting thing is that Cascade Falls falls into Cascade Lake, a lake just across the highway from Lake Tahoe.  It has been privately held in the past, and might still be because the only thing I found about it was an article from an owner written in 1973. Anyway here we are admiring ourselves and you can see the two lakes just behind us.

We spent the night at South Tahoe and then Friday we took a drive looking for fall colors. Fall colors are a little disappointing this year. Most of the aspens seem to be so drought stressed that the leaves have dried up and fallen off long before they changed color.  We wandered a seemingly random road until it became clear that we were checking it for suitability as a bike road, beware Jay, Calvin is planning ahead for next summer.  

Eventually we made our way to the top of Ebbetts Pass where we found a trail head  for the Pacific Crest Trail or the PCT.  And here is clear evidence that I have hiked the PCT.

In my mind we hiked south along the Pacific Crest trail for a short way, but Calvin assures me that we were hiking north. In case there is any doubt, I do not have the best sense of direction, but we were on the trail and it was lovely.

And just in case you can't see the marker behind Calvin

It was a beautiful fall day, we had the trail mostly to ourselves, through wonderful pine forests and Calvin had treats in his pockets.  All hiking should be like this. Here is my favorite shot of Calvin standing on top of the world.