Sunday, July 19, 2009

Tahoe Rim Trail Hike - Day 2


The second day of our hike featured a climb through some beautiful country towards Snow Valley Peak. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this rolling countryside and the opportunities for solitude that it offered. As we ascended into the alpine areas around Snow Valley Peak the views got better and better. Along the way we encountered some pretty large snow patches, which caused Chester to just go beserk. He really is a snow-loving dog! We spent lunch below the peak taking in the wonderful views of the lake and tending to our blisters (except me because I didn't have any at this point). Colleen had an amazing amount of energy and decided to go run up the peak while we had lunch.

Snow Valley Peak itself is a great destination for a day hike. It is fairly similar to Mt. Rose in length and difficulty (I think a little longer but not quite as steep). I had been up here a few years earlier with Scotty Strachan and enjoyed the hike to the top. As we approached the trailhead at Highway 50 at Spooner Summit the number of hikers increased dramatically and we encountered the first and only equestrian parties on the trail. The horses got Chester worked up a bit, but not too bad. I don't think he had ever seen a horse up that close before and didn't know what to make of it. He didn't bark or growl at them, but I did have to pull him out the way quickly.

I'd say that everybody was pretty relieved when we got to Spooner Lake. The first thing we did was hit up the ice cream at the bike rental shack. We then proceeded to fill up our water bottles, cook dinner, and go for a swim in Spooner Lake, which is not something that I'd recommend unless you are covered in a couple of layers of trail grime. Then, by all means, go ahead and jump in, it feels good. The only problem that I can see with Spooner Lake is that it is the only water supply for 10 to 15 miles in each direction along the TRT. That means that all thru-hikers need to drop down to get water, but there is no camping allowed at Spooner Lake. A hike back up to the TRT at night is not something that most exhausted TRT hikers want to do. I'd hope that the State Parks System might consider building a small hike-in campground. That would go a long way toward giving hikers a place to rest their heads and re-energize for the next morning's hike.

Photo - Carl and Holly enjoying lunch in the alpine near Snow Valley Peak
Information about Lake Tahoe State Park (Nevada) - http://parks.nv.gov/lt.htm

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