Trek (and Ice) On

The weekend offered up a late Spring trek along the east rim of Lake Tahoe. The plan was to meet with other hikers at the Spooner Summit trail head. It was a late arrival and I had just missed the pack so I embarked on my own, figuring I would catch up with them later. I soon did and we continued onward north following the Tahoe Rim Trail.

The route took us in and out of forest canopy, principally of old Jeffrey pines, which kept us cool from the noon heat. As we steadily ascended, the canopy became more sparse and of course the air became naturally cooler. Six miles out we reached our objective, Snow Valley Peak standing at 9,214 ft. What an honor for a peak to be named such within the Snowy Range? Just sayin'. Although it barely got by with living up to its name, as there were only a few patches of snow still remaining above 9,000 ft.

The group planned to stop and rest, enjoy the view, and then head back down to the trail head. But it was still on the noon hour and I wasn't ready to call it a day just yet. Memory reminded me that the trail head map showed the trail continued onward north to Marlette Peak; not to mention the peak was in plain sight and staring right at me as it towered above Marlette Lake. So we exchanged goodbyes, I parted from the group, and decided to head towards the new objective.

With a few detours and random wanderings, it totaled about four miles down and up to Marlette Peak along a sandy trail that skirted via the southwest, with largely open and rocky terrain above 8,000 ft. An oasis of shade was found under an isolated grove of pines so I sat down and indulged in a sandwich while being entertained by a lone mule doe frolicking in the open brush 150 meters below.

When it was time to head out I decided to descend a mile into the Marlette Lake basin, skirt the east side of the lake, and lead directly south along a mountain bike path for another five miles down to Spooner Lake. Along with being passed by a few riders on the trail, the unique calls of a Northern Goshawk were heeded, a rare hawk species that utilizes the Marlette and Spooner basins as prime habitat. When I finally reached Spooner Lake, another mule deer was spotted as it sprinted through a lush aspen grove along the shoreline, startled by my presence.

Some exploring around Spooner Lake was had for a bit and I then headed back up to Spooner summit for another one and a half miles. Seven hours and 18 miles later it was back at the point of origin. As I drove home past Sand Harbor and spotted people on the beach and in the water, I thought to myself how enticing that sounded at the moment. So I pulled over, checked the trunk, and realized that a sin was nearly committed by failing to have an extra pair of swim trunks in the car. Note to self. Lesson learned.

I stopped and grabbed a glass of some savory lager and said hello to a friend at a restaurant on the north shore. As soon as I arrived home, pants turned into trunks and the new objective was to head five minutes away to Donner Lake. A jump in its cool waters followed and I swam out for some time and enjoyed the relaxation as others lounged on the docks and the sun ended its tenure for the day. It was like a natural ice bath and damn it felt good.

Late that night, as I awoke to the inflammation in the legs from trekking just hours prior, realization hit that perhaps I should've popped an ibuprofen during dinner. So I proceeded to take one more bath. With a half tube of Icy Hot. It did the job, sleep was regained, and now there exists a new aroma in the house to savor for a day or two.

"After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value." - George Macauley Trevelyan (British historian)