Snowshoeing Snoqualmie Pass

With my recent move to the Pacific Northwest I decided to try something new when a friend invited me to go snowshoeing I couldn't resist. 

We drove from downtown Seattle to Snoqualmie Pass and set out on our adventure. 

Snowshoeing proved to be a great workout that was very enjoyable. 

We walked quietly in the woods exploring the Pacific Northwest. 

Snowshoeing is a fun way to get in shape and explore the great outdoors. 

Cross Country Skiing

With fresh snow falling and nothing to do I shuffled through my parents cross country ski gear and found some boots and skis. 



Having never tempted to cross country ski before I was feeling very awkward and vulnerable as I set out on the trail shuffling my skis through the snow. 

Luckily I ran into a man within the first minute of setting out on the Algonquin Cross Country Ski Trail. I stopped him to ask, "Hey I've never done this before, what's the technique?" The nice man looked at my skis and informed me they were skate skis and you use them just like you use hockey skates and glide with them. 

After awkwardly demonstrating my gliding technique he told me he worked for the local paper and if only he had his phone on him he would take a picture of me for the newspaper. Cross country skiing proved fun and it was nice to get out of my parents house and do something new. 

Deer Season

Whitetail deer hunting is a right of passage. Shooting that first buck turns a boy into a man, or in my case a girl into a woman. 

Choosing a 300 Win Magnum Rifle out of my dad's over-stocked gun collection and driving out to one of our hunting blinds was the easy part. 

Waiting in the cold snowy weather in a four by six foot hunting blind I found myself looking out the window waiting for a buck. 

...and waiting

...and waiting

With my sight zoomed in on a fawn I patiently waited for a buck to appear, but no such luck. That's the tricky part about hunting sometimes that once in a lifetime buck never appears. Luckily for me muzzle loading season starts in a week. Wish me luck!

Kayaking Sand Harbor

Fall is an excellent time to spend kayaking in Lake Tahoe. The tourists have all gone away, IVGID has stopped charging a 10 dollar beach fee, and the weather is still great. 

The most unique part of Lake Tahoe to me are the rocks that dot the shoreline, and the formations they make above and underneath the water. 

The clarity is unreal and depths reach over twenty feet in areas close to the shoreline. Crystal clear blue water and crystal clear blue skys make Tahoe as beautiful as the Caribbean. 

This rock is named bonsai, because it appears to have a bonsai tree growing on its side. The water was so still that I took the most miraculous mirror image shot of bonsai rock, a locals hot spot to jump off in the summertime. 

Just located off of U.S. 28 Sand Harbor was a great place to put our kayaks in the water. In the summertime this beach is one of the most popular places in Lake Tahoe. In the fall we found we were the only ones in the entire park. 

Alex and I continued on our adventure and paddled towards the Thunderbird Lodge. We found a secret beach where I accidentally flipped out of my kayak attempting to get out without getting my Nike's wet. Oops. 

North Lake Tahoe is truly the most beautiful place I have ever been to, especially at lake level on a calm glass watered day. 

Mountain Biking the Tahoe Rim Trail

     

    You know a trail is special when it is only open to mountain bikers on even numbered days. Today, being October 4th I found the trail open and found a friend down to ride it with me. 

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      Encircling Lake Tahoe the Tahoe Rim Trail is 165-miles long and over 80 miles of it is open to mountain bikers. The ride I chose to do today, with friends Nick and Andy, started off of Mt. Rose Highway at the Meadows and ended on Highway 28 in Incline Village by the Ponderosa Ranch. When you see a sign for the Tahoe Rim Trail you've found the trail head. 

     The ride we chose was 10.3 miles from point A to point B, but there are a lot of alterations you can do on the Rim Trail. Some ride from the Meadows and then turn left onto the Flume Trail, which has more breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe. We turned right and took Tunnel Creek road, a steep sand filled three-mile section with beautiful lake views back to where we had left my car. Most mountain bikers using this trail will leave one car parked at Ponderosa Ranch on Hwy 28 and carpool with bikes in another car to the start of the trail head, to avoid biking back up the very steep Mt. Rose Highway. 

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     Another pointer we used was following little blue signs that were labeled with TRT (Tahoe Rim Trail) sporadically located along the trail. There were a few moments when we thought we might be lost, but looked for one of those signs and realized we were fine. 

     Nick, who has been biking the longest, went first down the trail to avoid getting caught up behind myself who would just stop randomly at times and walk my bike down too technical of rock drops. He going a bit too fast around a blind corner launched himself down this staircase. I saw the first rock drop and jumped off my bike and laughed as I realized how badly that could have been if I hadn't stopped in time. 

    The ride was super fun. It really is a trail that experts like Nick can do with a friend who is just a novice. It is also a trail that dogs can tag along on.  Andy's dog Rex came with us and had a blast running and rock jumping. I highly recommend doing this one of a kind mountain bike ride. 

Click here to see the Village Ski Loft's stat's on the trail, and feel free to do a little shopping! They are the best bike shop around the lake!

National Geographic is even talking about the Rim Trail!

Click here for a trail map

An Outdoor Enthusiast's Adventure Manual

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The Championship Golf Course

    

      The Championship Golf Course, located in beautiful Lake Tahoe, is one of the best places for golf. With surreal views of one of the bluest alpine lakes in California, there is no other place to go when visiting North Lake Tahoe. 

In the past two summers that I have golfed at the Championship Golf Course I have learned more about the game of golf than I have in the past ten years.

     Each time I have gone to the driving range to practice my golf swing, without fail, at least one golfer will walk over and tell me what I am doing wrong and give me advice on how to fix it. I have never been surrounded by nicer, friendlier, or more fun loving people in my entire life. 

     The Championship Golf Course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. has been named by Golfweek Magazine as the #6 Best Course to play in Nevada. With spectacular views of the lake and flawless green fairways fit with mountain streams and challenging sand traps it really is a must see. 

     The infamous hole 7 has a spectacular view of the lake and is one of the more challenging holes with a long dog leg curve to the right too challenging to hit the green with a driver off the tee box. Most will lay up and hit an easy chip shot onto the green and putt it in for birdie, well thats the idea I guess. If golf were that easy, no one would actually play. 

     

     All of the golf carts are equipped with state of the art GPS systems that are linked to GPS sensors in each flag stick, which means each inch you move forward a different yardage shows on your screen. There are even yardages to hazards and coordinates to the front of the green as well as to the back. As long as you have a golf cart you won't need a range finder. 

   

       One of the golf carts was even turned into a corvette to allow the rangers to get some sun. The Championship Golf Course located in beautiful Incline Village really is a must see! If you are into golf I highly recommend coming and spending a warm sunny afternoon playing our challenging course, and if your lucky you might just see some bears or coyotes lurking around. 

Click here to book a tee time!

     

     

Paddle Boarding

    

      

     Stand up paddle boarding is a great way to soak up the sun and explore the lake in ways unseen by most. For graduation my dad surprised me with a much wanted paddle board. I couldn't believe it! After three years of being envious of every one on the lake with one, I finally had my own. 

      One of my favorite spots to check out so far have been the rocks surrounding Hidden Beach along the east shore of Tahoe. On my adventure yesterday I was peacefully paddling along looking down into the clear depths and looking at all the different formations of rocks when all of a sudden I heard a man yell, "Is that thing hard to do?!" 

     I looked up and noticed that the man speaking to me was head-to-toe naked. After soaking up too much male anatomy I quickly and friendly replied, "Yes! They are peaceful and fun to use, you should try it!" Then hurried away. 

     Paddle boarding is a great way to explore the lake in a peaceful, relaxing manner. I highly recommend renting one at one of the  many great spots around the lake, or being spontaneous and buying one for yourself!