Marion's Blog

Snowshoeing at Northstar at Tahoe

My nephew and his room mate are staying with us while they ski this week. Up until yesterday they were catching a bus at the Peppermill to take them to the ski resorts. Yesterday I drove them to Northstar at Tahoe and I went snowshoeing while they skied. It was a beautiful warm day and there was still lots of snow. The lady at the snowshoeing and cross country skiing lodge took this picture before I started out.

 

Northstar charges $25 for a snowshoeing day pass. I think that is probably why I saw very few people all day. After all, you can snowshoe free lots of places so why pay.

I made a five mile loop. Many of the trails had no footprints to follow so I was following the little yellow snowshoe markers and the pink flags. There were lots of them so it was easy to find the trail by standing at a marker and looking for the next one.It was fun too.

 

There are two warming huts on the trails. I didn't stop at the caboose hut.

But I did stop for lunch on a bench outside the Swiss Hut with a fantastic view of Truckee meadows. After lunch I read my Kindle for a while with the Sun warming my back. Such decadence!

If you would like to see all of my pictures for yesterday they are on Flickr here.

Snowshoeing Donner Camp Historic Site

Today we went snowshoeing with the group from Sierra Canyon. There were only six of us. We had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day. 

There was about two feet of new snow and as we finished up it started snowing again. Duke brought some of the home made cookies he made Saturday to share.

We parked at the Donner Camp State Historic site which is just 2.9 miles north of interstate 80 on highway 89. This is where part of the Donner party camped and died.

We were on established trails about half the time and we were breaking trail in deep new snow the rest of the time. About a half a mile from the road it started snowing lightly. It was like a picture postcard of winter. If you would like to see all of my pictures from today they are available on Flickr here.

Snowshoeing to Matrimony Ridge

Last Monday Duke and I went with the Sierra Canyon Hiking and snowshoeing group to Matrimony ridge. It was a beautiful day and a great hike. You can see the pictures on Flickr here.

Snowshoeing at Donner Summit

Duke and I went snowshoeing with the Sierra Canyon hiking and snowshoeing group today. We parked at the snow-park at Donner pass off of Interstate 80 and hiked along the Pacific Crest Trail over towards highway 40.  It was a beautiful cold day. Most of the snow around here in Reno has melted but up at Donner Summit where we were snowshoeing there was still lots of snow. There were 14 people in the group so we got to see a lot of friends and meet a few new people. It was so good to be out. I am including a few of my pictures below. You can see the rest on Flickr here.

Below is a picture of me on the lake where we stopped for lunch.

Here you can see the whole group crossing a lake on the way back.

Snowshoeing at Tahoe Meadows

Duke and I and our friend Bonnie went snowshoeing at Tahoe Meadows yesterday. We were only out for about an hour and a half because we had stuff to do in the afternoon. But it was wonderful. The snow and the trees and the mountains were so beautiful. If you would like to see my pictures you can see them here.

I love that we can be go out snowshoeing and be home by noon!

First Snowshoeing of the season

Duke and I went out with the Sierra Canyon Hiking Group today for our first snowshoeing trip of the season. We went to Tahoe Meadows. It was sunny and warm and we had a wonderful time. There was only about 8 inches of snow but the ground was well covered. The views of Lake Tahoe and the mountains were breathtaking. The lake looked like it was frozen there were swirls of fog that looked like blowing snow on ice but Lake Tahoe never freezes. I don't know when we will get to snowshoe again. the weather is supposed to be quite warm for the next several days and there is no more snow predicted. If you would like to see all of my pictures of the hike you can see them on Flickr here.

Sierra Canyon snowshoeing hike to Andesite Peak

Duke and I live in an over 55 community in Reno, Nevada called Sierra Canyon. A lot of people in our community love to hike , ski, and snowshoe. Many of the skiers have skied 50 or more days this year. Although I don't ski I learned to snowshoe and I love it.

Monday was our last snowshoeing hike of the year. We went to the same place that we went on New Year's Eve last year - Andesite Peak. The snow was a bit slushy but there was still lots of it. The hike starts just across from Boreal Ski Resort (Boreal is now closed for the season) at the summit of Donner Pass off of interstate 80.

Last time there were no rocks to be seen on top but this time we could see the sign at the top.

The wind was blowing at the top but the views are breathtaking.

We had a  lunch this time on an exposed log.

Next Monday we are going to the American River canyon, at least 6000 feet lower elevation.

If you would like to see all of my pictures from the Andesite Peak hike you can see them here.

Sierra Canyon Snow Shoe Hike to Eagle Lakes

Yesterday seven of us (Walt and six ladies) from the Sierra Canyon hiking and snowshoeing group did a snowshoe hike to Eagle Lakes. Round trip distance for the hike was just under five miles. The trail head was just off Interstate 80  west of Truckee, California at exit 164, Eagle Lakes Road. The elevation was around 5400 so much of the snow was melting and there was a lot of running water. A few times we were walking on dirt and fording creeks. Although we have had a lot of very windy days lately we were lucky to get a really nice day. The trail had some ups and downs. It was a good work out and a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures. If you would like to see the rest you can see them on Flickr here.

 

As you can see we had to cross water several times.

This is one of the Eagle Lakes. You can see that he ice is starting to break up.

Here is our lunch stop overlooking the lake

Sierra Canyon Snow Shoeing trip to Donner Pass Lakes

Last week's Sierra Canyon snowshoe hike was a killer. So this past Monday we did a much easier snowshoe hike. Twelve of us went to the Donner Pass Lakes (Azalea, Flora and Angle lakes).
The whole trip was a little over 4 miles starting from Donner Summit Sno-Pak.

The sun was shining and the snow was crunchy and sparkling. It was a great trip.

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures form the hike you can see them on Flickr here.

Sierra Canyon Snow Shoeing

Last Monday six of us from the Sierra Canyon Snowshoeing group tried to go to Galena Falls from Mt Rose Trail head. As you can see in the pictures there was a lot of snow.  There was also no trail to follow so we could not find Galena Falls. It was one of the hardest trips we have done because we were walking across very steep slopes which meant we all fell multiple times. My ankles were getting a work out too. In spite of the hard work it was a beautiful day. Being outside in such beautiful country is good for my soul.

If you would like to see all of my pictures form the hike you can see them on Flickr here.

 

You can just barely see the roof of the restroom building in these pictures.

Here you can see Lake Tahoe in the background.

And here is a shot of Mount Rose.

When we decided to turn back we sat down on the side on the hill and had lunch first.