Shirley Canyon, Tues, 8/19/25

Last June when Jimmy and I were at Olympic Village, I picked up a brochure and information on taking the aerial tram to High Camp, and -- woohoo! -- learned that the cost to ride the tram up was much less on Tuesdays. Waiting for a cloudless day, as in no forecast thunderstorms, we picked today. That meant we had to "call in sick" to Interfaith Food Ministries where we volunteer-work restocking on Tuesday mornings. Just kidding. I said, "We'll see you next week." No problem.

Truly, we chose a gorgeous day at Palisades Tahoe (Olympic Village, Squaw Valley, pick one). Even better, when we stood at the window to buy our tickets, saying, "Two old people to ride up to High Camp," the lady smiled and asked, "How old?"  "Over 80," I announced, producing driver's licenses.  "Okay, you two ride for free!"  Not just on Tuesdays, oh no, any ol' time we want, every day of the week if we wanted!  Because we're over 80 -- hey, finally a perk for being as old as dirt!

We started somewhere between 10:30 and 11 am at Base Camp, elevation 6,200'.  Each tram can hold 100 people, but we had maybe ten in our tram.  (Yikes, I wouldn't want to be crammed in with 100 others!)  It's quite a smooth ride, takes about eight-and-a-half minutes, and the views are Wowzers!

Closing in on High Camp at 8,200'.

At the top, we didn't have a particular trail we wanted to tackle, so we began on the Solitude Trail, but scampered up a slope to access Shirley Canyon Trail.  Five years ago, we hiked a good part of this trail from its trailhead to a sign that indicated we should quit!  Click here to read that post.  Shirley Lake is located along this trail, but we didn't make it to the lake then and we didn't quite get there today!

Yes, the air is thinner at this altitude, but the beauty of the Sierras would keep anyone going!  Shirley Canyon was mostly a single-track trail, as you see above, some relatively flat, and some (ugh) fairly steep.

This man is no fool!

Fireweed display.

Top to bottom, left:  Explorer's Genetian, Scarlet Paintbrush, Woolly Mules Ears. Right:  Oregon Whitetop Aster with Big Ol' Buzzy Bee, Bitter Cherry berries, and pretty California Blushing Monkeyflower.  A few of these I'd never seen before, but everywhere we looked, the wildflower show was unbeatable.

I included this pic to show you a few spots of SNOW!  Look closely, beyond the beautiful meadow with its golden Rabbitbrush and spent Corn Lilies, you'll see three leftover piles of snow.  No, we didn't carve a trail up to touch the snow; we'll be touching the stuff soon enough in our own yard.

Here we spied two Buckwheats together:   Bear Valley and Sulphur.

Again, look closely or you might miss Jimmy in his red shirt all but hidden in the trees.  Fragrant firs, spruces and some amazing, venerable Jeffrey pines cling to these mountains.  

Rocks line a seasonal watercourse, dry today, leading to a ditch behind where I'm standing.  Kinda interesting design, catches your eye.

Clockwise from top left:  Explorer's Genetian, Oregon Whitetop Aster, a mess o' flowers, and Rockfringe.  We were treated to a veritable alpine wildflower garden today though it's past mid-August.  It's a short flowering season at this elevation, but they get a late start, too -- think:  deep snow.  

We saw Shirley Lake, above, but we didn't hike over another stretch of boulders to get down to it.  In other words, we didn't stick our fingers in it to test whether it's cold.  You'd be surprised (maybe) at how much energy it takes to clamber down steep terrain, especially knowing you have to climb up the same on the return.  For some reason (?) we only had two water bottles and one Body Armour drink and that wasn't enough to see us through, so we turned around at this point.  We'd drained every drop by the time we returned to High Camp, where we refilled both bottles and drank our fill right away.

Still, this was a great hike on a perfect day, and we enjoyed every minute.  The elevation gain/loss was 500'-600' and we put 3.5 miles in.  Not bad for over 80 and over 8,000 feet!

On Tuesdays there's free roller skating at this 8,200 ft high rink (nope, we didn't).  Since the tram runs all year, I bet it changes to ice skating come wintertime.  What do you think, Nannie?  Want to?  Notice the Olympic rings?  The 1960 Winter Olympics were held here.

Turnabout is fair play, they say.  So, when they ask if we'll take their picture, we respond in kind.  Here we are on the High Camp deck after our hike.  Nice breeze, too.  True blue Lake Tahoe can be seen in the small space between me and Jimmy.  Aren't we lucky to live where we can play in the mountains?

June wrap-up, 2025

It's been a few years since we pedaled the Squaw Valley Bike Path.  Wednesday, the 25th, we brought the bikes up to the high country.  After parking at the junction of Hwy 89 and Squaw Valley Rd (our usual spot up in these parts), we covered both sides of the magnificent valley you see below, ending at Olympic Village.  Certainly, this is one of the most beautiful alpine valleys in the Sierras.

Your eyes are naturally drawn to the lush meadow in the foreground, surrounded by those majestic peaks.  We were thrilled to see patches of snow at higher elevations.  Isn't this a spectacular sight?

Lots going on at the Village.  A shindig of sorts was in full progress outdoors, with vendors and booths, speakers and sign-up sheets.  This weekend is the Western States Endurance Run, the world's oldest 100-mile trail race, which takes place annually the last full weekend in June.  It begins here in Olympic Village (through the Sierra Nevada Mtns) and ends in Auburn, California.  All I can say is "more power to them."  Running 100 miles -- whew!  I can't imagine ... I don't even like to drive 100 miles!

See the yellow x in the photo above?  Right above that x is the aerial tram heading up to High Camp at 8200'.  Can you spot it?  Enlarge the pic.

We backtracked, crossed Hwy 89 and commenced riding the Truckee River Bike Trail, a ride we always enjoy, even if it is very popular (think: crowded).  It appears the river's water level is high, no doubt due to snow melt.  It's still early in the season.

And, yes, because it's early summer, that water has to be COLD, yet we saw several rafts floating downstream with the current.  Wild Roses bloomed along the entire trail (above), lending a pleasantly sweet scent overall.

Lots of other wildflowers adorned the trail:  Top left, wrapping around:  Blue Flax, Brewer's Lupine, Penstamon, Buckwheat, and Scarlet Gilia.

Never saw this before.  As we neared the dam between Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River, three long black tubes shot water into the river, while the filled white bags held it back.  Hmmmm, not sure why, unless it's to concentrate the water for river rafting?

Here's the other end of the black tubes, with water coming straight off the lake/dam (spillway).  Interesting.  We spied several whopper-sized fish, probably rainbow trout, swimming in the shallows.

Summer snow!  The Cottonwoods were filling the air with billions of white "cotton" seed fluff.  You didn't dare look up with your mouth open!

Mama Merganser had claimed a rock in the middle of the shallows near the bridge shadow, with junior resting beside her.  Cottonwood snow was everywhere!

Lake Tahoe was placid today and the usual eye-catching blue!  But you know this lake (any lake) can turn violent in a sudden T-storm, as evidenced here last week.

I hadn't seen a Western Tanager in a long time.

Happy to see this guy!

Looking north from the bridge near the car.  We only put in 20 miles today, which was just what we wanted.  Besides, we broke up the riding by stopping in Olympic Village and the dam, and then we parked 'em and sat on a picnic table at lake's edge, simply enjoying the shade and being present. 

* * * * *

A few days before our bike ride, we pointed the Subaru in the other direction and drove down to Davis, CA, to visit my cousin, Judy.  She's moving away and we wanted to visit before she left.  Lunch was at a restaurant near the railroad tracks and -- lucky us -- two Amtrak trains zipped in, stopped briefly and were on their way again.  Next, Judy drove us to the historic UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.  It was a "bit warm" to be walking, but we managed.  Even better was walking along 640-acre Putah Creek Riparian Reserve beneath the cooling Redwood trees.

Here we are, with Putah Creek behind us,

and resting in the shade.

I looked up the translation:  The Forest Gnome's Birthday Party

She brought along this copy of a children's book written/illustrated by Sigrid Nyqvist in 1929 (but not published till 1983 by her daughter, Brita).  Sigrid Nyqvist would be our grandfather's sister (our great-aunt).  Gosh, almost a hundred years ago.  (Judy's Mom bought this book online before she passed away.)  Written but not published for over 50 years.  Wowzers, there's hope, then, for me to publish my own children's picture books!  Thanks, Judy, for the visit and bringing this special little book.

So, that's our month.  Plenty of other things, like visits to Matt and Jen and Evie, here and at their place, neighborhood walks, a Hand and Foot game, doctors' appts (ho-hum) etc.  I will say that this has been a truly nice June, weather-wise, and we're most appreciative.  Sizzling summer is on its way, we know, but so far we've been spared.

What's in a name? Monday, 6/20/22

 

Okay, we all know the weather these days is weird.  Too hot, too wet, too cold, too dry, everywhere.  Climate change is altering the world's weather patterns.  A few days ago, we had to turn on our furnace; one last blast of cool before summer's heat descends.  We knew today was forecast to be warm, so Jimmy and I elected to head for the high country again, with our E-bikes, of course.  It's always cooler at 6,000' than at 3,000'.  We fancied an easy ride while up there, and maybe a nice lunch thrown in at Resort at Squaw Creek (we had a freebie card).

We dilly-dallied and didn't get an early start.  Three phases of road construction put us back even further, but we had all day.  Strange, tho, that gray clouds hovered over the higher elevation.  We weren't prepared for that!

We'd been here before for lunch and enjoyed sitting on the terrace overlooking the pools, with snow-capped mtns for a backdrop.  See how gray the clouds are between the trees?  Sunshine disappeared.  As we ate, we grew chilly.  And then downright cold.  I checked the weather app:  55 degrees.  

He looks happy.

Me, too.

After eating a great lunch, we rode back to the car where we store an extra shirt each.  Once we put them on, we warmed up.  As we rode closer to Lake Tahoe, the sun peeked in and out and the day felt warmer.  

This cute li'l Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel,

aka rodent, was busy running the trail!

This valley is so beautiful.  It just is.

Tree swallows.

The ski lifts above the valley sit silent now,

waiting for next winter.

Olympic village.  Squaw Valley.  No more.  Now called Palisades Tahoe.  The history, according to what I've read is this:  "Native American Washoe people used the valley as a summer tribal ground before the 1849 California Gold Rush. When westward-bound travelers first encountered the valley, they saw only women and children as most of the men were away hunting, and so called it Squaw Valley."  The word "squaw" is offensive, though to many it was just a name.  What's in a name?  The area became famous with the 1960 Winter Olympics and is known globally as Squaw Valley.  Personally I think Olympic Valley would have been a better choice than "Palisades Tahoe."

After riding around the village and valley, we took off on the Truckee River Trail, a 10.6 mile out and back paved path beside the river.  The river is chugging along.  Good for rafters.  Maybe we'll rent a raft this summer and join the folks cruising down the river.

The sun made an appearance and turned everything bright and pretty.  We really like riding on this trail.  There's always a fair amount of bike travel, too.

I didn't stop to take pics of all the wildflowers I spotted -- I saw so many!  Lupines and Blue Flax and colorful yellows and whites and pinks, late spring-early summer bloomers.  Only one lone Snow Plant was left as it's past the season for them, and one Spotted Coralroot Orchid, right, nearby.

A couple of kayakers in the distance, enjoying time on the water.

By the time we got to Tahoe City, it was 4:30pm, which kinda surprised us.  We decided to head back to the car.  What surprised us even more was seeing an "aid station," below.

We got off our bikes.  I had to ask.  "Is this a 200-mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe?" I asked.  "No, this is a 200-mile RUN around Lake Tahoe."  Good grief.  As you see, the station above was at mile 169.5 and we saw several people walk in and sit -- to have their feet taped and bandaged.  Burgers were served and I'm sure other foods and drinks.  Can you imagine running 200 miles in a set amount of time?  100-hour cutoff.  Talk about endurance.  Jimmy and I shook our heads and hopped on our bikes, glad it wasn't us limping in for tape and bandaids.  Wow.

(The Tahoe 200 is the first and only 200 mile single loop mountain trail race in the US. The event has 40,200+ feet of ascent/descent!  This incredible route circumnavigates the sparkling, clear blue waters of Lake Tahoe from the Tahoe Rim Trail.)

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice.  Happy summer to everyone!

Shirley Canyon, Thurs, 6/18/20

We're always on the lookout for information on new hiking places.  Our friend, Terry, knows we like to be Out and About, and she gave us a magazine section showing "hikes with waterfalls."  Terrific -- we're especially fond of being near water!  One of them -- the hike we did today -- is near Olympic Valley, a spot we've frequented in the past. Again, we didn't know what to expect, although we read that it was "difficult."  The beauty of trails like these is the options:  You can go and do as much or as little as you want.  Initially we didn't know if we wanted to hike to Shirley Lake or to High Camp (doubtful), but the answer became abundantly clear at a certain point.

Our starting elevation was about 6200'.  Above, you see one of the towers (Red X) for the aerial tram from Olympic Valley to High Camp (8200').  If you made the hike all the way to High Camp, you could take the tram back to the valley (free on the downhill only).

The temp at home would be in the warm mid-80's, but here the snow-melt creek helped keep the day cooler.  I think it was only 70ish.  Clear, true-blue sky, fresh air ... who could ask for more?  For us, following rowdy Squaw Creek as it sprinted downhill made our Shirley Canyon Trail hike picturesque to the nth degree!

As soon as we set off on the trail, we began scrambling up rocks and boulders.  And the trail alternated between tough boulder climbing and welome shade from tall trees, with a comfy pine straw carpet beneath.  I didn't expect much foot traffic, so I was taken aback by the number of people, including children, attempting this climb.  OK, I said to myself, if they can do it, so can we.  But kids are more resilient than we older dudes.  If they fall, they probably wouldn't break a hip.

Lots of dogs, too.  This one couldn't wait to jump in the water, with that long stick in its beak.  Please don't stand next to me when you get out and shake off! 😉

Based on the number of cascades we passed, we weren't sure if "this" was the waterfall described in the magazine.  Never mind!  Isn't this a lovely sight (Jimmy, too!).  We could hear the splashing water 95% of our time on the trail. 

Oh my!

We kept climbing, but appreciated flat/ish sections where the shade was.  So many pretty waterfalls.  Betcha there's trout in this creek!  Near this spot we saw two grouse, but they didn't want to pose for a picture.

Much of the trail was like this!

At roughly a mile-and-a-half, we came upon these large flat granite slabs, with incredible 360° views.  The 1960 Winter Olympics were held just over the ridge, to the left, out of this picture.

This amazing cascade surely was the featured Shirley Canyon waterfalls!  It went down and down and down.  Photos above and below.  Look at the colors on the watercourse.

We sat in the shade of a tall tree to eat our lunch ... inches away from the water descending the granite slope.  Very enjoyable sitting there.  So much lush greenery, wildflowers, too.  It was wonderful. 

We climbed some more, saw another aerial tower, and then we spied the High Camp tram station (Red X, above).  Looks a lot nearer than my header photo of a tower.  Yup, that's snow up there.  Luckily we didn't have to traipse through snow today!

Aha!  Here's where we turned around, thanks for the sign.  We'd had enough climbing for the day, and we still had the downhill to tackle.  Our legs were tired, so the decision was made.  We were two-thirds the way to Shirley Lake (you can see the graph in the sign).  Next time, we'll get an earlier start and hike to the lake.  We put four miles on our feet today, and had a ton o' fun.

The sign in the photo above this one?

Here's where the rest of the steep trail begins (blue blaze).

But, opposite the sign, oh boy, one more dramatic waterfall, slipping down the cliff face to pool at my feet before continuing on.

High Camp is somewhere up there.

A lean-to in the woods?  Shelter in a storm, although not much!  Ya never know what you're going to see!  We're grateful we can get out to immerse ourselves in nature like this, like this beautiful Shirley Canyon.  Very grateful.  What's next?  Now that our irrigation system is up and running, maybe we'll take a short RV trip.  Oh, let's do it!