This year’s stay in Lake Tahoe started with clear skies but the wind brought in the smoke from the California fires (Ferguson and Mendocino). There were days that the air was classified as hazardous and we stayed indoors. Still a beautiful place and we did get in some nice hikes. Many of my photos this year were of wildflowers because there were many flowers and I avoided the gray smoky skies.
We have done this short hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail before so this split image illustrates the hazy skies on one of the typical smoky days. There were days that it was worse but also a few days where the wind would shift and clear up the sky. IMG_82606_PicnicRock_TRT
Watson Lake on a clear day, July 12, 2018. This lake is on the Tahoe Rim Trail and easy to get to. We were lucky to have some clouds to make a nice photo. -IMG_81901_WatsonLake
Mule Ears near Watson Lake, July 12, 2018 – One of the reasons we hike this trail early in July is to see all the wild flowers along the trail. Mule Ears are in the sunflower family. IMG_81858_MuleEars_WatsonLakeTRT
Asters on Ophir Creek trail – Seems like there were more asters along the trail than we had seen before – IMG_82088_OphirCk
Mule Ears and Lupine near Barker Pass, July 13, 2018. Some hikers on the Tahoe Rim trail moving through a field of Narrow Leaf Mule Ears and lupine. – IMG_82034_TRT_BarkerPass
Mule Ears and Lupine near Barker Pass, July 13, 2018. The wildflowers were at peak on the trail near Baker Pass – IMG_81997_TRT_BarkerPass
Meadow at Lake Winnemucca, July 18, 2018 – We decided to visit the wildflower meadow near Lake Winnemucca in the Carson Pass area early this year since the temperature was warm and the flowers were peaking early. We were rewarded with a great variety of flowers. In this photo there are Many Leaf Lupine (blue) Gray Lovage (white) of the carrot family, Butterweed (yellow) and some paintbrushes (red). This meadow, close to the Pacific Crest trail, has the reputation of having one of the best display of wildflowers in the Sierra Nevada. This was the day that the smoke really began to move into the Tahoe Basin as you can tell from the gray sky (minimized in the photo). – IMG_82153_LakeWinnemucca
Buck near Lake Winnemucca, July 18, 2018. We surprised this young buck on the trail – IMG_82226_WinnemuccaLake
Flowers near Galena Falls, July 19, 2018 – The flowers in the meadow above and below Galena Falls were the best we have seen. This area was not accessible last year because the heavy snow was not melted off before we left in early August. This photo has Many Leaf Lupine, (blue, with one white variation) Butterweed (yellow) and some Bewer’s Angelina (white). You can see Mt Rose in the background. – IMG_82274_GalenaFalls
Flowers near Galena Falls, July 19, 2018 – Flowers in the meadow above Galena Falls including California Corn Lilies (tall white), Many Leaf Lupine, paintbrush, and Gray Lovage. Note the smokeless sky that day. – IMG_82286_GalenaFalls
Karin in the Many Leaf Lupine, July 19, 2018. The lupine above Galena Falls were tall. Mt Rose in the background. IMG_82316_ManyLeafLupine_GalenaFalls
Galena Falls, July 19, 2018 – IMG_82337_GalenaFalls
Shower Lake, July 23, 2018 – This was one of my longer hikes as a part of completing the 165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail. This segment between Echo Lake and Big Meadow was 15.5 miles with 1,623 feet of elevation rise. Shower lake was about 1/2 way on the trail. The sky was a bit smoky so some of the views/photos were not as nice as they could have been, but it was a great hike. – IMG_82378_TRT_ShowerLk
Five Lakes, July 25, 2018. We woke up and the sky had cleared of smoke by a change in the wind. We have done this trail several times and always enjoy the beautiful lakes (4.2miles round trip and 1000ft elevation rise) – IMG_82417_FiveLks
Five Lakes, July 25, 2018. This is the larger of the five lakes – IMG_82517_FiveLks
Five Lakes, July 25, 2018 – Another of the Five Lakes – IMG_82524_FiveLks
Five Lakes, July 25, 2018 – Karin hiking down to the Five Lakes trailhead to finish off the hike – IMG_82546_FiveLks
Lake Aloha, July 30, 2018 – This was another tough day hike that I did to work on completing the Tahoe Rim trail. This segment from Echo Lake to Eagle Lake was 18.1 miles, with ~2456ft elevation rise and ~3471ft drop. Unfortunately the sky was rather smoky. Lake Aloha is a really pretty lake surrounded by granite. This area is aptly called the Desolation Wilderness, and it is really beautiful. I plan to go back to Lake Aloha sometime when the sky is clear (but not walk the entire 18 miles…) – IMG_82622_LakeAloha
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This is your lovely hairdresser. I have never commented but I will. I always enjoy your pics. I enjoy as much the explanatation. That really brings the pic to life. Always enjoy. Thank you so much.