We spent 2 weeks hiking and enjoying nature in Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes.

We left the Airbnb by 10 am and went to Nevada Beach. It was very windy. We then hiked to the top of Round Hill that was nearby. Great gradual hike up and around the hill. Then we drove up to Spooner Lake State Park and hiked around Spooner Lake. Surprising to see so many Aspen along the hike. On the way back to the Airbnb we stopped at Safeway and picked up supper. The heat wasn’t working in the Airbnb so Bruce the handyman stopped by to fix it. Great day!

We left at 10am again and drove to the Eagle Falls Trailhead. We hiked to Eagle Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. At the lake we had a snack and then it snowed. The snow turned to rain for our hike back to the car. About a 3 mile hike on a very rugged trail. After the hike we drove to Heavenly Village and did some shopping. It started to rain again so we picked up lasagna for supper and headed back to the Airbnb. Another great day.

We left earlier to enjoy more of the sunny weather today. We drove to Emerald Bay State Park and spent the day there. We hiked down from the parking lot and then hiked the Rubicon Trail to DL Bliss State Park which is adjacent to Emerald Bay State Park. The Rubicon Trail is a great trail along Emerald Bay. We stopped for lunch at a protected cove which was fabulous. Ann-Marie pooped in the woods. After lunch we hiked back and explored the Vikingsholm area and had a break before we hiked back up to the parking lot. We went back to the Airbnb and rested for the rest of the day. Great day!

We left around 10am once again and drove to the Kingsbury North Trailhead. We saw a bear in the neighborhood on the way out. From the trailhead we hiked the Castle Rock loop which involves the Castle Rock Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail. Excellent hike. We then drove to Van Sickle State Park and had our picnic lunch and hiked up to a scenic viewpoint. It started to rain so we went to Safeway and got provisions for the next few days and headed back to the Airbnb.

Left early again and drove to the Mount Tallac Trailhead. We hiked the 2.75 miles to Cathedral Lake. Along the way we checked out Floating Island Lake. After the hike back to the trailhead we went to the Taylor Creek Visitor Center. We went through the Visitor Center and then walked to Kiva Beach. We drove back to the Airbnb and enjoyed the deck for the first time. Yet another fabulous day!

We drove south to Echo Lake and hiked on the PCT/TRT from the Chalet to the Water Taxi spot at the end of Upper Echo Lake. It’s a beautiful hike along the two Echo Lakes. Just gorgeous. Ann-Marie said it was her favorite hike so far. It got quite hot on the hike back. Saw lots of day hikers and many backpackers. After the hike we went to The Grove, a restaurant at Camp Richardson on Lake Tahoe. Burgers and fries! Great day once again!

We packed up and drove south to Mammoth Lakes. Along the way we stopped at Mono Lake. Interesting history of the lake. We then stopped at the Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center and went for a walk nearby. We then did our grocery shopping and got into our Airbnb. After dinner we walked to Mammoth Village and did some shopping and cheered on the runners who were finishing their 50k race that is part of Trailfest.

We left early to go to Devils Postpile National Monument. It is only open on weekends because of construction so this was the only day we could go. The road to it was very windy and narrow with many potholes. We hiked the trail to see Devils Postpile then continued on to Rainbow Falls. It was beautiful. On the way back we hiked on the PCT/JMT. We had a picnic lunch and then headed back to town. We gave a couple backpackers a ride back as well.

We drove to Lake George and hiked up to Crystal Lake. It’s a beautiful alpine lake. After the hike we had a picnic at Lake George. We walked to Mammoth Village before supper.

We left early and drove to Yosemite National Park via Tioga Road. It was a beautiful drive along Tioga Pass. Our first stop was Olmsted point. We walked to the scenic viewpoint and saw Half Dome in the distance. Next we drove to Tenaya Lake and hiked from one end to the other and back. We had a picnic when we got back to the car. After lunch we drove to the Tuolumne Visitor Center and hiked to Soda Springs. On the way home we stopped to look at Tioga Lake. Great day!

We left at our regular time and drove to Convict Lake. We hiked around the lake. The color of the water is amazing. After Convict Lake we drove to the Coldwater Campground and had a picnic. Then we hiked to Emerald Lake.

Left early once again and drove to Yosemite. We started hiking at 9:30am to Lower Cathedral Lake. 2.5 hours up, 2 hours down, with an hour lunch break at the lake. Warm day and beautiful.

No big outing for the day. We drove to the Hot Creek Geologic Site and strolled along the creek. We then went to the Mammoth Visitor Center to buy stickers. We had a picnic lunch at Minaret Summit. We did more shopping at Mammoth Village in the afternoon and then had dinner at Burgers Restaurant (yep, that’s its name). Good day!

We packed up, drove to the Reno Airport, and flew home.