Anniversary Summit

Part of being a stay at home dad is keeping mom happy. My wife decided several years ago that we should climb mountains for our anniversary. So this year was like the last several years and we climbed a rock. Now my wife doesn't appreciate this but I like to say we argue our way to the top and she just claims the summits. We have agrued our way to the top of Round Top, Pyramid Peak, Elephants Back all provided much entertainment for bystanders. We decided to add backpacking to the mix last year when my wife grew tired of me going by myself or with friends.

This year we chose to hike in from Fallen Leaf Lake and hike into Desolation Wilderness. Our first night had us eating dinner at the car, leftovers of carnitas and rice with homemade tortillas and a Coors. Many people give you a strange look while your enjoying a cold beer while backpacking. I always assume its jealously. Our first night we hiked to Lake Gilmore it was 2k of elevation gain in about 4 miles most of which came in the first 2 miles. We arrived before dark and set-up in time for me to catch a small rainbow trout before the sun set.

Romantic Dinner at the Car

The next morning we awoke to beautiful weather and a summit to tackle. My wife had decided on Mount Tallac the night before. Off we went, Mt. Tallac was about 2 miles from camp. There are certain things one learns in life, one of them is never pick the closest ____ when choosing a destination. This applies when fishing, camping and as we were soon to confirm it also includes summits. The reason to avoid them is simple,  other people. The easier it is to access the more boneheads will be there. We hike the very nice trail from camp to the summit of Mt. Tallac. Once at the top we were joined by 20 of Tahoe's finest tourists. These included a very loud and whiny lady complaining about the bugs, several women whom appeared to have gotten lost on their way to yoga and a couple of people who thought everyone needed to listen to their Pandora station.  The view of Tahoe was spectacular but there is a reason we look annoyed in the picture. We quickly left and once back at camp we packed up and were off to the next lake. Becky had decided on Half Moon Lake the night before. While on our way we came across 2 younger guys that begged for a "huge favor". These two self proclaimed newbies had forgotten a fire source. No lighter, matches or even flint and steel. They had asked us if we had any spares and as I am never without 3 ways to start a fire I gave them our matches. They were very appreciative since they were "really tired of eating bagels".

Breakfast with Mt. Tallac in the background

Far from lonely at the top

Half Moon Lake way beautiful. We had the lake to ourselves complete with a waterfall. We swam and relaxed in the afternoon sun while watching a thunderstorm in the distance. My lovely wife was very skeptical of dinner , SPAM and rice. I know most of you are thinking the same thing she did. You expect me to eat this? Turns out grilled SPAM and rice is pretty good. We ended the night like a couple of octogenarians in bed at 7 reading.

I swear I'm not as tired as i look

Better than it looks

We awoke to revenge of the Chipmunk. My flip flops and hat were eaten during the night. We packed up and started our off trail hike to Lake Susie. Becky has never ventured off trail and was amazed that nothing bad happened and she hadn't died. She actually enjoyed our hike to Lake Susie. Once there we found someone had left a broken fishing pole and their nasty dirty socks. They were left in a spot that seemed to scream someone else will pick this up but I'm not going to carry it. We stopped and picked it up then set out on a new mission. Find the SOB that left them. After a few minuted we came across a group of 3 and 2 of them had fishing gear. They swore it was not theirs but Becky had overheard a " you have got to be kidding me". We finished the hike rather uneventfully, much to my dismay as I had quite a lecture brewing for the culprit.

She's Alive!

Eight years in the book and another mountain summit hiked. I think I will chose our next mountain and I can promise it won't be as easy as Mt. Tallac. That said if your in love with Lake Tahoe and have half a day to kill Tallac is worth it. It might be the easiest summit in Tahoe and the view is great assuming you can deal with crowds.  Hope you enjoyed our trip.

Kaelin made for this for me several trips ago. Its always with me now.

Very hazy view of Tahoe