Week 11: Tahoe City to Watson Lake

Off on the trail again for a new adventure!  Lucky for us our shuttle driver, Katie C.’s mom, Ann, was available to drive us to our end point at Watson Lake located on Brockway Summit and then to Tahoe City where we left the trail last.

We began across from the Baptist Church in Tahoe City.  Beginning the run with some quick elevation, we were rewarded with an expansive view of Lake Tahoe.  On this bluff was a sculpture of memories, rocks, sticks, dog tags and small treasures.  We decide we should contribute.  We each found a unique rock, said a little thank you to our surroundings as we stood on the top of the Thunder Cliff Band, then added them to the pile.

From here we turned the corner and started following the path of the Truckee River.  The views started off looking back towards Twin Peaks were were had been a couple of weeks ago.  It looked so far away. Next, we were in and out of the thick forest on a very windy trail that slithered up until we popped out on top of a bluff that looked out over acres and acres of forest and Lake Tahoe.  Although nothing like some of the peaks we climbed on the south side of Lake Tahoe, we figured this must be Watson Peak! Nope.  We turned the corner to see another towering peak ahead of us, the elevation gain was not over yet!

A bit further along and we were looking over at the large pieces of land known as Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts.  We could see High Camp at Squaw Valley all the way to the top of Summit Chair at Alpine Meadows from our rocky perch high above the HWY 89 corridor.  It all seemed so large and grand.

We turned the corner around the mountain.  On the left we were looking down at miles and miles of forest land towards the Truckee area. Straight ahead was the ‘real’ Watson Peak, and to the right was Lake Tahoe and the super fun downhill section of the trail.  We crossed the road and saw a sign letting us know that we were still 5 miles away from our destination of Watson Lake.

At this point we were on a remarkable trail hugging the mountain to the left of us with endless views of Lake Tahoe on our right.  It’s hard to keep your eyes on the trail when the views are so jaw-dropping.  But we still had to, in order not to sprain our ankles.

Around the corner and on the other side of the mountain was Watson Lake.  We made it! A little murky to be jumping in to, so we decided to just take in the view, a good stretch, and headed off to work for the day.

Checking our stats after this run, we have now done 14 miles with 2,115 feet in elevation gain.  A good amount of elevation gain makes us understand why we were feeling the drag half way through.  We made it, we did it.  See you next week Watson Lake!

We will proudly be sending a check to the Truckee Trails Foundation in celebration of another section completed!  Thank you Truckee Trails for your continued efforts in keeping our community connected by trails, creating trails and maintaining what we have already in place.  We love our trails!  Keep up the good work.

Next week we will be running in honor of Max Krieg who lost his life at the age of 5 following a short illness in December 2010. Max and his family are very dear to us and to the Truckee/Tahoe community. There is never a day we don’t think about him-his sense of humor, funny costumes, and sweet spirit.  In his honor by request of his family,  we will be donating to Excellence in Education. Max’s mother Martha Krieg, will be running with us as will the Executive Director of Excellence in Education, Laura Brown.  We are looking forward to sharing this beautiful trail and run with Martha and Laura while (always) remembering a very special 5 year old Max who is with us in our hearts every day. We miss you Max.

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about”

Read about week ten here.