Day Four of our Tahoe trip started with plans to take a good hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains near Olympic Village in Squaw Valley. We woke, packed our bags while sipping coffee, and headed out for the north end of the lake. We arrived at Squaw Valley around 10:45 and started our hike at 11:00 with our goal being to end up at Shirley Lake.
Our trusty-dusty trail guide book described the Shirley Lake Trail as "Moderate" difficulty at about 4 miles with a +1,325 feet elevation climb. We decided to bring our lunch with us along with food for Kyla and plenty of water. Good thing because we had no idea what we were in for.
The trail started to wind through beautiful pine forests with thick fern foliage. We soon encountered our first "granite climb" as we came across several granite boulders that we needed to climb up. Kyla soon became "luggage" as we picked her up (all 18 lbs of her) and carried her up the boulders. The bugs were plentiful and the forest kept us cool from the heat. We wound along the trail, marked only by small spraypainted markers of blue and pink on passing boulders. Kyla was a trooper and proudly blazed the trail for us with gusto.
After a ways into the trail, we came to a sheer cliff of granite we needed to climb. Our jaws dropped as we realized what we had just gotten ourselves into. We figured we'd have to carry Kyla through much of this steep asent but soon saw that we didn't bring our dog, but brought our mountain billy goat with us. Kyla lept, jumped, and crawled her way up the steepest of steep granite boulders, rocks, and cliffs. Nick and I were stuggling to keep up with her as she charged at her own quick pace. The few times we were forced to pick her up and carry her, it was clear she was angry with us for not allowing her to do it herself.
After several water stops and breaks, and a few hours on the trail, we reached our goal: Shirley Lake. The lake is actually set back in the mountains of Squaw Valley with the Shirley Lake Express chair lift at the edge of the lake. There wasn't much time to rest as we ate a quick lunch with the lovely mosquitos and kept on trudging along the trail.
We didn't want to slide back down the granite boulders on the way back down the trail so we continued onward and upward to High Camp at Squaw Valley. High Camp is where the cable car drops off those "outdoor enthusiasts" that want to wander the mountains without breaking a sweat or taking off their flipflops (all while paying the $20 fee to ride the cable car to the top). The three of us zigzagged up the blue and black runs to finally reach the High Camp Loop. The last leg of our trek felt like the last mile of a marathon. It was painful to take each step as we made the steep asent up the mountain with our puppy still charging ahead.
When our trail leveled out at the High Camp Loop, we were ecstatic! By the time we reached the top, we had hiked over 2,000 vertical feet. All we could think about was cold water and the glorious ride down the face of the granite cliff in the cable car. Kyla was a little too popular at the High Camp area and Nick and I were quickly fending off kids from our kid-shy puppy. Apparently when you tell kids "She's afraid of little kids," that little kid interprets it as "Let me stick my face in your dog's nose and see what she does." And where are their parents?!
We loaded the cable car and started our decent. Now I should mention that the past few days have been filled with thunder and lightning storms in the afternoon. I officially experienced an all new fear when we were hanging precariously hundreds of feet above granite cliffs as lightning strikes between us and the nearest mountain peak (which was very close)! Mind you, Kyla, now passed out at our feet, attracted the comments of several passengers on what a good dog she is. When we finally stepped foot on solid ground, we were all elated.
Nick, Kyla, and I headed back to South Lake Tahoe for a few beers at the Brewery at Lake Tahoe. Cold beer never tasted so deserved! We enjoyed some reheated homecooked meals and glorious showers back at the hotel. We even cruised Heavenly Village with our energetic puppy to splurge on cookies from Nestle.
As our last full day comes to a close, I am sad to see our vacation wrapping up. Life has slowed down while we were here but our time here has also flown by. Tomorrow, we will get in one more hike and then pack up to make the long drive home. This has certainly turned out to be an amazing vacation!
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