Tour de old haunts

Found this old blog post while looking for photos from this trip. It got lost when I changed back to WordPress from the website i used between ~2014-2018. Even though it’s creepy at times, both Google and MS have archived my photos over the years so i haven’t lost any when changing computers or iphones. Not blogging much or touring at all these days but fun to keep these trips in the web archives. (Photos can be scrolled through, the tiled gallery is a bit wonky for some reason.)

August 2016. The past three days I took a bike tour of some areas i haven’t seen in a long time. As a kid i was lucky enough to go to Mountain Camp, first in the Pescadero hills, then Mtn. Camp II in the South Lake Tahoe area. I cannot imagine what I’d be like now without those years at camp, first as a camper, then working my way up to be a councellor.  Even though I’m not in contact with so many of the friends I made there, they’re all still with me every day. I think of them and our time there daily, different queues trigger a memory and i’m right back there laughing over something that happened 25 years ago.  I still raise my hands off the steering wheel as i go over cattle grates. Why? I have no idea but it’s just what we did.  I still say, “I hate white bunnies, i hate white bunnies” when the smoke of a campfire gets blown by the breeze into my face.  This doesn’t sway the smoke a bit though since i guess it knows i’m totally lying, i LOVE white bunnies! I still since the campfire songs to myself, and they’re the only ones i still remember how to play on guitar. I’ll never forget the mentors of camp, and the trouble me and my friends would get into. It was definitely a once in a lifetime thing and makes me obviously nostalgic.

Needless to say riding through the area brought back a flood of memories. Just the smell of the woods is ingrained in my soul and gave me shivers as i rode the new Ice House Lake mountain bike trail.  The experiences made me who I am today, I’m a Mountaineer at heart. Camp is where i learned a lot of things but closest related to my bike tour it’s where I first went backpacking into Desolation Wilderness and slept under the stars. I already had it in me but I learned respect for nature and wildlife. Being outside was all i wanted to do; i wanted to see and explore it all.

The world seemed massive at the time pre-internet and cell phone. A two week camp session seemed like two months in today’s time. Friends you met a week ago were instantly your best friends and you cried upon leaving them after the session was over. Next summer never came soon enough.  Something about time when you’re a kid is so condensed. It all feels so important, and the urgency of everything created inspiration to do something for change.

I sat on the beach for a bit looking over where I used to jump off the cliffs and the floating dock into the water; where I became a “Mountaineer” in a crazy bonfire sweat lodge ceremony one night when i was 15 or 16; where later as a staffmember I taught sailboarding to campers; and now looking at myself as a 43 year old dude on a bike looking at the next generation of Mtn Camp Mountaineers playing on the beach before the lunch bell rings.  I heard nothing but laughs and the pure joy of spending time with friends outside in a beautiful place. Those kids don’t know how lucky they have it!

Day 1:

I parked at Weber Mill road near Ice House since I thought i could make it back to the car on dirt without wanting to ride on the highway or Ice House Road. Up the pavement for several miles i hopped on the new Ice House lake mountain bike trail.  This must have been a project involving the camp as we used to pop out of a dirt road on rides across from the start of this trail, and the trail now takes you through the woods alongside the road to keep safe. The camp just got mountain bikes when we were there, a bunch of Giant bikes that we’d take kids out on the logging roads surrounding camp.  The Ridge ride was our favorite, climbing up to some exposed granite and descending fast back to the lake with those air-able waterbars that only logging roads have.

I rode down to the mouth of Silver Creek where we used to do creek walks and dive into pools. The water was pretty low though so it didn’t look much the same.  Returing to camp i headed up the back way to the Ridge and continued on to my next destination, Pearl Lake. I had never ridden this way before so was just following my nose on these logging roads. The Windmiller Cabin trail was on the map and unlike so many dead ends on the USGS topos it actually did dead end. I bushwhacked a bit and found the eastern side of it which was a narrow winding backcountry singletrack that put me out at Wrights Lake. On up to the notorious Barrett’s Lake jeep trail i took a secret left to a lake that shall not be named.  One of the first backpacking trips at camp went to this lake almost 30 years ago, it’s got a special hold on me. I couldn’t believe counting back it’s been that long. I really cannot comprehend that much time has passed.

Day 2.

I left the lake at 8 and knew it was a big day ahead. I linked back onto the jeep trail and then a left on Two Peaks trail – which i have to say is more like a game trail that people sometimes find. This was my favorite trail of the trip not only because it’s a wild trail but it’s probably the most remote trail I’ve been on in the area. The trail connects to Loon Lake, mostly an equestrian area it seems. This trail should’ve been named Loony, my average speed was sub 4mph. It links to Loon Lake and over to the Rubicon OHV route. It was my first experience on the Outhouse trail that may also be named Rubicon, and I think i’ll abstain from that route again unless i feel like getting punched in the gut a few hundred times again.  Cadillac Hill is just something you should experience once, and then…yeah…just no. After reaching the top of Rubicon in what seemed like an eternity I turned right onto a trail that led into Sugar Pine Point State Park just because i saw it may add more dirt on my way to South Lake. What a great surprise…i did no research other than seeing it on the map and the General Creek Trail was stellar especially after getting beat up by the Rubicon.

Day 3:

I took Hwy 89 to South Lake for breakfast at Sprouts. I make that my anchor point whenever i go into South Lake, it’s just that good and there’s nothing like it where I live. Once filled with good coffee and a veggie burrito i started the long ride up to Hawley Grade and the Pony Express.

I expected a rough rocky road for the section out of Meyers but it was actually a nice bench cut OLD singletrack until the top short hike a bike. Crossing Hwy 50 leads to the rest of the Pony Express route down to Strawberry. I headed up and over Lover’s Leap to get that view in and see where I topped out of a multi-pitch rock climb as a teenager the last time i was here 25 years ago.  Tour de old Haunts!  Down to the store i filled up on nothing healthy and continued on the XP trail for some short hike a bike grunts and fun singletrack sections that i never knew existed that close to the highway. It’s seriously a cool trail even if you can hear the traffic below. As you get closer to Kyburz the trail gets more….shrubby. Be ready to be a seed disperser and get scraped up a bit. A few logs to hop but nothing bad at all. It’s funny how a trail that close to the road is a lot like the Two Peaks trail in feel – backcountry feel, more deer and coyote tracks than anything else. Now we just have to teach the deer to trip the trail corridor…

I hit Weber Mill road from the end of the XP singletrack and it was a strong grunt with the worst face flies i’ve ever experienced. I’m talking CLOUD of them around my head.  At this point of the day I just wanted to get done so this was infuriating. I couldn’t ride fast enough to get away from them and there was no breeze in the forest so…just put your head down and deal. But as i got higher on Weber mill it turned out to be a great ride back to the car as the sun was going down. I always get that feeling of being happy to be going home to the sweetie and my furry family, but wanting to keep going with the ritual of the tour.  But i’ve realized in my world, those two elements complement each other and i love them both.