A glimpse of Tahoe 2011

A couple of weeks ago we held our annual Tahoe Road Trip. Every year at the end of summer we round up as many paddlers as we can find and head to south Lake Tahoe for 4 days of high sierra paddling. Every year is a similar agenda, yet every year seems to take on a totally different feel. This year was suppose to be all about the after parties. We had plan for pot lucks, live music, kayak demos, and lots of good times around the campfire. WRONG! Due to poor timing and a crack down on parking at our campsite, the first day was a train wreck of events. Locked keys in the car, missing sales reps, angry park attendances, and parking were just a few of the speed bumps we hit along the way. Despite the rocky start to the trip everyone was in good spirits and fired up for day two, a 7 mile paddle from Baldwin Beach to Emerald Bay. The morning of day two we had around 55 kayaks that showed up on the beach. Boats of all shapes, colors, and sizes lines the beach, and everyone was happy to lend a hand carrying gear down to the water. The paddle was a slow paced cruise along the shore line until we hit the mouth of Emerald Bay. At this point a few of us noticed the Tahoe Queen pulling into the bay and set our sites on the wave train that follows the old fashion stern wheeler. I was first to get on steep glassy wave. I was able to ride its wake about a mile from the mouth of the bay, all the way to the little island near Vikingsholm. What a ride! We stopped at the castle had lunch, took photos and then made our way back to Baldwin.

That night we were met with a little thunder showers. The rain only lasted about an hour and was just enough to keep the dust down. Everyone met up at my Mom and Dads campsite for another amazing potluck and to swap lies around the fire.

Day Three was a shorter paddle from Zeyphr Cove to Cave Rock on the Nevada side of the lake. This section is always a treat because the crystal clear water and giant granite boulders that line the shore. The weather was ideal to start without a single wave in the water which made the water seem all the more transparent. Due to an injury I had been dealing with I decided to take the baby for the day and let me wife paddle, but my son Ethan wasn't content to just hang with dad. While everyone was getting ready to go paddle I stuck my 18 month old son Ethan into the cockpit of Reg Lakes kayak, and his eyes lit up. We spend 20 minutes pushing him around the lake and letting him try his hand at paddling. (See video) This was by far the highlight of the trip for me.

After a lazy paddle on the east shore everyone made their way back to camp where some of the crew loaded up and headed for home while other headed for to state line for pizza and beer. Day 4 was quiet for most of us. There was a group of 5 or 6 that hit Sand Harbor for a paddle, but most of us decided to take our time getting packed up and headed back to reality. All and all it was another wildly successful Road Trip, and we can't wait for next year. We have already made reservations at Meeks Bay for the third week in Sept 2012. So mark your calendars and I hope to see you all there! Until then enjoy a couple of videos Reg Lake put together from Lake Tahoe 2011 with The Headwaters!

Here is a link to the Facebook Photo Album:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263597213660944.61699.157958320891501&type=1