Boredom

Boredom in North Carolina meant sitting on the couch watching tv.  Occasionally we would go camping or hiking or paddleboarding (if we felt like driving an hour to the closest lake).  

We have come to find out that we are still occasionally bored despite the fact that we live near Lake Tahoe.  Yesterday for example, started out as a very boring day.  Neither of us had to work, so we slept in (til 9:00 which is actually really late for us).  We lounged around... had breakfast... and finally decided to put on hiking boots and go to Echo Summit for a little day hike down to Upper Echo Lake (very easy hike down a paved road).  GREAT plan however, when we got there we realized the road was still covered in snow due to the high elevation and it was quickly melting so less than 1/4 mile in we started creating "post-holes." About every 4th or 5th step would result in sinking to your ankle or shin.  Not fun when you are wearing mid-level hiking boots.  So we headed back to the car and ate our picnic lunch.  It was a good effort... but definitely unsuccessful.  

[Spring is definitely a transition time around here.  The snow at the ski resorts isn't very good.  It's sunny and warm which makes me want to go hiking... but the trials are still typically covered in snow.  So deciding what activity to do during the spring is actually a bit challenging.]  

After making a quick stop by the Nestle Tollhouse store (my WORST enemy because I can NOT resist)... we headed home to get Mike's fishing pole.  By this point, the winds had started to pick up and it was gusting to ~25 mph at our house.  We thought maybe it wasn't such a good day for fishing and we sat down on the couch for a bit.  Immediately, we were bored.  Determined not to fall back into our "old ways," we decided to attempt fishing despite the wind. 

We headed down to Fallen Leaf Lake... just south of Lake Tahoe.  It's a beautiful area.  There is one main road (which is very bumpy and only a single lane) to get in and out of the area.  

The lake is named for an Indian legend: an Indian was being followed by an evil spirit.  He sought advice from a wise Indian leader who gave him a branch with many leaves and told him to drop a leaf when the evil spirit was approaching, and a body of water would appear that the evil spirit could not cross.  As evil approached, he fumbled the branch and dropped most of it at once... creating Lake Tahoe.  He managed to hold on to a few leaves and as the evil spirit got close again he dropped the rest of the leaves creating Fallen Leaf Lake.  The story ends there but I'm guessing he escaped the evil spirit???

Anyway, we parked along the side of the road and hiked in to the first fishing spot.  Pics from along the way:

Not sure what this building was... but mostly everything was boarded up for winter.

The peak is Mt. Tallac which is 9,735 ft above sea level.  

Firetower?  Watchtower?

Mt. Tallac... hopefully a hike we will get to accomplish over the summer.  

Beautiful clear/blue lake water from snow melt.  

While Mike fished (blue jacket)... I hiked the trail around part of the lake.
 The fluffy brown thing is someone else's dog. 

Lots of cool driftwood scattered on the shoreline.  

It's really hard to tell from the above picture but, on the other side of the treeline, is Lake Tahoe.  The mountain range is actually on the other side of Lake Tahoe.  

Snow melt from Mt. Tallac creates a waterfall that feeds Fallen Leaf Lake. 

After no bites or nibbles in the first fishing spot.  We headed to the marina near the end of the road.  Mike fished from the dock while Zater swam after ducks.  

Just past the little marina/general store, the road keeps going a little further and ends at beautiful mountain creek and breathtaking waterfall.  

Looking upstream

Looking downstream... just before the biggest part of the falls.  

Dead trees are actually beautiful against the blue Tahoe sky.  

 Dead trees around here are referred to as "widow makers" because unknowing backpackers will set up camp around them... then the wind picks up... the tree blows down... you get the idea.  The area is FULL of dead and fallen trees.

Lily Lake

The main part of the falls. 

This is JUST below the big falls.  LOVE the colors of the rock wall... and the house perched at the top.  Can you imagine hearing this rushing waterfall all summer?  

I LOVE that a day that started off as one failed adventure... followed by boredom... ended as one successful and amazing adventure.  Tahoe is amazing.  

As we were driving back down the single lane road... Mike and I both agreed that we will probably be back here a LOT this summer.  There is a trailhead just past the waterfall which is a short, hopefully easy hike that we both want to do... there is lots of paddleboarding to be done on Fallen Leaf Lake.  Yes, we will most definitely be visiting this place frequently!

Also on the drive out...we stopped to take a pictures of what can only be described as a ROLLER COASTER that led from someone's garage down to the main house.  There are LOTS of beautiful homes around Fallen Leaf Lake... some are small and rustic... but many are LARGE and upscale.  But most of them had garages at the level of the road... then steep stairs to climb down to the house near the waters edge.  These people figured out a solution I guess:

Videos of the lake and the falls: