Mt. Tallac- Lake Tahoe

This time it was five of us doing a roadtrip to Lake Tahoe- Juri, me, Frank, Alex and Colby. I was the driver so I had the best seat in the car and Colby and Juri were taking turns next to me mostly because of navigating. We woke up at 7am picked up the car 2 blocks away from our hotel and left San Francisco.

On our way we picked up Colby in Oakland (that´s where he lives) and went to Safeway and SportsAuthority so we could buy everything needed. We spent almost 2 hours in the malls so when we finally hit the road to Lake Tahoe it was almost 10.30am but we didn´t plan any hikes for today anyways.

When we got to the Tahoe at first we went to the Visitor Centre where a lovely lady gave us a map with all campsites and hikes near the lake. We picked the closest camp to the most difficult hike in Tahoe- Mt. Tallac hike. There were two different ways to get up to the top- easier but longer one or more difficult but a little shorter. We decided to make the choice the next day.

We chose the Fallen Leaf campsite because it was very close to the lake Fallen Leaf where we could swim before it got dark. We parked at our spot, changed our clothes into bathing suits, put all the food in the bearbox and went to the lake. It was kinda cold at first but after some time rather refreshing. Only me, Juri and Frand dared to swim- Colby and Alex were just sitting on the rocks in the water. It felt amazing to take a swim after so long and what was the best- surrounded by beautiful nature.

After the lake we got back to our camp, set a fire and prepared everything for the dinner. We bought some sausages (for me and Colby the vegetarian ones), vegetables, fruits, snacks, chips, many beers, three bottles of wine... It was plenty of food for the whole bear family :))) After the dinner we sqeezed into our sleeping bags near the fire talking and watching the stars.

In the morning we decided to go the more difficult way up to the top of Mt. Tallac. We just made one huge mistake- we didn´t take enough of water for the five of us so if was very difficult to finish the hike and get down to our car again. At first we started all together but after some time we found out that me, Juri and Frank have the same tempo so it was more like the three of us heading first and Alex and Colby behind us. (That was pretty interesting to find out- I get tired more easily when I go slovly rather than fast)

We had enough food but not at all enough water so in the heat we had to take many breaks (especially me- I got dizzy very easily because of the dehydration).

After we reached the top we took a short break, had some fruits and snacks and took some pictures together as a proovement that we did it!

The way down was suposed to be easier but for us it wasn´t at all because of the dehydration. I felt dizzy most of the time and was really scared about fainting. On our way down we dipped in the lake that was near the trail but we couldn´t drink the water so it was more against the heat than the dehydration. 

After 2 hours and 30 minutes we finally got into our car where unfortunatelly wasn´t even a drop of water- only beers. I drank almost one whole beer before I realised that I am the driver. We didn´t even wait for Colby and Alex and drove to the Visitor Centre which was only about 5 minutes away. There were the water fountains where we could hydrate ourselves and fill up the bottles for guys when they finish the hike.

It all ended allright. everybody is okay, no permanent "mark" on us. Only for Colby it was kinda shock- it was his first real hike in life! (He is from Florida that´s why)

That was kinda preparation for me Juri and Frank for Half Dome that we plan to climb in September :)