It had been awhile since we had cached the Tahoe area and we decided that we better do it now before the snow falls. The added draw to the area were all the new caches placed during the Tahoe event a few months ago and GeoJeepette was chomping at the bit for some numbers. We really didn’t know what the weather might throw at us so we packed GeoJeep with everything from sandals to Arctic parkas only to find out that it couldn’t have been a more perfect day to visit and hike around the lake.
We started our quest in South Lake Tahoe because there was a large grouping of new caches there and we’re all for efficiency. Unfortunately, we didn’t read any of the logs first and discovered that several of the caches had multiple DNF’s and the owners were apparently apathetic. Once we eliminated any caches with DNF’s our efficiency rating went up and we started having fun. Of the sixteen caches we found a few deserve mention.
Along Pioneer Trail is a cache at a bridge that crosses over Trout Creek, but it’s not the bridge you drive over. It’s the stone bridge built in 1906 that lies next to and 8-10 feet below the current bridge. This stone bridge is slowly being buried by the silt and debris from Trout Creek. In another mere hundred years it will be gone, the current bridge will be half buried and..... Will there be a need for a bridge here in another hundred years? Someday in the far future archeologists will get all giddy when they accidently discover the original 1906 bridge while studying today’s bridge. It was kind of neat standing near and even touching the object of a future moment of archeological giddiness. Oh, as an aside, Pioneer Trail is a great way to bypass all the chaos on Lake Tahoe Blvd.
“Meadow Walk” is a cache located between Pioneer Trail and Hwy 50 in, not surprisingly, a meadow. From my research I knew the cache was only about 300 yards from the end of a runway at Lake Tahoe Airport but we had no idea how busy the skies would be above the cache. There must have been an event at the airport because airplanes were constantly buzzing our heads and were so low you could almost reach up and tickle their tummies.
Mattole Road intersects with Hwy 89 south of Cascade Lake. The description of “This Old House” indicates that Mattole Road is a fire road but, fortunately, it’s never seen that duty. . My guess is that Mattole Road was one of the first “residential sections” of Tahoe but this “road” hasn’t felt rubber since the Model T. It’s now just two parallel tracks through the forest. We followed it for a ways and then turned left when the arrow told us. After a few hundred feet a one room dilapidated cabin came into view. It has definitely seen better days and in a couple of years it will be scattered in the gully below.
Everybody who visits Lake Tahoe has to come to Emerald Bay and everybody stops at the large parking lot just north and east of Eagle Falls. It costs six dollars to park here but you can probably skip paying the fee if you’re quick. We weren’t. If I had paid any attention to Google Earth I would have had a better idea where the cache was located. But no, just like rookies, we followed the arrow which took us over a steep hunk of granite and down the other side. Do yourself a favor and go around the huge rock and take the obvious and easier route. No matter how you do it, you must visit this place and bring a good camera. Awesome views!!
We started our quest in South Lake Tahoe because there was a large grouping of new caches there and we’re all for efficiency. Unfortunately, we didn’t read any of the logs first and discovered that several of the caches had multiple DNF’s and the owners were apparently apathetic. Once we eliminated any caches with DNF’s our efficiency rating went up and we started having fun. Of the sixteen caches we found a few deserve mention.
Along Pioneer Trail is a cache at a bridge that crosses over Trout Creek, but it’s not the bridge you drive over. It’s the stone bridge built in 1906 that lies next to and 8-10 feet below the current bridge. This stone bridge is slowly being buried by the silt and debris from Trout Creek. In another mere hundred years it will be gone, the current bridge will be half buried and..... Will there be a need for a bridge here in another hundred years? Someday in the far future archeologists will get all giddy when they accidently discover the original 1906 bridge while studying today’s bridge. It was kind of neat standing near and even touching the object of a future moment of archeological giddiness. Oh, as an aside, Pioneer Trail is a great way to bypass all the chaos on Lake Tahoe Blvd.
“Meadow Walk” is a cache located between Pioneer Trail and Hwy 50 in, not surprisingly, a meadow. From my research I knew the cache was only about 300 yards from the end of a runway at Lake Tahoe Airport but we had no idea how busy the skies would be above the cache. There must have been an event at the airport because airplanes were constantly buzzing our heads and were so low you could almost reach up and tickle their tummies.
Mattole Road intersects with Hwy 89 south of Cascade Lake. The description of “This Old House” indicates that Mattole Road is a fire road but, fortunately, it’s never seen that duty. . My guess is that Mattole Road was one of the first “residential sections” of Tahoe but this “road” hasn’t felt rubber since the Model T. It’s now just two parallel tracks through the forest. We followed it for a ways and then turned left when the arrow told us. After a few hundred feet a one room dilapidated cabin came into view. It has definitely seen better days and in a couple of years it will be scattered in the gully below.
Everybody who visits Lake Tahoe has to come to Emerald Bay and everybody stops at the large parking lot just north and east of Eagle Falls. It costs six dollars to park here but you can probably skip paying the fee if you’re quick. We weren’t. If I had paid any attention to Google Earth I would have had a better idea where the cache was located. But no, just like rookies, we followed the arrow which took us over a steep hunk of granite and down the other side. Do yourself a favor and go around the huge rock and take the obvious and easier route. No matter how you do it, you must visit this place and bring a good camera. Awesome views!!
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