Recently, I was asked by Cindy Streepey, owner of Asante Lakeside Fitness, to write a hiking column for the upcoming spring, summer, and fall seasons. Our intent is to share current information on local trails, and hopefully encourage readers to add some out-door adventures to their fitness goals. These articles will periodically appear on the Asante website home page, and on Asante’s facebook page.
Hopefully, you will find the time to get out and experience and enjoy the beautiful creeks, lakes, meadows, peaks, and trails that surround Lake Tahoe. If you have been putting in a lot of time at the gym, working on your strength and cardio fitness, why not put that new found health to good use by exploring your own Tahoe backyard?
After retiring in July, 2002, I began working part-time at Asante in 2004. I love to hike, and try to cover around 500 miles each season. Most of the hikes I will be writing about will be in the Tahoe area, although some trips may wander north towards the Gold Lakes area, south to the Carson Pass, or take place on the Western or Eastern sides of the Sierra Range. Occasionally, there may be a few columns from more distant trips.
Before starting part-time work at Asante, I had previously worked as a California State Park Ranger for 29 years, beginning in January, 1973. I was stationed in locations throughout California, including parks in San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, and Monterrey. My last 15 years with the Department of Parks and Recreation were spent here in Tahoe as the Supervising Ranger at Bliss State Park, Burton Creek, Emerald Bay, Sugar Pine Point, and “Closed for Winter” State Park right next door to Asante here in Tahoe City.
Finally, why Tahoe Tramping? Well, I am a big admirer of John Muir, and many of his books and writings have encouraged me to spend more time ranging over our local mountains. You will be seeing a few Muir quotes in my articles. One of my favorites, although rather obscure, is the following: “I chose to become a tramp.” That one quote has inspired me to spend as much of my time as possible tramping around Tahoe. My hope is that you can spend some of your time doing the same.
Happy trails, Tom Lindsey