After our bike ride we were all hungry. We'd brought a nice lunch, but there were no picnic tables and so we decided to drive to our hike destination and eat there. The drive was beautiful. And you know what, after driving to Cascade Falls I am sooooo glad that I did not sign up for Bike Big Blue. The hills are too BIG for me.
We ended up eating our lunch across the street from the trailhead at Inspiration point. This is the only geocache we did today because I could not figure out how to use my GPS for geocaching. Will have to work on that. Lunch was nice, now on to the hike!
We walked through Bayview Campground to the trailhead. This hike turned out to be much more difficult than we had anticipated. Not a hike for our two senior dogs at all. Very rocky, very steep. On a side note: look at Jan go! Just hiking like I haven't seen in years. I was so delighted to see him feeling better.
Stats for the hike: 2 miles
Hike Information:
Driving Directions: From the "Y" junction of Hwy 50 and Hwy 89, drive 7.6 miles northwest on Hwy 89 to the Bayview Campground on the left. Turn left and continue a short distance to the trailhead parking lot at the end of the road. You can see these beautiful 200 foot falls off in the distance when you are making those hair pin turns between Lake Tahoe and Cascade Lake.
Hike Summary: The Cascade Falls hike combines a short hike with little elevation gain with a real feeling of remoteness once at the falls. It can feel like you are miles into the wilderness with distant Tahoe views as well as grand mountain views to the west.
We ended up eating our lunch across the street from the trailhead at Inspiration point. This is the only geocache we did today because I could not figure out how to use my GPS for geocaching. Will have to work on that. Lunch was nice, now on to the hike!
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Virtual Cache "Inspiration Point" GC80AA N 38° 56.801 W 120° 05.914 |
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| Cascade Lake in the foreground, Lake Tahoe in the background. Spectacular hiking views. |
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| Nancy and Gizmo. |
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| "Hey, why are we stopping?" |
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| Cascade Lake view. |
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| Cascade Falls |
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| Jan hiking with Glitter. She had to be carried in some spots. |
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| Nancy enjoying the view. |
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| Done with hike, time for another dog water break. |
Hike Information:
Driving Directions: From the "Y" junction of Hwy 50 and Hwy 89, drive 7.6 miles northwest on Hwy 89 to the Bayview Campground on the left. Turn left and continue a short distance to the trailhead parking lot at the end of the road. You can see these beautiful 200 foot falls off in the distance when you are making those hair pin turns between Lake Tahoe and Cascade Lake.
Hike Summary: The Cascade Falls hike combines a short hike with little elevation gain with a real feeling of remoteness once at the falls. It can feel like you are miles into the wilderness with distant Tahoe views as well as grand mountain views to the west.
Hiking Directions: The trail at the south end of parking lot is easily followed to the falls. It starts as a wide path on the left winding through a fragrant pine and fir forest. About 100 yards from the trailhead is a junction, go to the right. The trail begins an ascent up a small rocky knoll and curves along the side of the mountain providing scenic views of Cascade Lake, Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe. Although the trail is fairly easy, don't let the beautiful scenery make you miss the sloping rocks covered with a thin layer of sand which can be very slippery. The trail descends gently then climbs again toward the falls. In the spring, the falls dominate your attention both orally and visually. But, in the summer the creek slows to bubbling brook that allows more intimate discovery of her wonderful secrets. To get back to the trail head, just reverse your travel.
The falls are steep, the rocks slippery, and in the spring, the current is strong. As seems very obvious, be wary and watch dogs carefully! To paraphrase a sign we read in Yosemite, "If, for any reason, you go over the falls, you WILL die."
Special Features: This area is a good spot to see the effects of the glaciation that played such an important part in the formation of Lake Tahoe. Polished granite worn smooth from thousands of years of ice sliding slowly over it towards the valley that is now Lake Tahoe is prevalent in the area. Also visible from the falls, the ridges on both sides and at the end of Cascade Lake are actually lateral and terminal moraines where rock debris, pushed along by the glacier was finally deposited as the weather warmed and the glacier receded.
Geocaching:
"Rose Marie 1935" GC1V4BQ
The hint is don't forget to pay special attention to the cache description & take a copy with you.
N 38° 56.769 W 120° 06.013
"GTS036 Ribbon Tree" GC2YPP7
The hint is woodpile closest to this tree with the ribbon. Notorious bad gps signal on the way up, but this site has a lock, pile it on!
N 38° 56.519 W 120° 06.094
"SLT13 Cascade Falls Stroll" GC1TT5C
The hint is 6 feet from the tree, under the rocks. Catch the views of Cascade Falls from GZ. This is an easy .3 mile hike from the parking area. The trail can be very busy on the weekends as it is one of the most popular trials on that side of the lake. Please rehide better than you found it!
N 38° 56.280 W 120° 06.077
"Kolly Wobbels #10 Cascade Falls" GC1TT5C
The hint is cache is in a crevice of rocks covered by medium sized flat rocks. These coordinates take you near the top of the falls. Cache is in a 8" by 4" by 2" Rubbermaid container.
N 38° 56.104 W 120° 06.099
1 comment:
Looks like a beautiful hike.
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