I am in California to speak among the judges and attorneys of the Eastern District in Lake Tahoe on Sunday. As many on this blog know, I am an avid hiker and often take the opportunity of these trips to explore the local trails and forests. Yesterday, I hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail and then the Mt. Rose Trail. These trails take you along the Nevada and California border. The latter is quite difficult as you work your way up the summit of the highest point in the area. At roughly 9000 feet, it is the highest peak of the greater Sierra Nevada range. It is a gorgeous though strenuous hike.
The Tahoe Rim Trial will take you to a lovely waterfall with vistas with Lake Tahoe in the distance. There are plenty trails that intersect Tahoe Rim. After exploring the rim, I then took the Mt. Rose trail which is a steady rise in elevation. You are hiking up to around 12,000 feet above sea level on this trail. The big gulp moment is hitting the beautiful meadow and staring up at Mt. Rose. It is pretty daunting from down there.
The heartbreaker is at the end when, after a long grinding ascent, you hit a very sharp incline. It is worth it. The summit gives you a view with Reno in the distance on one side and Lake Tahoe on the other. It is very breathtaking (if you have any breath left). It is also quite windy and you hit snow and ice even in October. If you stay on just Tahoe Rim and then Mr. Rose trails, the roundtrip is 10 miles, but it can be slow going due to the elevation and incline. Bring a lot of water and a hiking stick can be useful on the sharp inclines.
Mount Rose is a bit too high and dry for the fall aspens and changing trees. I hope to get more of a fall hike in today with some of the trails on the other side of Lake Tahoe.
Here are a few pictures:
The “mud wrap.” Definitely the “mud wrap.”
https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/california/lake-tahoe/spa
A lovely spot in a gorgeous setting.
Professor Turley, you’ve got a few shots there of rugged fields with mountains in the background. Those shots look like the opening credits to TV’s “Bonanza”. The fictional Ponderosa was supposed to be in that region. So I wouldn’t be surprised if those credits were actually filmed there.
You actually hiked to 9,000 feet..?? That’s awesome! Even 5,000 feet can be a serious hike.
Professor Turley, if our native flora interest you, you might enjoy the website laspilitas.org. The late founder of the nursery was a font of expertise on native plans, and there are many articles on our microclimates and plant communities. You might get some ideas on not only future hikes, but what time of year would yield the best view of our native plants.
JT, I am asking you to put your career on the line. You are a civil libertarian and a professor of Constitutional law. The case of Julian Assange is destroying freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the US. The level of illegalities in his case is simply astounding. What better way to show your students, your family and your nation that you will stand up to the powerful even if it may lose you the career you love?
I am asking you to watch Consortium News from last night for information about his case. I will also recommend Randy Credico speaking with Craig Murray (or reading Mr. Murray’s article) about what he witness in the courtroom just this past week. Assange is being tortured. The US sent representatives who told both the prosecutor and the judge what to do during a supposed UK legal proceeding. The CIA has spied on his doctor, his lawyers and every visitor who came to see him in the embassy. When his lawyers were discussing his defense, the CIA ordered and received high quality audio and video of the conversations. They have all his papers which they unlawfully took from the embassy. He is being held in a prison for political crimes and was held in a prison that is not lawful for his supposed offense-bail jumping.
Please stand up for freedom of speech. It will be one of the most honorable and greatest things you can do on behalf of another person and on behalf of our country. Get over to London and stay there, speaking to authorities until they release a man held as a UK/US political prisoner. It will effect freedom of the press and of speech for the rest of our lives. Show your children what courage means, what it means to love one’s nation and to honor justice. Go to London and help Assange.
Like too many Americans, Brits and others, Jonathan is too busy with talks, hikes, and the other things that engage him — such as the food that he experiences when he travels. He won’t do anything to jeopardize his good life.
He’ll likely do another piece or two on Julian Assange. This will happen when Assange dies, and/or when he’s extradited to the US if/when the time comes.
As for Jill’s pleas for Jonathan to actually do something? They’ll fall on deaf ears, if they’re even heard.
Julian Assange is about as sympathetic as Lyndon LaRouche.
So says someone who is clearly a fool.
Hi Jonathan, as always I love your photos. But the top of Mt. Rose it is 10,776 feet above sea level.
Great photos, professor. Thank you…..but do be careful with the change in elevation by acclimatizing yourself.
To go from D.C. sea level to mountains (9,000′) can be tricky.
We were there in October 2005. Off season and perfect weather, like your photos depict. Low 30’s at night, mid 70’s during the day. Walked the lake rim. Love the pine cones as big as your head. Rolling dice at night. Great destination.