Anyone here in the Lake Tahoe area?

[cherokeeprogressive]

I'm going camping to a place called Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe in two weeks. Is the smoke from the No. Cal. fires a problem up there?

[cherokeeprogressive]

1. I'm taking a Prius and a tent.

[NV Whino]

2. Had some friends who went early last week

and it was gorgeous. Had a client who came back early this Friday because the smoke was awful.

Rob posted this earlier today.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14944&src=map

It's a good place to check out the smoke.

It really depends on which way the wind is blowing. If it's blowing toward the Tahoe basin, it just settles in. I was there about three years ago when there were fires south west of Tahoe. Had to leave early. So, really check out the maps and wind direction. If it's bad, don't go.

If you aren't going for a couple of weeks you may be fine. The fires are coming under control.

[exothermic]

3. Not being flip here but it's pretty hard to imagine what the situation will be in 2 weeks...

Hope it's okay for your camping though! (You could come camp at our lake, it's 800 miles southeast of Tahoe but has no smoke - just nonstop rain!) :D

[Cleita]

4. OMG! That is a beautiful and heavenly place.

There seems to be a couple of fires north of there but not that close. http://firecenter.berkeley.edu/cafiremap/gmap_html/gmodis.html You might want to check the local news though for Reno Nevada. They would have news about Lake Tahoe as well as it is near by.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. I've never been to Tahoe, but from everything I've heard it's awesome.

Okay, I lied about the Prius, but we're tenting it for a whole week. From the end of July to the first week in Aug.

Have you ever heard of Loon Lake? It's a place between Placerville and Tahoe. We tented it there two years ago during the week and were the ONLY people on the whole lake.

[Cleita]

7. DH and I have driven by Loon Lake. It's really remote.

You will find Lake Tahoe very different. It's populated but still magical. The California side is more wilderness than the Nevada side.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. A story about Loon Lake...

Sandra and I were walking the shore on the third or fourth day we were there... From behind us came a WHOOSH sound that was loud enough to make us both duck and look for its source... We were treated to something I'm sure few (by comparison) have seen... A HUGE Bald Eagle had just flown over our heads and swooped down to catch a trout in its talons... As it rose into the air again (with great effort I might add), it looked like the trout had to be at least three to four pounds. It flew to a nest in a tree not a hundred yards from where we stood and as God is my witness, you could hear the young eagles in the nest start screaming for their share... I wish I had the presence of mind to take pictures with the camera that hung from my shoulder. We were the ONLY persons in the campground other than the camp host.

[argyl]

11. That's a great story about the eagle. Reminds me of a verse in a song.

The eagle looked down on the river below

And he wrapped his wings round him and he fell like a stone

The big salmon fought but the talons held true

And he shuddered as the world turned from silver to blue

I stood there in awe though I'd seen it before

I was born in these mountains and I'll die here for sure


From "Me and the Eagle" by Steve Earle

[LeftyMom]

5. That area's beautiful. No telling what the fires and winds will be like in advance, though.

We got a good breeze yesterday, cleaned things up here in the valley. That wasn't what was projected at all. :shrug:

[lonestarnot]

9. Don't forget to clean up after yourself.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. I not only clean up after myself, I usually pick up about 50-100 cigarrette butts

from those who were there before me. My practice is to police the entire area and do my best to leave it cleaner than I found it. My fiance, my daughter, and anyone who is invited to camp with me resent me sometimes for that. We don't leave until I'm satisfied that the place is clean. I mean clean.