Backpack? Check. Water? Check. Map? Check. Camera? Check.

This weekend we went to a wedding in Tahoe, at a beautiful house in Cave Rock. We actually went to the beach at Zephyr Cove before the wedding and enjoyed the sunshine — and even got in the water,  which wasn’t too cold! Well, since I grew up in Argentina and I’m used to the cold water in the Patagonia lakes, I never find any water too cold!

Unfortunately we forgot the camera, so I’m going to share my pictures from the weekend before last. My hubby hurt his ankle playing tennis so we took a couple of easy — but georgeous — hikes on the Tahoe Rim Trail!

On Saturday we did the Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Trail and on Sunday we also started at the parking lot at the meadows but this time we followed the trail to Spooner Summit and enjoyed amazing views of Lake Tahoe. As we were sitting there, ready for some mate while we our baby was resting and playing with some rocks, I heard someone calling my name. My friend and co-worker Robert was there with his bike. How embarrasing, inteast of adrenaline I was just chilling by the trail!

So here’s a picture that I found on Robert’s post "Riding the Rim Trail":

And here’re the pictures of our hike:

Drinking mate

Enjoying the view

Wow, it’s already Friday and I’m finally writing about Memorial Day weekend! Well, better late than never… we had such a wonderful adventure that I need to tell everyone about it, especially young active parents with babies.

We weren’t sure what we were going to do so we keep it pretty open. That’s important with when you have kids, flexibility is key.

We had reservations for Friday night at Sugar Pine Point State Park so we camped there the first night — to test the weather and see how Cielo liked it. We got there around 5pm and went for a nice hike. After dinner we went to bed (early) so we’d be ready for the next day. We got up early and enjoyed a great camp fire while eating breakfast. Since Cielo slept great and we didn’t get cold at all during the night, we decided we would go backpacking for one night.

We got our permits for Desolation Wilderness and we started at the Bayview Trailhead (Emerald Bay area). Joe carried Cielo and the tent and I carried the rest! The pack was heavy (40+ pounds) — I’ve never carried that much stuff, but I had both of our sleeping bags, food and clothes for the 3 of us, diapers, stove, etc. etc. It was a great workout!

We hiked for 3-4 hours, took a little break by a waterfall/creek and hiked some more. Cielo loved it! She even took a nap while in the backpack.

We endep up near Lower Velma area, since Lake Azure was really hard to get to.  Some areas were covered with snow and others with water, so finding a spot to camp was challenging. But we found a great spot!

On Sunday we decided to stay at Bayview Campground since there was a site open. We put Cielo down for a nap at 5:30pm and she didn’t wake up until the next morning! She was exhausted from her first backpacking experience!

Monday morning we went for a hike with some friends to Cascade Falls and then we took a hike to Eagle Falls and explored Emerald Bay.

What a wonderful weekend! We highly recommend both campgrounds and of course, Desolation Wilderness is like heaven for backpackers who love solitude and breath-taking beauty. It’s a place to enjoy God’s creation to the full!

When you check out Trails.com - this is the description you get of the Jones Creek-Whites Creek Loop Trail:

On this trip, a 10-mile journey leads from low elevation forest up to high, open terrain with grand views of the east flank of the Carson Range, particularly Mt. Rose and Slide Mountain. At various spots along the way, the trail offers good views to the east of Washoe Valley, the Virginia Range, and the south part of the Truckee Meadows as well. The loop visits two tumbling creeks, Jones and Whites, where prolific aspen groves douse the canyons with silvery green in summer and brilliant gold in autumn. A half-mile lateral leads to Church’s Pond, a diminutive pool near the high point of the trip with a grand view of the volcanic gray slopes of Mt. Rose. Despite the proximity to Reno and a beginning in a popular county park, the Jones–Whites Loop is not as heavily used as you might expect.

Although we didn’t make the 10 miles, we enjoyed a few hours on this awesome trail as a family. Our daughter loves to hike — well, she is only 9 months old so she doesn’t really "hike" but she loves to hang out on the backpack!

Taking a break

Enjoying the creek

I hope these pictures are better than a long description. I wish I had the words to describe my adventures like you find on Rich Moreno’s posts. Check out his post Glen Alpine Springs Hike is Worth the Effort. Reno-Tahoe is amazing, there are so many places to explore!

Have a great week!

Tele girl

As others were enjoying the First Annual Park Crew and Microbrews event in Truckee this Saturday we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and go for a family hike. So we invited our friends to join us and headed to the Hunter Creek trail around noon (which is way early for us!). Thanks to Friends of Nevada Wilderness the trail looks good even after the winter. If you need directions, check out the Reno-Tahoe website.

Here’re some pictures of our hike:

Our friends posing for the camera

Taking a break by the creek

Tele girl has become hiking girl lately… Saturday was a beautiful day, so when my friend came back from UNR we decided to go for a hike while my hubby was working on taxes. We drove to Galena State Park and picked the Dry Pond trail. We saw tons of bikers on the way up –they were enjoying the downhill as fast as they could! If you like mountain biking, be sure to check the Galena area out - because this single track is worth trying it!

Here’re some pictures of our hike:

Cute face — where is mommy taking you?

A view of Dry Pond, not so dry this time of the year!

Wow, it’s finally getting cold. I can’t believe we had such a long and wonderful fall this year. Of course we loved it — because with a new baby we’ve been able to enjoy the outdoors without worrying about her being too cold. Although I have to say that tele girl is ready for some turns!

Last weekend after enjoying a fun Thanksgiving day with our family, we hiked Hunter Creek. It was beautiful and we were excited to see some snow on the ground… yes, winter is almost here!

The weekend before last we hiked our favorite trail in Galena Forest - the Mt Rose Wildeness trail from Whites Creek - here’s a picture of our family and our friend Dana: 

Usually this area has a short, almost non-existent fall. But this year, the weather has been amazing! We’ve been able to enjoy the colors of fall for several weeks now and it’s been so fun!

Friday we went for a hike near Fallen Leaf Lake, into Desolation Wilderness and enjoyed the beautiful area with our family.

Posing for a family photo at the end of the hike

On Sunday we hiked Echo Lakes and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The views of Upper and Lower Echo lakes were breathtaking. The air was cool and the yellow leaves looked like a painting. Our baby was awake for a big portion of the hike, just amazed at the beauty of God’s creation.

The three of us, looking at Upper Echo Lake

At the end of the hike - getting a bit cold!

Every year I love going to Galena Forest and enjoying the beautiful colors of autumn. So on Sunday my hubby and I decided to take our two-and-a-half-month old baby girl for a hike to White’s Creek-Jone’s Creek trail (if you’ve never done this loop, this is the time to check it out! Click here for more info about it). Our baby loved it! She was so amazed at the quaking aspen and the sound of the creek. With a little bit of wind, the leaves were falling like rain. She was just too excited!

Daddy - are we ready?

Time for a family photo!

Mom and baby Cielo enjoying the beautiful colors

Sometimes you think it’s too cold to swim in Tahoe before the end of the summer, but I have to say that’s not the case this year! It’s either because it’s been pretty warm for a few weeks now or because I’m nine-months pregnant and the big belly keeps me warm! In any case, my hubby and I have been going to Hidden Beach every weekend and enjoying the water as it has been warming up considerably from week to week.

This is me enjoying Saturday’s windy afternoon, trying to go for a swim in what seem to be like the ocean!

On Sunday we went for a hike in the Donner area, we hiked Long Lake with our friends who are also expecting a baby this summer. The weather was just perfect — it rained for a little while and the rest of the time it was cloudy and cool (perfect for the girls). The views of the different lakes and the Sierras are amazing in this area. If you haven’t been there yet, you have to go check it out. Take I80 West to Soda Springs exit and explore Kidd Lake, Long Lake and much more!