Round Top Lake and Winnemucca Lake

It's been a long time since I've posted an entry here.

The main reason is that I've been doing a lot more running lately, and (as Aki always likes to remind me) the camera on my phone has a pretty scratched up lens.

There was a time when I would write my blog post in my head as I hiked. Perhaps I was more passionate about it back then? Looking back, I'm pretty impressed by how prolific I was, especially before the move to the U.S.. And then, for about 4 of the 5 years we lived in Southern California, inspiration did not come easily (for a number of reasons).

Moving to the Lake Tahoe area, I thought that maybe my interest in hiking, photography, and writing would perk up, being surrounded by such beautiful wilderness. But then I discovered that I could cover 2 to 3 times the distance if I swapped my backpack for a hydration vest.

However, as with any good training plan, it is important to change your regimen. I've been quite fatigued as of late, partly owing to an injured left glute from a fall I sustained during one of my runs, and it was nice to just leisurely walk and not worry about keeping my heart rate up or my cadence high.

Lunch at Round Top Lake. The summit of Round Top is just off the left edge of the photo.

I was hoping that this loop would not be too busy, wanting to avoid crowds (as we always do, but even moreso now), but the parking lot was full and we encountered a lot of people on the trail. A quiet lunch on the shores of Round Top Lake was cut short when multiple large groups of people arrived, so we packed up and continued on.

As with many of our summer destinations, we wanted to scope out ski terrain in the surrounding area. Both Round Top and Elephant's Back are popular tours in the winter, and we even saw one guy skiing Round Top on this day. To have carried his gear this far in to get maybe 200m of turns ... well actually, that sounds pretty reasonable. I was a bit jealous.

Cresting over the pass between the two lakes.

I have mixed feelings about living at Lake Tahoe (and to be clear, my feelings were definitely not mixed about living in Southern California). Part of me still misses home. A lot. But the idea of staying here until I retire is one that I'm still playing around with. Which means I haven't rejected it yet.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3680609085