Hiking Meeks Bay Trail

20 September 2008

Last year I wanted to do this Meeks bay Trail to Rubicon Lake and due to extreme cold in October I had to back out. This year I tried in September and it was perfect weather ...

Located at the west shore of the Lake Tahoe, Meeks bay Trail (Map)is 16.2 miles long and has considerable elevation gain. It is considered to be a moderate hike and passes a chain of alpine lakes. The day use permit is required and the permit can be collected at the self-service station at the trailhead. The trailhead is on Hwy-89 right across the Meeks bay Resort.

Me and Hina started the hike little late at 10:30AM. Initially we went on as fast as possible ... the first mile is an unpaved road which leads to the actual trailhead ... after this the trail gradually climbs up ... at 4.6 miles we saw the Lake Genevieve ... pretty big lake with the rocky peaks in the background ... we took a break for few minutes to fill some fuel into us ...

Another 0.3 miles walk led us to the Crag Lake ... we were very eager to see more lakes as we progressed ...

Some more uphill ... rocky steps ... where the trail forks to Hidden Lake down below and the Meeks bay trail continues on the left ... We saw the lake from the cliff and continued on Meeks bay trail ... the Shadow Lake was almost dried up ...

We continued non-stop ... some more uphill ... to our joy the Stony Ridge Lake was so cool, pristine and spectacular ... getting a good picture of that beauty was just not possible with my point-and-shoot camera ... since it was a long hike I had not carried my usual camera gear and had to manage with the little what I had in hand ... we sat there over a boulder on lakeside ... enjoyed viewing the rocky mountains ... clear water ... reflection of sunlight ... and nibbled on snacks ...

Next was Rubicon Lake, our final destination before we turned to retrace our steps back to trailhead ... the trail was going uphill in between the rocks and boulders ... and by now my knees were whining ... as we ascended uphill the views of the Stony Ridge lake were visible far away down below ...

At last ... there it was ... hidden behind the granite giants ...

Rubicon Lake ... our final destination of the day ... it was blue and beautiful ... not as big as Stony Ridge lake ... we had our lunch there ... it tasted divine ... after 8 miles of almost non-stop hike anything would taste good :) We had sandwiches ... wholegrain bread, coriander chutney, tomato, cucumber and avocado and of course salt-pepper :) ... kind of gave us energy boost ... we had 8.1 more miles to go back to the trailhead ...

Now all the way downhill ... my knees were resisting so much ... I had to push myself hard ... but, there was no time to relax ... we had to reach the civilization before Sun sank behind peaks ... we passed Stony Ridge Lake ... it was beautiful and serene ... but, we didn't have any mood to pay attention ... we moved on ... there it was ... Hidden Lake ... so ... two more to go ... yey ... there was Crag Lake ... and there we passed Lake Genevieve ... and the lake told us "another 4.6 miles more" ... ahhh ... the pain in the knees was unbearable now ... I was almost limping ... and all I was searching in the woods was the unpaved road ... and I saw it every now and then ... and Hina laughed ... may be that is called hallucination ... hehehe ...

Sun was now behind the rocky peaks ... it was getting dark ... we passed the wooden bridge, the sign board, trees which indicated we were getting near to the unpaved road ... I started running ... with the knees hurting I looked awkward to myself ... But, I am scared of dark ... in the woods ... what if a puma is on its prowl ?? what if I see a bear ??? with limping limbs I could never go for a ballroom dance with a Californian brown bear !! And I saw the unpaved road ... I yelled out ... screamed out of joy ... as if I had won a gold medal in Olympics marathon ... Sun was completely behind the hills now ... we had one more mile to walk to reach the parking ... we started talking about our fears ... our religions ... especially funny customs and beliefs ... it was a nice contrast ... Hinduism and Islam ... and then some politics ... and then what to eat for dinner ... and we saw our car ...

After dumping the daypack into the trunk ... I got rid of those heavy hiking boots ... they looked very ugly ... my feet were happy to earn their rightful freedom after 8 hours of painful confinement ... then me and Hina both laughed as we peeled off the sticking dirty socks ... the fiber from the socks was still sticking to my heels and toes. We drove back to the campground ... after a shower I ate channa usali (seasoned garbanzo beans). Sitting beside the campfire brought us (especially me) back to normal ... It was a great beautiful hike ... I wish my knees weren't a problem ... ahhh ...