Top Trails: Lake Tahoe. Mike White
Nearing timberline, dwarfed and wind-battered whitebark pines become the only conifers able to survive the conditions of this harsh environment. Shrubs and plants in this zone also take on a diminished stature, hugging the ground in order to eke out an existence. Common plants include heathers and laurels. Where seeps and rivulets provide moist soils, a short-lived but stunning display of colorful wildflowers delights passersby. Rock outcrops may provide equally delightful displays of plants and flowers.
Above timberline, at the extreme upper elevations of the Tahoe Basin, is the alpine zone. Though there is some debate among botanists as to whether the Tahoe area has a well-defined alpine zone, only the backcountry traveler who reaches the summit of some of the basin’s highest peaks will be able to observe the area in question. The vegetation within this zone appears to be a combination of tundra species from the north and desert species from the east. Whatever their origin, these plants are generally compact, low-growing perennials that grow rapidly and flower briefly, with most of their growth occurring belowground. Low-growing shrubs, such as low sagebrush and short-stemmed stenotus, share the extreme conditions and poor soils of the alpine region with an assortment of wildflowers. The uppermost slopes of Mount Rose and Freel Peak provide some of the best opportunities in the Tahoe Sierra to experience the flora of the alpine zone.
Dardanelles Lake (Trail 38)
Fauna
Along with a wide variety of plants, the Lake Tahoe Basin is home to a varied community of fauna. While traveling the trails around Lake Tahoe, with alert eyes you may be able to spot several different species of animals.
The largest mammal in the region is the omnivorous black bear, which ranges in color from black to cinnamon. Some members of Tahoe’s black bear population, particularly near developed communities on the west shore, have become quite pesky in seeking food from garbage cans, dumpsters, and campgrounds. However, most bears you might see in the backcountry remain timid and are wary of human encounters. Though bears here are not nearly the nuisance that bears are in the backcountry of Yosemite, Kings Canyon, or Sequoia National Parks, backpackers should still obey basic bear safety guidelines (see below).
More likely to be seen along the trail than a bear in the Tahoe Sierra is the mule deer, so named for its floppy ears. Mule deer prefer varied terrain with an ample food supply, mainly leaves from trees and shrubs, along with grasses, sedges, and other herbs. Watch for mule deer around dusk in grassy meadows, or during the day in open forest where browse is plentiful. Deer herds in the Tahoe Basin are migratory, retreating in winter either west to the foothills or east to the Carson Valley. Since the extinction of the grizzly bear and wolf from the Sierra, the mule deer’s only natural predator is the mountain lion.
Bear Safety Guidelines
Don’t leave your pack unattended on the trail.
Keep all food, trash, or scented items in a bear-proof canister or safely hung from a tree.
Pack out all trash.
Don’t allow bears to approach your food—make noise, wave your arms, throw rocks. Be bold, but keep a safe distance and use good judgment.
If a bear gets into your food, you are responsible for cleaning up the mess.
Never attempt to retrieve food from a bear.
Never approach a bear, especially a cub.
Report any incidents to the appropriate authority.
Though present in the greater Tahoe area, mountain lions, also known as cougars, are rarely seen by humans. Ranging in length from 6.5 to 8 feet and weighing as much as 200 pounds, mountain lions are primarily nocturnal, patrolling a vast range. Though mule deer are their principal food source, mountain lions will stalk smaller mammals as well. At an average weight of 20 pounds, the bobcat is the mountain lion’s smaller cousin. Also nocturnal and equally reclusive, bobcats prefer a diet of rodents. You’re much more likely to hear their blood-curdling scream during the night than see bobcats in the wild.
The highly adaptable coyote is often seen loping across the meadows and through the woodlands of Lake Tahoe. From backcountry campsites spread around the Tahoe Basin, backpackers frequently hear the coyote’s nighttime chorus of howls and yelps. Though many area residents are familiar with the coyote, they fail to realize that it is omnivorous, preferring a diet of small rodents but also dining on berries and plants when such prey is unavailable.
Other common, medium-sized mammals of Lake Tahoe include martens, marmots, raccoons, porcupines, red foxes, weasels, and badgers. Hikers frequently see Douglas squirrels, California ground squirrels, golden-mantled ground squirrels, western gray squirrels, western flying squirrels, and chipmunks. Smaller rodents include pikas, voles, shrews, mice, moles, and pocket gophers.
At dusk, backpackers camped around one of Tahoe’s backcountry lakes are almost guaranteed a visit from a handful of bats searching the skies for the evening’s first course of insects. Midsummer visitors will be comforted to know that large helpings of mosquitoes are on the bats’ menu.
The skies above the Lake Tahoe Basin are home to hundreds of bird species. While hiking around the shore of Lake Tahoe or the banks of rivers and creeks, keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles and ospreys, though they are not particularly common. Red-tailed hawks are the raptors more frequently seen patrolling the skies. Great horned owls are primarily nocturnal but may be seen napping on a tree limb during the day. A walk along Tahoe’s trails without seeing a Clark’s nutcracker, mountain chickadee, or Steller’s jay is hard to imagine. Numerous songbirds fly around the Tahoe Basin, but a fine treat would be the sighting of a mountain bluebird flitting about a subalpine meadow or perched on the branch of a young lodgepole pine near the edge.
Amphibians and reptiles are common residents of the area. The most frequently seen species include the Pacific tree frog, the western fence lizard, and the common garter snake. Though possible, encountering a western rattlesnake in the Lake Tahoe Basin is extremely unlikely.
Insects are abundant members of the Lake Tahoe community. Unfortunately, the mosquito gains the most attention. Thankfully, depending on elevation and the rate at which the previous winter’s snowpack melts, the peak of the mosquito season lasts for just a few weeks in the backcountry, usually through the last weeks of July into the first week of August.
The lakes and streams of the Tahoe Basin teem with fish, where anglers can ply their craft in search of brook, brown, cutthroat, and rainbow trout. Along with these trout, Lake Tahoe itself is home to a couple of introduced species: Mackinaw, also known as lake trout, and Kokanee salmon. Biologists theorize that Mackinaws in Lake Tahoe may reach a weight as high as 50 pounds, but the record catch so far is 37 pounds, 6 ounces. Landlocked cousins of the sockeye salmon, Kokanee salmon were introduced to Lake Tahoe in 1944. The Taylor Creek Stream Profile Chamber at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center (Trail 30) provides an excellent opportunity for viewing the annual spawning migration of the Kokanee each autumn, usually coinciding with the locally renowned Kokanee Festival, held the first week of October.
When to Go
Though Lake Tahoe is considered a year-round recreation destination, those wishing to hike snow-free trails will have to wait until the summer hiking season, when the previous winter’s snowpack has melted and the customarily pleasant weather has settled into the region. Trails begin to shed their winter mantle at lake level as early as mid- to late April, with the snow line progressively receding up the mountainside until the highest elevations are clear, usually no later than mid-July. The wildflower bloom generally begins in earnest a couple of weeks after snowmelt, which varies, depending on such factors as elevation, exposure, and temperature.
On par with many locations in the desert Southwest, the Lake Tahoe