So we thought we were done with skiing but then woke up to this …..
Down at the village level there had been about 5cm of fresh snow overnight and more forecast throughout the morning. Out came our ski gear once again and we drove back down the road to Heavenly. When we got off the top of the gondola we couldn’t believe how powdery the snow was, so dry it would squeak under your skis. The cloud lifted and the snow stopped falling leaving us with about 10cm of fresh snow to play in, just one day before the resort was due to close. We had a fab day, played in the trees, trying jumps, practicing moguls and trying to beat our fastest downhill max speeds.
We also met some cool people all enjoying Memorial Weekend.
Then we had a chilled night in the lovely warm house. The night before we’d been to a great pizza and ale place with Tammy and Tatum, where you poured your own ale from a choice of about 30 ales.
With the family out for the evening it was nice to chill, do laundry and spend some time with the pets.
The next morning was time to get back on the road and start heading North. We said goodbye to our amazing new friends who’d been so generous letting us stay in their home and giving us lift tickets etc and drove round the East side of Lake Tahoe. There were some gorgeous views of the lake with a backdrop of snow covered peaks.
We took a slight diversion to Minden where Janet had read about a great swimming pool with an indoor and an outdoor pool. As it was sunny, we were able to swim in the outdoor pool with a lane all to ourselves, looking up every now and then to admire the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains – wow!
We drove through the crazy sprawl of Reno, bought some cheap petrol and then crossed back into California and up into the Plumas National Forest where we found a lovely riverside spot at Chilcoot campsite. It was basic but all we needed with just the sound of the rushing river, the birds, squirrels and chipmunks.
The next morning we took a quick look at Frenchman Lake while making friends with another chipmunk and then headed to Quincy to check out the mountain biking. After speaking to the friendly guy at the bikeshop (and buying a great Burton ski coat for Janet for only $65) we decided to ride the Cascade Trail and the Monument Peak Trail at the Quincy South Park. There was a lot of climbing which sometimes isn’t so much fun with dodgy gears and a cassette that resembles your road bike’s, but it certainly makes you appreciate the downhills. It was sunny and really hot which is incredible considering we were just skiing in fresh snow. I’ve gone from ski sallopettes and thermals to shorts – crazy!
The guy also recommended a great place to stay by the river – a chilly wash in the river soon cools you down. It was lovely to hear the rushing river and crickets as we chilled after dinner. This is the life!
The next day we took a shuttle lift from Yuba up Mount Hough. We cycled up to the snowline and then had something like a 12 mile descent back to Quincy.
A great way to and the day when the local brewery give mountain bikers a dollar off their beer – hic!
