Tahoe trails part 1. The Amtrak train got me from Oakland to Sacramento where I connected with a Thruway bus to the town of South Lake Tahoe. The lake is one of the largest and deepest freshwater lakes in the States and functions in effect as a resort for holidaying Americans (including gambling which is legal on the Nevada side of the Stateline which runs through the middle of the lake).
 I was bound for the great outdoors so I headed to the edge of town where an abandoned road provided the most direct route into the backcountry.

 As I ascended from approximately 7000 feet above sea level to around 9000 feet vistas began to open up all around. I had gazed upon some mighty landscapes from the windows of the bus and now I was walking into them.
 The Old Meyers Grade as this road is known took me up about 700 feet over a mile and a half or so at which point I could connect with trails to Echo Summit and beyond. It used to be a section of the Lincoln Highway, America's first intercontinental route circa 1915. Now traffic thunders in and out of Tahoe on Highway 50. Meyers Grade is closed to motor vehicles but popular with hikers and mountain bikers.

 Beyond Echo my first night's camp provided me with a big sky and plenty of forest. Actually this was also the site of my last night's camp 10 days later. Essentially I did a loop of sorts round the territory known as the Meiss Roadless Area using sections of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail.

 For the next 10 days my hiking alternated between forested sections and high mountain meadows. Tahoe and the Sierras had a massive amount of snow over winter, and it was still very much in evidence on the peaks...

 ... and sometimes on the trail. On day 2 I had a gruelling hike uphill on thick snow and I was relieved to get past it after a couple of couple of hours.   

 The PCT and TRT follow contours where possible which makes for somewhat easier walking when not ascending or descending the steep passes.

 On my second day out of Tahoe I reached the idyllic Showers Lake and camped by its waters for several nights using it as a basecamp for some hiking round and about without the full backpack.
 I particularly wanted to explore the section of the PCT between the lake and Carson Pass which is renowned for wildflowers. In alpine areas they begin to bloom in great profusion as the snow melts. Alas, so do the mosquitoes -they were pretty fierce in the early morn and later in the evening- but the flowers and dips in the crystal clear lake were sublime.