I paddled a few times this week and had the privilege of paddling with John and Brenda for an amazing day on Lake Tahoe. John and Brenda live on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and they squeeze in lots of paddling year round. Brenda competes on a recreational level and has some major paddling skills. She recently completed the Tahoe Fall Classic 22.9 miler and has even finished first in her class. John is no couch potato either. John has been on surf boards for many decades and more recently took to paddling sup. When you see him paddling you can see that paddle boarding came easy to him. He spent most of his life on Kauai raising his family and surfing but from now on, according to him “will always” reside in Tahoe.

We started our paddle in Kings Beach and paddled a mix of closed deck kayaks and stand-up paddle boards along the shore past Brockway Hot Springs to Bucks Beach where we stopped to soak up some much needed winter sun among the giant boulders, it felt like 70 degrees on the beach! We ran into a half dozen other kayakers headed around the point, they were all on sit on top kayaks. John pointed out some bands of crystal outcrops that I had never seen before, I pointed out the thousand pound mother of all crystals to him which he had never seen. It is likely that Crystal Bay was named after these rocks. Meanwhile Brenda found a very comfortable stretch of warm sand and was napping, even though she missed “all the excitement” seemed very content to take a siesta in the warm sun. We were a little pressed for time so we cut the paddle short and extended our beach time, which seemed like a priority, at the time.

Marty and Walt Washington of PT Outdoors paddled their Hobie SUP boards south out of Sand Harbor on the same day and Walt was quoted as saying that the paddling was like “paddling a flying carpet over the boulders”. These boulders are visible for as much as 70 feet below Lake Tahoe’s surface. Lake Tahoe gets so calm that people sometimes experience vertigo from looking down from their paddle boards; sometimes it is hard to judge where the water surface is especially when the water is so clear and calm. Walt also mentioned that he found some large cat tracks in the snow on one of the State Park beaches. Wow, just imagine catching a glimpse of that “cool cat” walking down the beach, not Walt “the cool cat”, but the furry four legged kind.

Needless to say Lake Tahoe water is very cold this time of year and you would not want to fall into the lake without the proper clothing. Some winter paddlers are wearing booties, gloves and three to five mil neoprene farmer johns or pants combined with a comfortable “fast” wicking base layer on top. This combination might be good for experienced paddlers who know their limits but to guarantee your survival in extremely cold water consider a complete dry suit with skull cap and gloves. This combination is obviously not aerodynamic for racing or distance paddling on a sup but great if you for any reason find yourself swimming. The one general rule for winter/spring paddling is to “dress for the water temperature” Protect your chest from the cold water, at minimum wear an appropriate base layer under a dry top. Besides protecting your heart from cold shock wearing dry suits makes it possible to cool down by getting into the water if you overheat. Always check the weather forecast before taking your SUP or kayak out on Lake Tahoe and paddle with a buddy and a cell phone/radio.

Be prepared out there because the weather can change fast on Lake Tahoe. In fact the weather on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe is changing back to winter as I write. So I think I will wax up some tele skis and go find some steep and deep powder a.s.a.p. Who knows maybe in a few days I will mix it up and strap some x-c skis to my kayak so I can paddle out to Walt’s “cat beach” on the next glassy day, so much to do, so much to see, so lets go!

To see our local Tahoe/Truckee athletes competing in the Olympics makes us Tahoe locals wake up a little earlier, slap on our skis with a lot more enthusiasm and ski a little faster, even if some of us are old! Yes we old folks will continue to admire and shamelessly live vicariously though these amazing young Tahoe/Truckee athletes. We will continue to break trail with the enthusiasm of an Olympic hopeful with the strength twenty couch potatoes and the precision of not less than a thousand motor toys! Yes we will do this until our skis no longer turn and our hearts no longer beat.

You can see and support Tahoe/Truckee’s Olympians starting Feb. 13th with the mogul’s competition with Tahoe resident Shannon Bahrke and the downhill competition with Tahoe grad Marco Sullivan. The next day Feb. 14th see Tahoe super G gold medalist Julia Mancuso. On Feb. 15th see Nate Holland from Tahoe/Truckee in the snowboard cross. Then on Feb. 17 see Tahoe’s Mancuso and Stacey Cook of Truckee in the downhill event. Then tune in to see the girls from South Lake Tahoe, 2006 gold medalist Hannah Teter and Elena Hight for the half pipe competition on Feb. 18th. Be sure to look for Mancuso again on Feb.20 for the super G women’s alpine event where Mancuso will be defending her gold from four years ago! Feb. 21st see the Truckee/Jamaican ski team with Tahoe/Truckee locals Daron Rahlves and Errol Kerr for the exciting skier cross country event. The womens’ giant slalom, scheduled for Feb, 24th, will again feature Tahoe/Truckee local gold medalist Julia Mancuso. Go Tahoe.

Unfortunately we may not be able to travel to Vancouver to support these Tahoe/Truckee athletes but we that must remain in Tahoe and Truckee (boo-hoo) should plop down in front of our TV set for each event and cheer loudly (like we do) for our local Tahoe/Truckee athletes but as soon as the competition ends I know you all will not fall asleep with melted ice cream on your face and pie on your lap. No you, you will share the Tahoe/Truckee Olympic athletes enthusiasm and jump up from your easy chair, slap on your skis and hit the trails for at least one last run before dark.

Thanks to a few local residents the fences (literally) came down last week and locals and other assorted Earthlings celebrated on Sunday January 31st. Once again you can paddle your kayak or meander down the scenic path with your paddle and SUP in hand to Bucks Beach. Once again you can paddle your SUP or kayak or sail a sailboat to Bucks Beach and spread out a blanket and spend the day on this pristine little stretch of public property. Hike there or paddle there and see first hand how your tax dollars now benefit you. Now stretch out on your blanket, look up at your clean blue sky, listen to your gentle surf, the robins song from the trees and forget for a moment all your cares but never forget that not one person can own this beach and that it is important that simple ordinary people help protect Americas public places and wildlife for generations to come.

Now go parents and children alike, paddle your kayak, SUP or sailboat and see the giant crystal on the beach, feel the glittering clean sand between your toes. Then paddle and drink the pristine water, dive down and swim through the underwater caves, come up and feel the sun on a hot summer day but take only pictures and leave only footprints. Never give the people that would hire top dollar lawyers’ reasons to fence off places like this again. Our mothers and fathers fought way too many battles to just let this kind of thing happen, especially in America! So let it be known that some people fought a battle for a piece of that sweet “freedom pie” and that this time they won! Maybe we could have avoided all the fuss by considering this one ancient proverb; “The Earth was not given to you by your father it was loaned to you by your children”. So take care everyone and don’t forget to share your toys…damn it!

Enviro-Rents gregarious expert guides will be sure to take you on a fun filled paddle you will not soon forget. Winter is an amazing time to kayak and it is the only time of year that you will see bald eagles on a daily basis. Witness first hand our nation’s most majestic bird from up close.

Paddle along beautiful rocky shorelines covered in snow and learn from our knowledgeable guides as to what other wildlife lives in Tahoe. Tahoe’s history surrounds you and you will learn much about it while kayaking on the north shore. Come be our guest and soon Tahoe’s best-kept secrets will be revealed to you during a fun winter paddle!