Sam Bauman
I've hiked Spooner Lake at Highway 50 West and Highway 28 to Incline Village many times and I've come to the conclusion that you should do it twice a year at least - once in the spring/summer when it's all new and the wild flowers are out, and once in the autumn when the quaking aspens are doing their dance. There are at least two big groves of aspen along the lake trail.
I've done this walk (can't really call it a hike) but this week was the first time that I wondered if I were going to make it all around the 2.1 miles of the trail. The 100-degree heat was like a wall that forced me to sample the many benches around the lake.
There are two ways to start this walk. The most popular is at Spooner Park, off Highway 50 just a few hundred yards down Highway 28. There's an entrance fee but parking is handy and the trail head is just a few steps away.
The other way (my favorite) is to start at Spooner Summit in the smooth area off to the right as the two highways merge - road construction crews having been parking machines there. Look for the signs to the trail head and then walk a little farther and you'll see the metal boxes where you drop off $1 for day use of the trail. No bikes allowed.
You descend about 100 feet to the trail from the Summit and you have a choice to go left or right. No matter, you'll cover the same ground, but right takes you sooner to the aspens and their shade. This is a walk of slight undulations mostly along the edge of the lake with alternating shade and sun. It's popular with area visitors; I met at least a dozen Monday.
Lots of signs along the trail, one telling the story of a Canadian named Spooner who built quite a facility there during the Gold Rush days. But he went broke. Almost all the shaded benches have fine views of the lake and surrounding Sierra. Echoes of Highway 50 float down to you.
About halfway around the lake you'll come to the old spillway and the machinery to open the flood gate. Doesn't look like its been used in years, but it is all nice and shiny. This is the area where most of the fishing folk cast their lines or launch their unpowered boats. A small fee is asked for fishing.
While walking, don't make the mistake of just looking ahead for the trail. There are osprey and white heron here and you can see the osprey circling the lake as they look for supper.
Not much in the way of picnic sites along the trail, but the park itself offers all you could ask for. The park concession stocks hiking gear and maps, including one of the Snow Valley Peak hike, which starts at the park.
Views of Lake Tahoe from Snow Valley Peak are stunning. However, you'll have to march through 4 miles of dense forest before the lake is revealed in all its glory. Three vista points within the first 2.2 miles offer limited views and a shorter hike, but they fail to compare to the awesome grandeur at the trip's climax atop Snow Valley Peak.
Spooner Lake trail isn't something for experienced trekkers, but for visitors getting used to the altitude it's not a bad start. I'll do the Snow Peak trail later this summer.
POST SCRIPT
An upset lady phoned after last week's piece about hiking the North Loop of Riverview Park at the east end of Fifth Street, with the small neighborhood park named Korean War Veterans Memorial Park. I hadn't mentioned the park name in full, and she thought that was a slur. As a Korean War veteran who never fired a shot, I figure I should make sure that one and all know that this park honors that brave band who soldiered through poor leadership and insufficient supplies but still got the job done.
The best telling of that war is a book by the late David Halberstram, "The Coldest Winter." It is the best book this very good writer wrote, by his own estimation, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know about that largely forgotten war. Halberstram was the kind of journalist who got past the brass and told the real story.
So remember when you stop at the Riverview Park, it's a memorial to some troops who were really heroic.
And the Parks and Rec Commission checked in to tell me that the city owns all the hiking trails in the city; the Rec folk just do the hard work of keeping them passable. And they do a fine job.
• Contact Sam at 841-7818 or sambauman@att.net.