Okay so you won't believe the last 2 days I've had. Like I said in my last blog we headed to Lake Tahoe to camp for 2 nights. James our tour leader gave us a pretty big warning of the cold temperatures expected at the lake so advised us to do a Walmart dash for warm clothes and extra blankets etc. With scarf, gloves, hat, track suit bottoms and a body warmer in toe we headed to the lake just after a nice lunch stop at a park where we had a kick about and soaked up the last bit of the hot weather. Before we arrived to the campsite we visited the lake itself which is crystal clear freezing water surrounded by huge trees and mountains- something you'd see in a brochure it was so beautiful! We reached camp and before we set up or unpacked we were sat down for one very BIG warning- brace yourselves. James told us about the high risk of bear attacks!!! He also demonstrated what to do if we came into contact with one. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Not only was there risk of bears but also raccoons, coyotes and mountain lions!! With that aside we set up camp and it was my teams night to cook dinner. We chose fajitas and nachos so we got cooking that for the group. It was a successful dinner if I do say so myself. We spent the rest of the night around the campfire playing some games and generally having a laugh and prolonging going to bed due to the fear of bears getting us in our sleep! Before bed we had to put all food and anything that has scent, so toiletries, in 'bear boxes' which are obviously bear proof. It is safe to say that this nights sleep was one of the worst I've ever had! Below freezing temperatures and complete fear were two of many reasons I didn't sleep- but it's all fun and games. So morning came (thank god) and we prepared ourselves for a 9 o'clock hike around Lake Tahoe. I'm not usually one for hiking but this was an experience ill never forget! We went on a moderate to strenuous trek with the peak height of 8,000ft. We did 7 miles which took us 4 hours and throughout there was plenty of gorgeous photo opportunities and we took time to soak in the beautiful surroundings. Although at times I felt dizzy through altitude and short of breathe due to just unfitness I loved every step and I hope to continue hiking back in the UK. It was just my luck though that 5 minutes after a conversation about wasp stings I got stung twice by the pesky things! The comfort of the van was a delight for my muscles and I was so grateful for heating. We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling (quite literally) around camp and the next team cooked chilli for dinner which definitely warmed our insides up! For pudding we had the American delicacy Smores! They are roasted marshmallows and Hershey's chocolate in between two sweet crackers. Tasty but very sickly- I will defo be bringing this back to the UK with me ;). I drifted off to sleep around the fire as the hike took it out of us so it was a relatively early night and to my surprise I slept pretty good. I did have 2 Tshirts, 1 hoodie, body warmer, hat, gloves and two socks on covered in 2 sleeping bags and a blanket so that may have been why!
This morning we packed up camp and sad goodbye to the bear infested mountains and we are now heading to Sierra Nevada. Temperatures will be the same but no bear alerts there. For lunch we've just stopped off to an old wild western ghost town in the middle of nowhere! The place used to be a famous gold mine area and later became a town of criminals but was abandoned in 1940, so the place was eerily deserted.
We have one more night camping and then it's VIVA LAS VEGAS for 2 nights- I cannot wait!
How is everyone? All cosy and warm in your beds right!?
Lots of love, Katie xxxxxx