Pacific Crest Trail Adventure

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Truckee Area Living in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee area certainly has its rewards, many of them unrealized until you actually live here. But one of the most popular attractions for hikers is the nearby Pacific Crest Trail, which literally runs right through the surrounding Truckee area. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a hikers-only trail that begins at the northern end of the Kings Canyon National Park and ends at the Oregon border. Along the way to Oregon, the PCT crosses through Yosemite National Park and stretches across the wilderness areas of the formidable northern Sierra Nevada Range, before then sweeping West past several volcanoes in the Southern Cascade Range before finally ending in the Siskiyou Mountains of Northern California.   I was recently able to spend some time hiking part of the trail that is near to Truckee. This part of the trail was something I had heard about many times from friends that glorified the trail as being both visually amazing and not overly strenuous. Determined to experience this for myself, I set out with my husband and father, who was visiting from Pennsylvania.  Intent on making this hike as manageable as possible, our group left a car near the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort trailhead before driving East toward the Boreal Mountain Resort with the idea of avoiding hiking in a circle. As soon as we started on the trail, it became instantly clear why this part of the Tahoe trail is heralded as being breathtakingly beautiful. Towering Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine trees block all sounds of civilization, leaving you feeling truly surrounded by the amazing environment that is Lake Tahoe. Gentle climbs to the top of mountains on the trail offer incredible views, and the trail section for the day seemed over in almost no time. Picking the other car up was simple, and it was nice to be able to hike part of this amazing trail and still be home for dinner. Tired, relaxed, and feeling very accomplished.