Living so close to Lake Tahoe, I've been aware and at times been a member of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. I've even done a few events with them over the years. Each winter, they offer a guided snowshoe trek to the Martis Peak Fire Lookout overseeing most of the Tahoe basin. I had intended to do this with the group last year, but for one reason or another wasn't able to. This year, however, the dates lined up and I was able to register and do the hike.
Meeting at the intersection of Martis Peak Road and Highway 267, the seven of us (4 guides and 3 guests) made our introductions and geared up for the trail. Originally, more people had signed up, but the forecast called for rain and snow, which triggered a number of cancellations. That said though, the seven of us were happy to get some miles in on the powder. Also, the use of the word "trail" here is a bit of an embellishment. We were actually snowshoeing up a forest service road, but with approximately a foot of snow on the surface all the way up, you wouldn't know that.
Sinking the teeth of our snowshoes into the crunchy powder, we were off. The skies above were gray, but not dumping on us just yet. One of the guides mentioned that she didn't know that we'd make it all the way to the tower before the storm came, but we'd get as far as we could. Myself and one of the other guests were pretty determined and pushed the pace a fair amount.
The road itself was crisscrossed with snow-mobile tracks and had a gentle uphill incline that carried us up the 1,700' of elevation gain necessary to reach the lookout. We occasionally waited on the other members of the group, but still made pretty good time. About a mile before reaching the lookout, it started to snow very lightly, but by the time the lookout was in sight, it had started coming down a bit heavier.
We discovered a welcome sign and an unlocked door at the lookout and decided to get out of the weather to get a quick lunch in. The lookout building itself is nothing fancy. It's mostly a windowed plywood box with a balcony sitting on a base. While I think this particular lookout has been retired by the Forest Service, these buildings are generally staffed with rangers watching the horizon from the high perch and getting a jump on locating any wild fires that might start in the region. Around the interior ceiling, the rangers have drawn the mountain-scape in all directions and labeled the peaks. This is no doubt to help then identify the location of any fires they may see.
As we finish off our lunch, another group of snowshoers join us in the building. They too were brave enough to come out in the snow-storm. We pack up and bid them well, before heading back down the mountain. The snow on the way back comes down quite a bit heavier at times and some of us push pretty hard coming down. We do take time though to take in the beauty of this snow. My new friend mentions how much it reminds her of a the falling white powder in a snow globe, and she's absolutely right. It's remarkably similar.
Reaching the cars, we remove our snowshoes and thank our guide. It was a great trek and we got in just over 8.5 miles. This was my first snowshoe of the winter, but it was an excellent one!
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