It's been a good day, my engineering team at work took the afternoon to go see a movie and I'm spending the night at Lake Tahoe to run a half-marathon first thing in the morning. After driving up to the lake and getting checked in, it was only about 6:30pm and I decided to get a quick hike in before crashing.
Emerald Bay is arguably the most beautiful area of Lake Tahoe. From the surrounding mountains, a number of waterfalls flow into the bay and the surrounding lakes, including Fallen Leaf Lake and Cascade Lake. One of the few waterfalls I've never visited in this area is Cascade Falls. The trail is a short one and it seems like a great choice, given the limited amount of day light I have left.
Driving the few miles from my hotel to the Bayview Campground, I park the jeep at the trail head and walk into the forest. The campground is full and there are several cars at the trail head, but a couple coming out greet me and tell me that I'll have the falls all to myself, as there is no one else up there.
After about a quarter-mile through the forest, the trail travels along a granite cliff that rims the southwestern side of Cascade Lake. The trail has a mile grade to it, but the more problematic part are the number of boulders strewn the length of it. It poses only a minor inconvenience though. From about a quarter of a mile away, I can hear the falls and soon it comes into view. The waterfall cascades approximately 150 feet down a forty-five degree slope before drop into the creek below, which in turn feeds the large Cascade Lake below.
After reaching the top of the falls, I begin looking around for a good place to get a shot of the entire height of Cascade Falls, but I'm not able to find any place to get a good angle. I take the best shots I can before turning and heading back to the jeep. It was only about a 1.4 mile hike, but as the dusk is now upon me, I'm content with the distance. Besides, I'm running a half-marathon in 12-ish hours.
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