Читать книгу Top Trails: Lake Tahoe. Must-Do Hikes for Everyone онлайн

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Lake Tahoe has become one of the West’s premier meccas for mountain bikers. Mountain biking is not permitted on the Pacific Crest Trail or in the wilderness areas around Lake Tahoe, which currently include Mount Rose, Granite Chief, Desolation, and Mokelumne Wildernesses. If two proposed wilderness areas become reality, this ban may extend to areas around Castle Peak and Meiss Meadows. Other trails—though they may be administratively classified as multiuse trails—have been excluded from prospective use by mountain bikes because of unsuitable terrain or conditions.

Equestrians will find plenty of trails within the Lake Tahoe Basin to ride. A handful of trails have been restricted from equestrian use by governmental agencies, primarily for environmental concerns or a high probability of conflict between horses and humans. Others are not recommended for horses because of unsuitable terrain.

Trail Safety

Elevations in the Lake Tahoe Basin vary from 6,229 feet at lake level to 10,881 feet at the summit of Freel Peak. Though these elevations are not considered extreme by mountaineering standards, people living near sea level who recreate at the higher elevations may experience symptoms of altitude sickness. These include headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness, memory loss, and loss of mental acuity. Untreated, altitude sickness can lead to acute mountain sickness, which is more serious and requires immediate medical attention.