One of our favorite events of 2018, was our joint hike with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. We teamed up to take locals and visitors on a hike through Van Sickle Bi-State Park. Along the way, we made a couple of stops to talk about trees and forest ecology.

It was an easy to moderate half-day hike through South Lake Tahoe’s newest state park.  First, we stopped at a beautiful vista from a rock outcropping just above the treeline.  The spectacular view of the lake made for a great spot to take a quick break and have a great discussion on tree identification.  Then, as we continued along the trail, we could see evidence of the 2002 Gondola Fire. Therefore, we talked about the importance of proper disposal of cigarette butts – the accidental cause of this disastrous wildfire.

For the past few years, we have planted sugar pines to aid in restoring the Gondola Fire burn scar.  Since some of the hikers had helped at one of these plantings, they were very curious to see how their little trees were doing.   That is why, we looked and we were very pleased to find many thriving young seedlings!

Similarly, you can join us on our summer hikes or winter snowshoe hikes to learn more about Tahoe’s trees!