where they can see the first hint of snow along the ragged ridges of Squaw Valley’s slopes. Tamara points out some of her favorite runs as we climb through Shirley Canyon on another one of those spectacular Tahoe day hikes. The scenic 5-mile trek begins at the end of the resort, near where McKinney once lived. On hot summer days, an entrepreneurial Francesca used to sell lemonade to parched hikers returning from Shirley Lake. Tamara leads an ascent over the rocky trail with Daisy, the Saint Bernard. Tamara describes Shirley Canyon as one of the area’s premier late-spring hikes because of the water. The path follows Squaw Creek up 1,300 feet. About halfway to the lake hikers arrive at a series of cascades with inviting swimming holes. It’s the perfect destination for anyone looking for a picnic ground and a cold dip in the snow-fed stream. The trail becomes more challenging after the waterfalls, with some steep pitches over granite slabs. Tamara and Daisy bounded up the smooth, hard rock as naturally as the breeze that ruffles the conifers. Retracing steps on these tricky descents can be daunting for the less sure-footed. But Tamara has a solution a mile beyond Shirley Lake. “You can always take the tram down,” she says. Squaw Valley’s aerial tram, at the 8,200‑foot High Camp, opened May 22 and runs through Aug. 30 this year. It also is scheduled to operate on weekends in September. Hikers taking the 2,000‑vertical‑foot ride down don’t have to pay. We have no choice but to hoof it down the dusty trail, with a late afternoon light darting through fallen trees scattershot across the understory. Francesca’s refreshment stand is not waiting at the bottom, as those days are but distant memories. But Tamara offered an alternative: a jar of lemonade and gluten-free garlic chips at Fireside Pizza Company, at the Squaw Valley Village. The shaking we feel is the result of an
approaching truck in the railroad tunnel, our starting place. Would we meet our doom near the infamous spot where members of the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism to survive the harsh winter of 1846? We just don’t know for sure. Hiking guides describe the railroad tunnel excursion as a 3‑mile trail that includes Washoe petroglyphs and the China Wall, near Rainbow Bridge, above Donner Lake. Most say nothing about Union Pacific Railroad trucks rumbling through the tunnels, slicing the eerie silence with the commotion of an armored vehicle. Although the railroad owns the property, the workers welcome us with quick waves as they pass. A fascination with the tunnels and a sense of relief keep us going for miles, shining headlamps and retreating into the shadows whenever trucks squeeze through. We push on and on into a darkness that illuminates the surprising ways Tahoe’s spirit is burnished into our souls. Deeper and deeper until the echoes of time transport us to a higher realm. Follow Elliott Almond at Twitter.com/ elliottalmond.
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