The journey from Truckee to the Lake can also be made on ski in one short day. It is an exhilarating trip, if one travels light. If one desires to tarry en route, he may carry his blankets and food on his back or haul them on a toboggan, and spend the night at the half-way station, known as Uncle Billy's.
The best time to visit the Lake is after the heaviest of the winter snows have fallen. The period of steady and heavy precipitation occurs in January. After this month is past, there are long periods of settled weather broken only occasionally by storms, which add to rather than detract from one's pleasure.
The special equipment requisite for winter trips to Tahoe is slight. The list includes goggles (preferably amber), German socks and rubbers, woolen shirt, sweater, short heavy coat, and mittens. For mountain climbing a pair of Canadian snowshoes should be added to the equipment; for traveling on the level, a pair of ski can be rented at Truckee or the Lake. If one desires to camp instead of stopping at the resorts around the Lake, a tent and waterproof sleeping bag should be procured.
The cost of transportation in winter is scarcely more than in summer. The sledge trip from either Truckee or Carson City to the Lake is $2.50, an amount only $1.00 in excess of the regular fare by rail. Board will cost no more than in summer.
TRUCKEE
| The Canyon of the Truckee River in Winter
Click photo to see full-sized. |
Closely associated with Lake Tahoe as a center for winter sports is Truckee, the natural point of departure for the Lake. Here a winter carnival is held annually for the entertainment of outsiders. Among the chief sports are ski-racing and jumping and tobogganing. The toboggan course is two thousand feet long and has a fall of one-hundred fifty feet. A device is employed for drawing the toboggans back to the starting point. The hotel facilities are ample. Toboggans and ski can be rented for use here or at the Lake. Clothing and other winter outfits can be procured. Canadian snow-shoes, however, must be obtained in San Francisco.