First trip to the snow,Tahoe!
Our friends, Tyler and Johnny invited Jeff and I to their cabin in Tahoe for the weekend a few weeks ago and we accepted. We have never really been to the snow and were so excited at the possibility of seeing our first proper snowfall!
Tyler said not to get our hopes up, as it usually doesn’t snow much at this time of year but I was checking the weather report every day for the area and it said there was a good chance for snow showers. Snow showers just means snow fall, no rain involved as I learnt the lingo!
As time got closer Tyler mentioned that a couple of her friends were joining us and that we would stop along the way to do a run. I put two and two together and figured out the friends joining us were her North Face 50 miler training buddies and that this was to be a training weekend!
After a class at Velo SF in the morning we both raced home, got our gear packed and I met Tyler and Adam at her place and we piled in Johnny’s truck (dogs in the back) and headed for Auburn (en route to Tahoe) to pick up Matt and to run along part of the Western States 100 mile trail race trail.
Adam said he knew where to run so we parked, got changed, got a couple of the dogs out that Tyler was looking after and headed out. We made our way through various trails, crossing streams, up and down hills, over bridges and got to a town and decided to turn around and head back before dark. After we all found a tree to hide behind to go to the bathroom, I happened to pick an area full of prickly bush. The prickles attached themselves to the inside of my shorts. I spent the next few minutes delicately pulling them off before we took off or they could have caused some serious problems!
Shortly after I grabbed a bit of a bar out of the back of my Nathan Speed 2 hydration belt and did a stupid thing….looked down at the bar to see which piece to eat first….and within the blink of an eye….ate dirt! Luckily my belt softened the blow and I did a pretty good body roll and was up again and running, very quickly! A little embarrassing…
We managed to get back right before dark thanks to Tyler picking up the pace in the last couple of miles with myself and one of the dogs bringing up the rear with our tongues hanging out. We quickly changed as it was pretty chilly out, piled in the car and headed for their favorite and famous pit stop in Auburn. Their pies are from near and far but we ordered our non-pie meals, inhaled them and took off for the last leg of our journey to Tahoe.
Matt plugged his IPOD in and a little karaoke began with him singing Bonnie Tyler’s "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and Tyler with" I’m Sexy and I Know It". Adam stayed out of it and concentrated on driving and I was backup vocals.
As we got closer to Tahoe there was snow on the side of the roads and a ski field was lit up and people were skiing at night. Now I’m getting excited and asking every question I can think of to do with the snow…not quite sure if Adam sped up or not but we happened to get to Tyler’s place relatively quickly.
We arrived at the house and jumped out of the truck onto….snow!!! Yes….snow!!! After we got all the gear in, Jeff and Kaise arrived and we got settled in the house and Kaise got familiar with the feeling of snow under her paws, which she seemed to love.
Jeff and I drove to the store later that night and it began to snow. I had to stand there and see what it felt like to have a snowflake (or many) hit my face…pretty cool. And then watch it land and stay on my North Face 800 down jacket (this thing is awesome!) and beanie and then even more dorkie…brush it off!
Driving in it was fun too but I took it easy. I felt like the police woman from Police Academy who sang as she drove and had the really soft voice, I was going that slow.
I must admit I probably looked funny walking too as I wasn’t quite sure if it would be slippery and I would slip like they do in the movies but once I got the feel of it I lost the funky walk.
I said to Tyler " if it is snowing in the morning and I’m not up, Come and wake me up". I was just that excited!
When I woke up, I pulled the curtains back to see…sure enough there was a good dumping of snow overnight so I woke Jeff and Kaise up and we got dressed and went outside. We went for a walk and played in it and Kaise came back and was rolling around in the snow and being really playful, as was I.
Due to the snow Tyler, Matt, and Adam were going to run on the treadmills at the gym but I wanted to try running in the snow as it was deep enough and not slippery. I also wanted to try out my new Saucony Razor’s 2.0 that are waterproof! They were awesome, feet were dry!
I told Tyler and the boys and they decided to join me. So we headed off with the dogs on a trail to town to say hi to Jeff who was in the local pub watching the Bengals play. It was awesome! The trails were up to knee deep in soft, fluffy snow and the dogs were running off in every which direction together having a blast. I was running along with a huge smile on my face….so this is what running in the snow is like!
Jeff had made many friends in the time he was at the bar and finally called me many hours later to pick him up. We had gone to get buffed and a soak in the hot tub and picked him up on the way back.
After some food we all felt better and went back to the cabin to chill out in front of the fire, snow still lightly falling. I had to stare out the window of our room at the snow sitting on the trees then falling off when it got too heavy…only something I had ever seen in a movie and now I was seeing it for myself. So beautiful!
The next morning Jeff and I took Kaise and the other dogs for a walk on the trail we had ran the day before as we had to leave for Jeff to get back to work. The snow was still thick but the roads had iced up a little bit so we had to be careful where we walked as we had a couple of slippery incidents! And so did the dogs which was pretty funny to watch. I decided I better make my first snow angel before the snow disappeared but had to be quick about it as I didn’t want my pants to get wet and freeze my butt off (although that could be a good thing!). I gave Jeff my phone to take a photo and quickly laid down on the snow and started my snow angel. Within seconds the dogs came running over to me, thinking I had fallen and needed help or at least a lick on the face and pinned me down. Next time we go to the snow I will attempt a better looking snow angel but I will always remember my first one!
We packed the car and headed home whilst Tyler, Matt and Adam were going to run some more of the Western States Trail in preparation for their North Face 50mile race on their way home later in the day when it warmed up.
It was such a fun and relaxing weekend away and I now have a list of activities/sports I will do next time I am in the snow when there is enough snow. I now have another bucket list: XC ski, skate ski, snow shoe, ski, snowboard, toboggan, and go tubing!
A weekend of firsts for me- first time running part of the Western States trail, first time to Tahoe, first time walking/running/driving in the snow and first time in a hot tub outside when it is snowing! There are probably others I have forgotten about but you get the idea.
I am so happy I discovered and felt "Snow", fun to play in and beautiful to watch. Not to bad for a warm weathered girl for my first adventure in the snow...
