Father's Day Fun

So, my son and I decided to climb up to Shirley lake, in the Squaw Valley ski area this week. On the map it's about 5-6 miles and 1500 feet of elevation gain. However, most of the gain is in the last mile, with one section that's pretty steep and will definitely get your lungs working. The hike itself follow along Squaw creek and takes you from the valley floor to the lake which is actually at the foot of one of Squaw's chairlifts - it must freeze in winter.

If you are feeling rich and lazy you can take the tram up from the valley floor and then hike a mile to the lake. In fact, there is a sign warning hikers that it's $10 to ride the tram down posted on the trail. Not our kind of thing, but if you want to see the lake without much effort it's a definite possibility.

I wanted to climb Granite Chief (mountain in the background) but my son's not old enough yet.

Anyway, arriving we were hot and tired. There is a little peninsula that sticks out into the lake and though the water is snow melt, and maybe 40 Degrees, my son did a 'if you do it, I'll do it' dare to go for a Polar Bear and jump in. We did - and out again in a second. It was crazy cold, but exhilarating.



















Though I've been climbing pretty consistently for the last couple of months, I've been bad about getting into the gym. This week it finally showed as the climb took a lot more out of me than it should have. So, it's back to the elliptical trainer for me.



Happy father's day all.