Zoe was offering us an experience that was too good to refuse (for three of us, at least): She would guide us on a hike in a remote canyon that she has visited for her work. It would be away from the crowds that are coursing through the streets of South Lake Tahoe seemingly around the clock this high summer weekend, in a place that a lot of visitors to the area don’t get to see.

There were a few catches, though. Because the site was more than an hour away from our current home base, we would have to leave pretty early in the morning and take a rather curvy mountain route to get to the trailhead.

We did have a very nice morning outdoors. Zoe picked this particular hike because it is relatively level and wouldn’t be too taxing on lungs that are not yet acclimated to our current altitude. The trailhead is actually even higher up than the 6,000-ish feet of South Lake Tahoe, but that altitude gain would be achieved by Zoe driving us up into the hills.

And she’s quite a good driver these days. She did not whip around the blind corners with reckless abandon, but she also was not nearly as freaked out by narrow roads and hairpin turns as I would have been. Along the way, she pointed out several other sites where she and her team have been working.

Once on the trail, we wound our way through a dense pine forest with lots of examples of large, old-growth trees. Like every other moment we have been here so far, the temperature was perfect and the skies were deep blue, completely unblemished by clouds.

We got to ford a stream a few times and we eventually came to an overlook of canyon about 50 feet above the stream, just above the canopy of trees along its banks. Surrounding mountains, several of them still dotted with patches of snow, loomed over the tress. Zoe said when she first visited this site a few months ago all the mountain tops were covered with snow.

It was very quiet. We saw two other hikers (a person accompanied by a dog) during the trip. Zoe was able to tell us about her job. They are trying to locate nests to help inform the US Forest Service how to manage the area’s state and national forests. Knowing where certain birds nest will help the Forest Service plan its management operations.

Meanwhile, we experienced the greatest hike since the one we took through Grocery Outlet Bargain Market.

We got to see Zoe’s field pack, which includes her binoculars, a first aid kit, and bear spray. We did not see any bears on this hike, but Zoe has seen seven so far while she has been working. They were all black bears that she could easily scare off if she found them too close to her. There are no longer any grizzly bears in this part of California.

With that adventure done, we ziggzagged back down the mountain and back to South Lake Tahoe, where Nadia had been expecting us for a few hours. She failed to grasp the magnitude of our hike. We quickly laid plans for the rest of the day:

Swimming at our resort’s beach

Escape Room

We finished the evening at an out-of-the-way microbrewery that seemed to be a place that locals would want to haunt. There are at least a half dozen more accessible microbreweries that we have seen on the main drag. So, if you’re keeping score, we have talked today about mountains, lake life, snow, consistent beautiful weather, inexpensive groceries, wildlife, and plentiful beer. This really is a self-sufficient enclave where all one’s needs can be met without having to travel to Carson City, Reno, or Sacremento. Not a bad place to wind up in for vacation.