Introducing the Trail Series! LOCH LEVEN

I've been wanting to go for a while on a hike somewhere.  I did a search online to find out where some of the trail heads are around the area.  I found a page that listed several trails that claimed to be around Lake Tahoe.  I live very near there, so the trip wouldn't have been bad.  Instead, I chose a trail head that was on that list, but was nowhere near Tahoe.  Okay, I can forgive the misinformation about the location, and I can even forgive the terribly vague directions on where the trail head actually started.

What I can't forgive was the misinformation about the difficulty of the trail.  This trail was listed in a top ten trails for easy trails.  NO.  This trail was difficult for a beginner, which I am not.  I'm more of an intermediate hiker, and a bit out of shape, but I would not recommend this trail for a beginner.  With that in mind, I give you:

Loch Leven Trail (Located in Big Bend) Exit on the Big Bend Exit and go south and follow the road past the Lodge.  There is a gravel parking lot on the north side of the road with a restroom facility.  The trail head is across the street.  It is easy to miss (well, it was for me) so here is a picture of the trail marker. 

I'm no expert on hiking, so I can't give you any specifics on how much of a climb this trail is, but it goes up the side of a mountain, so, yeah, the climb is rough in spots.  I was literally rock climbing at one point!  That was a challenge for sure, but I made it through. 

I am sad to say that I didn't make it to the lakes where the real views are supposed to be.  I did make it to the pond area, which was beautiful in its own right.  It was shaded and had plenty of rocks to sit on.  (Hey, what can I say?  I look for practicality when hiking.)

And for those who say that I shouldn't go hiking alone, perhaps you are right, but it isn't as though there wasn't anyone around.  I ran into about half a dozen hikers along the way.  Most of them passed me by rather quickly.  No worries about that.  I'll get there one day. But, I was perfectly safe.  

There were several stacked rocks that acted as trail markers.  There were times that if I hadn't seen them, I might have gone off the trail.  Actually, I did end up off the trail toward the end and found myself on the road a bit.  Slightly off course, but no worries there.

 I remember the days when I used to take Raven hiking.  We lived in Incline Village at that point, and there was always opportunities to go hiking.

The only thing I was worried about was the unevenness of the ground.  Those who have know me for a while know that I sprained/broke both of my ankles (my right one twice) all within a year of each incident.  I don't do well over uneven ground, so I had to pay very close attention to the ground.  Especially on the way down.  It was easier going up than it was coming down.  Especially coming down the huge boulders that were in the way of the trail.  I almost lost my footing coming down, and that hurt my ankle a bit, but I made it without too much trouble.

I am looking forward to going on this hike again soon.  I know that I'll get in shape enough to make it to the top where the three lakes are.  Hopefully, when I get there, there will be water in them!  Either way, I know that the views will be beautiful.