1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,400 Want to experience one of the most pure bodies of water on the planet and be able to see down into those clear waters on an ultimate lake adventure? 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:20,200 These kayaks are really unique. They are totally 100% clear and transparent, so you could see down to the bottom depths of about 55-65 feet during your time on the water. 3 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:26,800 We're kayaking Lake Tahoe, one of the world's clearest lakes and one of the largest alpine lakes in North America. 4 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:34,800 Taking on this vast, seemingly bottomless water recreation hub on an insider's tour with local guide Kelsey Weist of Clearly Tahoe. 5 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:43,800 People will actually paddle the whole way around Lake Tahoe. We actually did it in five days last fall. 6 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:51,800 Wow, we'll learn about the lake's unique geology, as well as why Tahoe is one of the leaders in sustainable travel and responsible recreation. 7 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:04,800 So take a deep breath and let's take in nature by adventuring on this lake, strabling California and Nevada in this episode of the Travels of Darley Podcast, where locals guide us through spectacular locations. 8 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:18,800 One of the best ways to see one of the most clear bodies of water on the planet is to go kayaking in a clear kayak. 9 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:27,800 It's an experience that I didn't know existed until I traveled to Lake Tahoe in the spring to enjoy mixing spring skiing with lake adventures. 10 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:39,800 The water temperature in Lake Tahoe does not change much from summer to winter. It always stays pretty chilly. It will warm up in these little coves, but it does generally stay very cold even in summer months. 11 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:51,800 The water never actually freezes over, with Tahoe being known for so much snow, the water will never freeze over. It may in some of the really shallow coves along the shoreline, but that's about it. 12 00:01:51,800 --> 00:02:00,800 One of the best ways to experience the lake is to get out on the water at Zephyr Coe Resort, a campground located on national forest lands. 13 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:12,800 Kelsey Weist of Clearly Tahoe is taking me out in their special kayaks. This is a tour that you can book, and for those who want to go to loan, Clearly Tahoe also rents kayaks. 14 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:20,800 These kayaks are really unique, not just in the sense that they are totally 100% clear and transparent, but they are flat on the bottom. 15 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:32,800 While they are shaped like a canoe, they are flat on the bottom and it creates a lot more stability. You can see down to the bottom, depths of about 55-65 feet during your time on the water. 16 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:42,800 That's Kelsey Weist, who co-founded Clearly Tahoe and is passionate about getting out into nature and helping others to do so in a responsible manner. 17 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:56,800 They also have a backrest, so they are much much more comfortable than a normal canoe, and they are not meant for speed or agility. They are mainly meant to really take in your full surroundings both along the shoreline as well as under the surface. 18 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,800 So we are going to get a chance to explore some really cool stuff today. 19 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:06,800 We are standing on the sandy beach shoreline of Lake Tahoe, clear waters lapping slowly onto the sands. 20 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:18,800 We have got on our life-ess and I am wearing my aviator ray bands along with long sleeves and a fleece vest. It is spring in Tahoe and there is a chill in the air, even in the sun. 21 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,800 Green forests line the lake here and all around the lake are beautiful snow cap mountains. 22 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:35,800 When you are out on a clear kayak, you really do get to see more because what happens is if we look out now, we get to see the color tone of the lake. 23 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:45,800 And how there is different shades of blue. Now when you are on the clear kayak, what happens is it breaks the surface reflection and allows you to see much more detail. 24 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,800 So we will get to see things such as pyrate in the bottom of the lake. 25 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:54,800 Kelsey unzips the front of the small backpack on her chest to pull out a golden nugget. 26 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:59,800 It is in a sand, especially in some of the coves we are going to take you to, and it is fools gold 27 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:07,800 I was going to say, are you taking me on a wild gold chase out here? No, sort of, but it is actually a fake wild gold chase. 28 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:19,800 With fool's gold, now you are not going to see pieces like this. It is mostly little tiny flakes that you will see in the sand and be able to actually see that sand glistening like glitter below you. 29 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:20,800 How cool. 30 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:28,800 Crossing into two states, California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is over 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. 31 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,800 This is a circumference of 72 miles. 32 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:38,800 I would not recommend jumping out of the kayak though and trying to go get any water. Temperature is really cold in Lake Tahoe. 33 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,800 It is only about 54 degrees right now. So glad these are stable. 34 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,800 Yep, they are very stable. You will stay pretty dry during our time out there. 35 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,800 And we have everything that you are going to need in the boats during your time out there. 36 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:56,800 We have small coolers with complimentary waters and granola bars, dry bags, everything. 37 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,800 Even blankets to keep your toes warm once again. 38 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:05,800 Of course, our water is provided to us by clearly Tahoe in a reusable bottle. 39 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:09,800 South Lake Tahoe has implemented a single-use plastic water ban. 40 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:20,800 It is not just to help the local environment, but it is to show people visiting Lake Tahoe that local residents are serious about keeping Lake Tahoe beautiful and pure. 41 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,800 Alright, do you have any questions? Now I am ready to get on the water. 42 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:30,800 Perfect. We are all happy you are getting the boat and we will head on north around the Zephyr point. 43 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:38,800 Not only is Lake Tahoe large, it is deep. In the United States, it is second only to crater lake in Oregon. 44 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:47,800 In fact, you could sink the entire Empire State Building into the deepest part of the lake and you wouldn't even see its famous antenna sticking out. 45 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:56,800 The kayaks do magnify a little bit of what we are looking at. Even though it seems really shallow, it is still about 6 to 8 feet deep right here. 46 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,800 People will actually paddle the whole way around Lake Tahoe. 47 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:02,800 How long does that take? 48 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,800 It takes about 5 days for night. Wow. 49 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:11,800 We actually did it in 5 days last fall. 50 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,800 Wow. Not in the clear kayaks, but... 51 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:26,800 Lake Tahoe has been a draw for people for thousands of years, dating back to the Washoe, who camped, hunted and fished on and around the lake, and considered the waters here sacred. 52 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:34,800 In 1844, explorer John C. Fremont, who is documented as the first European to spot Lake Tahoe. 53 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:45,800 Called the Pathfinder, Fremont was crossing the Sierra Nevada in winter with little supplies on a mission from Congress to explore the Columbia River region to the Pacific Ocean. 54 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:51,800 He would write, "The purity and deep blue color of the sky are singularly beautiful." 55 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:57,800 Later, Lake Tahoe would see an influx of people during the California Gold Rush. 56 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:08,800 So in the summertime, where we're paddling right now is actually a sand bar, so you'll be able to walk right from the beach over that little island right there. 57 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,800 Nice place for sunbathing, huh? 58 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,800 Beautiful spot for sunbathing. The birds are doing it today, right? 59 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:18,800 In the spring, all the water is coming off the mountains. 60 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:23,800 While Lake Tahoe, it's all rain runoff and snow melt. 61 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,800 There's no major rivers or anything that flow into Lake Tahoe. 62 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:35,800 It's about 63 streams of rivers that will flow in to the lake, all from snow melt. 63 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:41,800 And there's only one flowing out, which is the Truckee River in Tahoe City. 64 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:52,800 That river has a natural lava-formed dam that is what kept a lot of the water in Lake Tahoe in the first place. 65 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:58,800 Tahoe wasn't formed by volcanic activity, but it was formed by fault lines. 66 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:03,800 And that's actually where the development came from. 67 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:11,800 What Kelsey is saying is important. As Lake Tahoe's waters provide the majority of drinking water for the Reno Sparks area, 68 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,800 making it even more important for visitors to recreate responsibly here. 69 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:20,800 The Tahoe region is a national leader for collaboration around sustainability. 70 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:32,800 Their Destination Stewardship Plan, launched in June of 2023, is a work plan of shared goals that identify 32 actions across four strategic pillars. 71 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:40,800 Working to foster travel and tourism that gives back and advance a culture of caring for the greater Lake Tahoe region. 72 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:46,800 Making the place that so many call home, a great place to live and also welcome visitors. 73 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,800 Are you free there? Are you okay? I'm shaking a little bit, but... 74 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:53,800 I don't think they can talk to me. 75 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,800 We often make people call on our shift. 76 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,800 Can you tell? I'm shaking my mind. 77 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,800 I heard you a second ago, you're like, "Yeah." 78 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:07,800 Often when we film our PBS series and tape for our podcast, 79 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,800 we come in and we've had a call or a video conference prior to our arrival. 80 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,800 But we haven't met the people we've filmed with before. 81 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,800 And they're not actors. They're truly authentic locals who are not always used to being on camera. 82 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:24,800 Because we wear wireless microphones that people wear on their body. 83 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:30,800 They are either stuck to their chest or fastened to their collar, sometimes under their collar, sometimes even in a hat. 84 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,800 Fabrics play a role in the quality of the sound we capture. 85 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,800 And sometimes if our on-camera counterparts arrive, not wearing natural fibers, 86 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:44,800 those clothing items make too much noise and we have to tell them to take them off or change. 87 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:51,800 And this little cove that we're heading up to here does have a lot of pyrite in the water. 88 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,800 That means sometimes if there's not a lot of time, just removing a jacket. 89 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,800 So in Kelsey's case, she had to take her jacket off. 90 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:01,800 And now she's a little cold. 91 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:07,800 You can actually look down and see some of that pirey I was talking about a little bit earlier. 92 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,800 And a lot of little stones and stuff. 93 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,800 Tahoe is mainly, it's all granite. 94 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:19,800 So a lot of that runoff doesn't, it settles really quickly on the bottom of the lake. 95 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,800 So it doesn't murk it up, murk up the water. 96 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:23,800 It stays pretty clear. 97 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:25,800 It is incredibly clear. 98 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:26,800 I know. 99 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:36,800 There are a lot of things that will contribute to the clarity loss in Lake Tahoe, human development, invasive plants and species. 100 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:46,800 A lot of the road work and runoff from the roads and the gravel will actually contribute greatly to the clarity loss. 101 00:10:46,800 --> 00:11:03,800 So the lead to save Lake Tahoe and a lot of local businesses are trying to change the transportation of Lake Tahoe to promote more walking and public transportation, biking as opposed to driving. 102 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:05,800 Something for all of us, right? 103 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:07,800 Right, it's better to be out in the water than driving down the road. 104 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,800 Right, be active, ride a bike, walk. 105 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,800 Many people who visit Lake Tahoe don't even run a car. 106 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:21,800 The South Tahoe Airport is a shuttle service between Reno Tahoe International Airport and many South Shore properties. 107 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:29,800 Where travelers can bike, walk, or take public transportation or the Lake Link Free on-demand Micro Transit Service. 108 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,800 Allowing for a car-free vacation for people interested in sustainable travel. 109 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:40,800 Now we're out here today if you see anything floating around on the surface that kind of resembles a seaweed. 110 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:45,800 You might not want to lean over and pick it up out of the fear of tipping over but let me know and I will. 111 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:54,800 Because what we do is we'll pull that into the boat and I'll look at it and see if it's a Eurasian water and mollfoil or a curly leaf pondweed. 112 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:59,800 I have little samples back on the beach I'll show you when we get back. 113 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:08,800 We have a book that we will actually use to compare those plants and determine if it is an invasive plant. 114 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:21,800 All of our guides will record all that data and submit it back to the Lake Tahoe Lake through a Citizen Science app and they help monitor the spread and help keep Tahoe blue. 115 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:32,800 Kelsey is part of the League to Save Lake Tahoe who has been working to keep Tahoe blue and combat things like invasive species since 1957. 116 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:40,800 Today I don't see anything that would mar the natural beauty of the lake. The sky and the mountains are beautiful as we paddle along. 117 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:49,800 I'm glad that places like this exist and people like Kelsey are around to guide us but also play a stewardship role in keeping Tahoe beautiful. 118 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:59,800 As we paddle up here we have the National Forest land off to our right and then the beautiful sear and a mountain range off to the left there. 119 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:14,800 The highest peak you see is actually going to be Mount Tallac, it's at about 9,000 feet and then we have Zephyr Cove Resort off behind us and of course a crystal clear water and just a great day to be out here paddle. 120 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,800 It's so clear. 121 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:26,800 Couldn't be better weather out on the water so if you're traveling to Lake Tahoe play your role by learning about recreating responsibly. 122 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:40,800 Lake Tahoe visitors authority has published rules to live by which share ways to leave no trace and pack in what you bring to your lake vacation and other tips to enjoy Lake Tahoe and leave it blue for generations to come. 123 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:57,800 And while I'm definitely enjoying my short paddling adventure with Kelsey, I'm eager to now view the lake from above which is why our next podcast will take you on a hiking adventure with another cool local who came to Lake Tahoe on a vacation and decided to stay. 124 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,800 I can't imagine why. 125 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:14,800 I'm Darley Newman and if you enjoy traveling and learning new things please subscribe to this Travels with Darley podcast where locals guide us on adventures that share more about culture history adventure and what makes life on the planet earth just so unique. 126 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,800 Thanks for joining me in Tahoe see you next week. 127 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:44,780 [ Music ]