Powder Haus Kids Week

With summer in full swing and the kids off school I jetted up to Powder Haus with four kids in tow this week to enjoy some summer weather in the mountains. When we bought Powder Haus last year it was really a ski-centric purchase, but as we were settling in last August we discovered just how much there is to do around Donner Summit during the warmer months. Ben Taylor joined Max for the week and Lilia brought along Natalia Arreguin from school. All four of them were great company for the week, helping with the dishes and enjoying the great outdoors with me. We scored some magic weather for the week, making the most of it with a short hike to our favorite swimming spot at Long Lake during the first afternoon. Awesome to (again) have the spot to ourselves. I don’t think Natalia and Ben were prepared for all the snakes that call the banks of Long Lake their home!

The Yuba River below Powder Haus had been stocked with rainbows and the boys were in absolute heaven having the river to themselves midweek to slay fish from sunup to sundown. Every free minute the two of them were off to the river, fishing poles in hand. Little Max definitely has Grandpa Greg’s fishing genes… I think they reeled in more than 50 trout between them! The only rule I set was if they killed a fish they had to eat it, so all but one of the fish were put back to fight another day on the end of another kid’s line. The thumper they did keep was too big for the frypan on the morning the boys requested a trout breakfast. Great memories for them both, especially Ben who will always remember catching his first trout at Powder Haus. Also very fun to see Natalia hook and land a fish – also her first – and then immediately remark, “I want to do it again!” after I put the fish back in the water. I don’t think the boys realize how lucky they were to be by the river midweek shortly after it had been stocked… Fishing isn’t meant to be that easy!

The kids and I spent an afternoon exploring Donner Summit one day, with a hike along a section of the Pacific Crest Trail starting at Donner Ski Ranch and extending over the summit past Lake Angela. We made our way across some late season snow patches to Lake Flora for a swim, such a beautiful spot and pretty awesome to have the entire lake to ourselves for the hour or two we were there. A visit to Donner Summit wouldn’t be complete without fried ravioli from Old 40 Bar and Grill, so we stopped – much to the chagrin of the boys, who wanted to get home to fish – for a bite and a few drinks post-hike.

We also set out to explore some of the fire roads on the west side of Donner Summit leading up to Upper/Lower Lola Montez Lakes and Lake Sterling. Unfortunately, all the access roads had either been gated off by private landowners or temporarily closed by PG&E for habitat restoration. And Emerald Pools just had too much water flowing through for a swim with some snowmelt still feeding in. We eventually ended up floating the icy rapids of the South Yuba River, the temperature of the water not enough to keep the kids from the exhilaration of the whitewater over and over again. Ben and Natalia both got dumped a couple of times, the water was so cold I could see it take their breath away but even a full submersion wasn’t enough to keep them on the sidelines!

Kevin, Annie, Collette and Lisa braved the traffic to join us for a couple of nights at the end of our stay. The boys and Lisa ventured down to ride some of the Sawtooth trails one morning while Annie and the girls explored the stores in Truckee. The kids all voted to return to Long Lake for one final swim to end our stay, I don’t think any of us will ever tire of Long Lake, such a beautiful spot and it never seems to be crowded (a rarity in the Tahoe basin…).

Lots of good memories from the week, and it brings a smile to my face to think that Ben and Max will probably forever compare all future fishing adventures to catching 50+ trout this week at Powder Haus. And Natalia will always remember hooking and landing her first rainbow. Good times!