Tahoe Rim Trail

Tahoe Rim Trail. A Trail Like No Other. Can You Imagine Tahoe Without Trees? , In 1883, Edward's Tourist Guide and Directory of the Truckee Basin boasted of a bountiful virgin forest at Lake Tahoe, "The [timber] supply may be said to be never ending....It is beyond the power of man to say when it will be exhausted.", The forest was limitless-or so they thought. Historians estimate that between 1870 and 1900 two-thirds of Lake Tahoe's accessible trees were clear-cut. All that remained were trees too small and crooked, trees too difficult to get to, or less useful trees like red fir, white fir and lodgepole pine. , A few remains of this early forest can still be found. Along this segment of the Tahoe Rim Trail, near Marlette Lake, you will find old growth red fir forest. , You also will find the remains of trees harvested by early loggers. Look for groups of very old stumps cut three to four feet above the ground. These relics have been preserved for more than 125 years by our arid climate. Please treat them with respect; they are an important part of our heritage. , The Big Bonanza! , In 1859, while the California gold rush was nearly over, silver was discovered in Nevada's Virginia Range. The Comstock silver strike began a new frenzy for wealth in Virginia City, Nevada. <, Because the tunnels and shafts of the Comstock mines were soft crumbling earth, they required a new design to prevent collapse. A simple invention called square-set timbering secured the mines. However, constructing and operating the mines demanded an enormous quantity of high quality timber and cordwood. , From the Mountains to the Mines , The demand for timber was insatiable. Logging companies responded by constructing an impressive network of railways, barges, wagon roads, flumes, reservoirs, wood-camps, and mills. Much of this network centered on Spooner Summit and Incline Village. , Tahoe's east and south shores were the most heavily logged. The east shore was close to mills and transportation and the south shore was mostly flat, which made the trees easier to cut and haul. , The Carson Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company dominated the Comstock market. Within 25 years this single company harvested 750 million board feet of lumber and 500,000 cords of wood-enough to build 50,000 average homes. , By 1900 large-scale cutting ended. But the effects of logging had not. It is estimated that during the Comstock era soil erosion into Lake Tahoe increased ten-fold. , Restoring the Future , The forest has re-grown and now blankets Tahoe's mountains, but it is not the same forest. Where once grew stately Jeffery and sugar pines, today the forest is dominated by white fir. , Land managers throughout the Tahoe Basin are working to restore the forest. Controlled burns and tree plantings help improve forest health and increase plant diversity. , As you enjoy your hike along the Tahoe Rim Trail-recall the past. As you admire the beauty of Lake Tahoe-consider our future.