Off to the high country
There’s almost nothing I like better than a good hike and wine tasting with friends. Except for when I’m doing both above 8000 feet.
Tomorrow morning four of us will be tooling up Highway 88 into the Sierra Nevada mountains for two days of camping and hiking bliss in an area south of Lake Tahoe that the locals affectionately call The California Alps. In July, under sun-kissed, wind-washed skies, and with little groundsnow remaining, we’ll amble through high-mountain wildflowers to a summit of the tallest peak in the Mokelumne Wilderness (Round Top, at 10,381 feet), then return to camp where I’ll place a Dutch oven on the coals that’ll have us eating marinated skirt steak stuffed with basil, red bell, onion, and gorgonzola. Oh yes!
That stuffed skirt steak will go well with a Bordeaux-style wine from Ridge Winery. And that lovely wine will go really well with all that fresh ozone-charged air. And all of it will go really well with four happy hikers. I can’t wait to see their faces when, after a bit of huffing and puffing, they reach the top of ol’ Round Top and take in that 200-mile view.
October 13th, 2007 at 6:07 am
Hi Russ,
What a great site. I’ve been reading the blog for awhile now and have found some pretty interesting stuff here. If you ever get up to the Northwest corner of Washington State for some hiking and wine tasting, the link for my website goes directly to a post on my site about wineries in the four counties of San Juan, Island, Skagit and Whatcom County (Bellingham, WA).
Have fun wine guy, as if I really need to tell you that….smiling!
October 13th, 2007 at 6:29 am
Thank you, Jerry! It’s good to see you here. While I have recently tasted some wonderful Columbia Valley Bordeaux-style blends, I someday hope to explore the trails of Washington, too.