I’m back! After what was supposed to be a four-day Christmas trip back home turned into a 20-day isolation trip back home, I finally grabbed a flight back to California and now I’m ready to make the most of my remaining time here on the Tahoe.
Anyway.
Once December rolls around, I get asked if I ski roughly four times a day.
I wish I were joking!
Every single coworker on both forests I’ve worked on — the Coconino and the Tahoe — has asked me if I ski.
I’m pretty sure it’s also one of the first five questions Ryan asked me on our first date.
I always like to remind people that, uh, I’m from the Midwest. We tend to take advantage of the topography (flat, very flat) by ice skating instead of downhill skiing.
(Side note: I have been skiing once.)
At that point, people usually give me a really weird look at then tell me I should try skiing before I can get started on my oh-hey-nao-I-grew-up-45-minutes-from-the-Canadian-border-dontcha-know-and-I’m-really-big-into-hockey-culture-figger-it-oot-eh talk.
But, hey, I try.
LUCKILY, my coworker Ana — who, yes, also skis — is ALSO into ice skating!
We spent this past Sunday ice skating out at the Boca Reservoir in Truckee.
When I was younger, I used to take figure skating lessons back in Ann Arbor. I was, apparently, really talented at it, but unfortunately due to a combination of things — time, distance, finances — I had to give it up fairly quickly.
So, while I’m not the BEST at figure skating, I still love to do it! I used to rent skates back when I lived in Chicago and spend winters ice skating at Millennium Park.
I haven’t owned skates in quite some time, and if Flagstaff’s few ponds ever froze over enough to skate on, I would definitely change that.
However, because I get to skate so infrequently (I never went during Peace Corps and northern Arizona’s lakes, ponds and reservoirs rarely freeze enough to warrant buying a pair), I typically just rent skates.
That might have to change, though. I had a blast this past weekend!
It all started when Ana found a Facebook group dedicated to pond skating in the Truckee area. People here are actually cool enough to go out and measure ice thickness and report it back to the Facebook group and everything, which is really cool!
We woke up early on Sunday and drove out toward Truckee so we could get a few hours in before the mountain sun turned the pond surface to slush.
Ana found out — via that Facebook group — that several ski shops in Soda Springs offer ice skate rentals, so away we went.
I picked up a pair of figure skates (!!! normally, all rental skates are hockey skates!) and we drove past Donner Lake and out to Boca Reservoir.
I was surprised at how many people were out on the reservoir!
We snagged the last feasible parking spot left (before people just started parking literally in the road, effectively turning the road into a one-lane) and skittered down the bank to the reservoir.
There were three mini hockey rinks that had already been cleared, and about three dozen people were scattered along the bank with their folding chairs and gear bags.
It was also a gorgeous day in the high 30s. Perfect skating weather!
Ana and I plopped our bags down, traded our boots for our skates, and spent three hours blissfully twirling and enjoying one hell of a view.
Once our toes were successfully numb (from cold or cheap rental skates? Couldn’t tell), we spent a few more minutes enjoying the view…
…AND HOT CHOCOLATE.
We had the foresight to pack a backpacking stove and hot chocolate packs and it was the best decision.
We got major kudos from one of the hockey families next to us.
After we packed up our stuff, we headed into downtown Truckee to get lunch and explore.
We started at Alibi Ale Works, where we ordered quite literally everything on the menu with carbs (pizza, pretzels, mac and cheese) and beer.
Afterward, we walked through some of the shops in Truckee (I bought Ryan a pair of socks with huskies on them!) and then made our way to Truckee Brewing Company for one more beer.
That pretty much wrapped up our day! We stopped back out at a vista over Donner Lake to watch the sunset before heading back into Nevada City.
I had an absolute blast — and I only fell once (!!!) during our three hour skate, when I hit a crack in the ice and went down.
I can’t remember the last time I pond skated. The views were impeccable and the cracking and echoing of the ice was so cool! It was such a beautiful day, too. I’ve definitely spent the past few days Googling ice skate retailers nearby, and I really hope I get a chance to go skating again before my time out here comes to an end.
This post was originally published Feb. 2, 2022. Its timestamp has been updated.
