Summer Friday: Eldorado National Forest, California

My company offers the greatest work-life balance imaginable. Last fall, they enforced a "required" R&R week for all employees regardless of what vacation we'd already taken or planned, and this year they announced half-day Fridays on select days during the summer. It doesn't take much convincing to get me outside on a Friday afternoon.

Max planned a climbing trip near South Lake Tahoe the same Friday I had a half-day. We loaded up on Thursday, I worked remotely Friday morning, and enjoyed a quick Friday-afternoon hike in the Eldorado National Forest before heading back to San Francisco for the weekend.

The trail to Horsetail Falls, a 790-foot waterfall in the Desolation Wilderness, was washed out by all the melted snow. Pyramid Creek is a raging river that's taken out most of the visible footpath. Despite not making it all the way to the base of the falls, it was still a wonderful afternoon to be outside.