What if we told you South Lake Tahoe will have real snow this September? And not just snow — but a snow sledding hill, rail jams, big air mountain biking, live concerts, DJs, food trucks, and activities for all ages.

In this episode of the Sierra Rec Now Podcast, host Charlie Pankey chats with Leslie Schultz, Marketing & Events Director for the inaugural Tahoe Games Mountain Sports Festival (Sept 27–28, 2025).

Discover how this free, high-energy festival came together, what to expect across the weekend, insider tips on where to stay, and why this could become Tahoe’s next signature fall event.

🎵 Featuring free performances by The Expendables and Jacob’s Castle.
🚵‍♂️ Professional & local athletes flying through the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena.
🎯 Family-friendly fun including a kids’ bike jump jam, sledding hill, yoga, and an interactive vendor zone supporting the Kyle Smeen Fund.

📅 Dates: Sept 27–28, 2025
📍 Location: Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys (Caesars Republic)
💻 Details & Registration: tahoegames.com

This week, we head to one of the richest birding regions in the Sierra Nevada — Plumas County — for a deep dive into the 2025 Grebe Festival and the incredible wildlife that calls this place home.

Liz Ramsey from the Plumas Audubon Society joins Charlie to discuss how Lake Almanor supports thousands of migratory grebes, what happens when boating and wildlife collide, and how science and community action are working to protect sensitive species like the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:00 – Intro to Plumas County’s birding culture

• 02:45 – The Grebe Festival: What to expect this year

• 06:01 – Understanding grebes and their nesting habitat

• 09:01 – Recreation vs. conservation: Finding balance

• 11:59 – New science: Artificial grebe nesting platforms

• 17:47 – The forgotten frog: Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog

• 21:10 – Underrated birding hotspots in Plumas County

• 24:01 – How to get involved and make a difference

Resources:
🪶 Plumas Audubon: plumasaudubon.org
🎟️ Grebe Festival: Event Info

#GrebeFestival #PlumasAudubon #LakeAlmanor #BirdingCalifornia #PacificFlyway #WildlifeConservation #SierraNevada #OutdoorStories #PlumasCounty #SierraRecNow

This week on Sierra Rec Now, Charlie sits down with South Lake Tahoe artist and photographer Jennifer Haran to talk about the upcoming Tahoe Art League Studio Tour, happening August 1–3. From capturing wild bear cubs to telling the Sierra's story through a camera lens, Jennifer shares what it means to be a local creative in a region that inspires so many.

🎨 Topics Covered:

• The beauty of Desolation Wilderness

• How the Caldor Fire changed her approach to photography

• Her advice to new artists (Hint: shoot what you love)

• Choosing between metal, acrylic, and canvas prints

• Why Bridgeport is her dream spot for a photo day

🎟️ Learn more about the art tour: tahoeartleague.org
📸 Jennifer’s site: windowontahoephotography.com

Episode Summary:

What happens when you unplug a teenager, hand them a shovel, and send them into the backcountry for five weeks? You just might help grow the next generation of forest stewards.

In this episode of Sierra Rec Now, host Charlie Pankey speaks with Jonathan Kusel and Ariana Bernstein from the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, a powerful nonprofit based in Taylorsville, CA. The Sierra Institute has spent more than 25 years linking healthy forests to healthy rural communities.

From post-Dixie Fire restoration to innovative wood utilization projects and landscape-wide partnerships, they’re helping rethink how we manage our public lands.

But the heart of this conversation is their transformative P-CREW Youth Corps—a wilderness-based summer program that takes 16–18-year-olds from across California and immerses them in real-world conservation. The teens live off-grid, work with Forest Service biologists, partner with tribal mentors, and come home changed.

Charlie and his guests explore the deeper impacts of wildfire, the importance of clean headwaters like the Feather River, and why collaborative land stewardship is more urgent than ever.

In this episode:

• What the P-CREW Youth Program actually looks like

• How teens gain confidence, job skills, and forest wisdom

• The legacy of the Dixie Fire and how the Sierra Institute is responding

• Tribal partnerships and cultural restoration in the Northern Sierra

• Why healthy forests = healthy communities

• How to support or get involved with Sierra Institute’s work

🟢 Learn more & support their work: https://sierrainstitute.us

📬 Subscribe to Sierra Rec Now for more trail-tested stories, local insights, and outdoor voices from the Sierra Nevada.

#ForestRestoration #YouthCorps #WildfireRecovery #DixieFire #P-CREW #FeatherRiver #RuralCommunities #SierraNevada #SierraRecNow #EnvironmentalEducation #TribalPartnerships #OutdoorYouthPrograms #ClimateResilience #ForestHealth

This summer, 653 volunteers removed 1,375 pounds of trash from Lake Tahoe’s beaches — and that’s something to celebrate. But should it be?

In this episode of Sierra Rec Now, host Charlie Pankey sits down with Marilee Movius, longtime stewardship leader at Keep Tahoe Blue, to explore what’s really happening behind the scenes of Tahoe’s largest cleanup event — and why a 27% drop in post-Fourth of July litter is more than just a statistic.

We talk about:

• How families and visitors are turning beach cleanup into a Tahoe tradition

• The rise of the Tahoe Blue Crew — and how you can adopt your favorite beach or trail

• New tools like beach-cleaning robots and smart signage that are reshaping visitor behavior

• What the Tahoe Blue Beach Program is doing to make "the right choice the easy choice"

• And how a simple water bottle ban in South Lake Tahoe sparked a nationwide conversation

Whether you're a local, a weekend paddler, or a summer visitor, this conversation will open your eyes to the grassroots magic keeping Lake Tahoe clean, blue, and beloved.

Learn more or get involved: https://www.keeptahoeblue.org
Brought to you by Sierra Rec Magazine | https://sierrarecmagazine.com

00:00 – Intro: Can 1,300 pounds of trash be good news?

01:15 – A 12-Year Cleanup Legacy: Celebrating 27% less litter

02:50 – 665 Volunteers and Growing: Tahoe shows up

04:20 – Strange finds and single-use plastics: What we’re still picking up

06:00 – Families making cleanup part of their Tahoe tradition

07:30 – The art of messaging: Behavioral signage and testing awareness

09:30 – Introducing the Tahoe Blue Crew: Adopt your beach or trail

11:45 – The power of data: How litter leads to policy change

13:00 – Zephyr Shoals transformation: TRPA's Blue Crew impact

15:30 – The Tahoe Blue Beach Program: Engineering clean habits

18:15 – Education, infrastructure, and enforcement: The 3 E’s of Blue Beaches

20:00 – Responding to extreme weather and environmental events

22:00 – Invasive species: Keeping Tahoe waters safe and clean

24:00 – Stewardship for paddlers, hikers, and backcountry explorers

26:30 – Marilee’s favorite place in the Sierra: Desolation Wilderness

27:30 – Post-hike hunger: Burritos over burgers?

28:15 – Must-have gear: Why she never hikes without a solar light

29:00 – Final thoughts: Protect where you play

In this episode of Sierra Rec Now, we sit down with Captain Rob Ayers to uncover Lake Almanor’s fishing secrets, light tackle strategies, and inspiring community stories. After losing everything in the Camp Fire, Captain Rob rebuilt his life around Lake Almanor’s legendary brown trout and salmon fishery, sharing how the lake’s 365-day feeding cycle and diverse hatch patterns make it a year-round angler’s paradise.

Discover light tackle fishing techniques like the “naked crawler,” seasonal hatch insights, and tips for fishing Lake Almanor’s clear waters. Rob shares why “the tug is a drug” and how fishing becomes more than a hobby when it connects you with local businesses, veterans’ fishing days, and a supportive mountain community.

Whether you’re planning your first Lake Almanor fishing trip, looking to refine your light tackle skills, or seeking inspiration from Rob’s story of resilience and outdoor passion, this episode is packed with insights for your next Sierra adventure.

• Why Lake Almanor offers year-round fishing opportunities with brown trout and salmon.

• Captain Rob’s light tackle philosophy for more rewarding fishing.

• Seasonal hatch patterns and how to match your technique.

• How the Lake Almanor fishing community supports veterans and local businesses.

• The best times and places to fish Lake Almanor for your next trip.

🎧 Listen now and discover why Lake Almanor is a fisherman’s paradise and a place of healing, adventure, and connection.

#LakeAlmanor #FishingLakeAlmanor #CaptainRob #LightTackleFishing #SierraRecNow #OutdoorAdventures #CaliforniaFishing #FlyFishing

Discover more Sierra at sierrarecmagazine.com

What does it mean to truly find your true nature in the Sierra Nevada? In this conversation, author Lisa Michelle joins Charlie on the Sierra Rec Now Podcast to share her journey from rodeo cowgirl to wilderness writer and the lessons learned along the way in the High Sierra.

Lisa’s new book, True Nature, blends memoir, adventure, and the emotional tug-of-war of sharing hidden places in a landscape that both challenges and heals. We explore what it’s like to paddleboard around Lake Tahoe, how encounters with strangers can change our paths, and why the Sierra continues to shape who we are.

From stories of connection on the trail to lessons about risk and safety, Lisa’s insights will resonate with hikers, writers, and anyone who has ever felt the quiet pull of the mountains. If you love the Sierra, this episode will inspire you to slow down, pay attention, and rediscover the power of wild places to transform your life.

• Lisa’s journey from rodeo to wilderness writing

• Paddleboarding solo around Lake Tahoe

• The challenges of sharing sacred Sierra places

• Connection and community on the trail

• Safety and lessons from close calls in the wilderness

• Finding self-discovery through nature and quiet moments

• Hidden gems and bucket-list dreams in the Sierra

• Why the Sierra matters for future generations

🔗 Get True Nature by Lisa Michelle: LisaMichelleStories.com
🔗 Discover more Sierra adventures: SierraRecMagazine.com

If you enjoy Sierra stories, please follow, rate, and share this episode to help us grow our community of outdoor adventurers and storytellers.

What do legends, eagles, and climbing dreams all have in common? They converge at Lover’s Leap near Lake Tahoe.

This week, host Charlie Pankey sits down with Petch, a longtime climber and guide who lives just steps from the base of this iconic Sierra cliff. Together, they explore:

• The history and mythology behind Lover’s Leap (Did they jump?)

• Climbing for beginners and advanced climbers alike

• The unique geology that makes the Leap feel like “climbing a ladder”

• Tales of guiding first-timers and watching them soar

• Stewardship and wildlife, including peregrine falcons and golden eagles

• Other climbing gems in the area like Phantom Spires, Sugarloaf, and Calaveras Dome

• What to expect at this summer’s Lover’s Leap Festival

• And the joy of sharing climbing with community

Whether you're a climber, hiker, or Sierra explorer, this episode delivers a rare inside look at a place where adventure and story meet.

🧗‍♂️ Learn more or book a guided climb: https://www.loversleap.net
🎧 Subscribe to hear more Sierra stories: Sierra Rec Now Podcast

Spotify Chapters:

• [00:00] Welcome + “Did They Jump?”

• [02:59] Petch’s Climbing Origins

• [05:44] Lover’s Leap Routes & Ratings

• [08:55] Phantom Spires, Sugarloaf, Calaveras Dome

• [12:01] Wildlife & Falcon Conservation

• [15:40] First-Time Climbers & Guiding Joy

• [17:30] The Climbing Community

• [20:23] History: Pony Express to Present

• [22:37] Exploring the Area Around the Leap

• [25:28] Guide Services + Lover’s Leap Festival

• [28:12] Popcorn, Gear, & Where Petch Climbs When He’s Off Duty