This year the Oct. 2 Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop is expanding the event with two activities that bookend the main event.

Kick off the weekend at the Sierra Senior Services’ Stomp Out Hunger grape stomp on Oct. 1 from 5–7pm at the Truckee River Winery Tasting Room, 11467 Brockway Road in Truckee. Each four-member team will vie to produce the most juice in two minutes. Teams are comprised of a stomper, a strainer, a container holder and a grape re-filler.

A fundraiser for Sierra Senior Services, the cost is $150 for each four-member team and there are 12 team slots available.

The participation fee includes light appetizers, wine tastings and friendly competition. Spectator tickets, which also include wine tastings and appetizers will be available for an additional $20 per person. For more information, call Sierra Senior Services at (530) 550.7600 or visit www.sierraseniors.org.

The next day, as the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop event winds down, folks are encouraged to parlay their fun with a stop at the Dragonfly After Party. The $15 ticket includes passed appetizers, a no-host bar and live funk-style music.

Tickets for the seventh annual Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk and Shop are $30 in advance ($40 day of) and are available online at www.TruckeeWineWalk.com. A $3 service fee applies for online sales. The Oct. 2 event is from noon-4pm.

Each ticket includes wine tastings with more than 30 wineries, five food tickets, commemorative glass, program/passport and goodie bag. The passport program proved to be a popular addition to last year’s festivities. Attendees are encouraged to get their program maps stamped at each venue they visit and they must visit shops in different areas of town as designated on the map to be eligible to be entered in the Wine, Walk & Shop raffle.

For more information, call (530) 550.2252 or visit www.TruckeeWineWalk.com.

The El Dorado County Resource Advisory Committee will be accepting proposals for projects that benefit National Forest lands in El Dorado County beginning in October. Applicants will be required to complete a written application and will have the opportunity to make an oral presentation before the RAC. Information about the RAC and the types of projects that will be considered for funding can be found on the Internet.

The committee currently has $500,000 available to recommend projects to the forest supervisors of the Eldorado National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit for implementation on their respective units.

RAC funds were made available under Title II of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2008 which spells out how the funds can be spent. The act says funds may be used for the purpose of making additional investments in, and creating additional employment opportunities through, projects that improve the maintenance of existing infrastructure, implement stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems, and restore and improve land health and water quality.

The act goes on to say that projects should have broad based support with objectives that may include, but are not limited to: road, trail, and infrastructure maintenance or obliteration; soil productivity improvement; improvements in ecosystem health; watershed restoration and maintenance; restoration, maintenance and improvement of wildlife and fish habitat; control of noxious and exotic weeds; and reestablishment of native grasses.

At least 50 percent of the funds must be used for projects that are primarily dedicated to: road maintenance, decommissioning, or obliteration; or restoration of streams and watersheds.

The purpose of the El Dorado County Resource Advisory Committee is to recommend funding of eligible projects to the Forest Supervisors of Eldorado National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. The next scheduled RAC meeting is Oct. 18 at the El Dorado Center of Folsom Lake College, in the Community Room, beginning at 6pm.

By Kathryn Reed

Pedaling around Camp Richardson could be a drastically different experience in the not so distant future.

Technically it’s called the Pope Baldwin National Recreation Trail, though most people who’ve been on this stretch of asphalt on the South Shore know it as the Camp Rich Trail.

Cycling at Camp Rich may change in the coming years. Photos/Kathryn Reed

With nearly 110,000 trips – that would be one-way – on it each year, it is the most highly used path in the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to trail surveys by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

The U.S. Forest Service, the landowners, want to improve the 30-year-old route so it meets current standards, connects to other trails in the area and is moved away from Highway 89.

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) defines how trails should be configured. To meet those standards the Camp Rich route needs to be moved back five feet from the highway or a vehicle barrier installed.

Creating a two-foot shoulder of dirt or aggregate material (not paved) is another criteria. The paved trail would be 10-feet wide.

Garrett Villanueva, assistant forest engineer, said his agency is looking at the American River Trail in the Sacramento area to see if that model would work in Tahoe. The separation of user types – cyclists, walkers, equestrians – functions well on that stretch of terrain.

“We have a lot more walkers on peak days than they see on the American River path which is why it might not work,” Villanueva said. “We are going to have to figure out what works from a regulatory and user standpoint as we go through the analysis process.”

The trail doesn't meet current standards because it is so close to Highway 89.

Environmental documents for the project are expected to be out for public comment before Thanksgiving. It’s possible the final documents could be completed in March and a record of decision by June. Ground breaking could be in 2012.

Because a definitive plan has not been created the cost is unknown. Villanueva said the Forest Service plans to go after Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act dollars.

“Right now there are a lot of routes on the map. Some will fall off because of wildlife or archaeological constraints or we won’t be able to get the coverage necessary,” Villanueva said.

He envisions some of the current dirt trails going and others becoming official routes.

Improvements are expected on both sides of the highway and along the unofficial trail paralleling Fallen Leaf Lake Road. The idea with the latter is to provide safe access for campers to get to the bike trail.

Linking the end of the bike route at Spring Creek, connecting with Cathedral Road, making the dam at Fallen Leaf Lake crossable without getting off the bike, connecting with Fallen Leaf Lake Road, and possibly going to where the highway is four lanes are all on the drawing board.

Some popular cross country trails may become official routes, too.

Improving winter parking is another goal of this plan. Currently people park at the gate for Baldwin Beach to trek in, which can be dangerous and does not accommodate the number of users who want to re-create there.

While Villanueva works on the bike routes, his colleagues are working on the South Shore Recreation Plan that includes upgrades to Camp Richardson.

“To a large degree it is in the same configuration it has been for 50 years,” Villanueva said of Camp Rich. “The uses have changed. We are coordinating plans.”

As plans go forward, the public will have opportunities to comment. When documents are released, they will be on the USFS website.

If you’ve wanted to try backpacking, but weren’t quite sure how to get started then join the TRTA for the Backpacking 101 class.

Led by our seasoned guides and Snow Camping 101 instructors Wayne McClelland and Jordan Summers, this class will go over all the basics of backpacking from how to pack to choosing a campsite and cooking your meals.

They will guide participants to Gray Lake on a 5-mile hike with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Participants must provide their gear and clothing. The TRTA will provide dehydrated backpacker meals.

This course will start in the classroom, but then you actually practice the skills you just learned in an overnight experience.

Start time: 10am Oct. 2

End time: 2pm on Oct. 3

Cost: Suggested $40 donation

For more information, and for prerequisites for this course, call the TRTA office at (775) 298.0012 or email programs@tahoerimtrail.org.

A two-story house in South Lake Tahoe suffered $20,000 in damage from a Monday afternoon fire.

Occupants of the house at 1331 Wildwood Ave. used a garden hose to extinguish most of the front exterior before firefighters arrived at 3:46pm.

“Firefighters quickly discovered the fire in the attic and extinguished it, preventing further extension,” South Lake Tahoe Division Chief Brad Piazzo said.

Lake Valley firefighters helped fight the fire.

The structure suffered about $20,000 in damage, with $10,000 in contents damage. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Emotional Freedom Technique: The Basics

Nov. 6 from 9:30am-12:30pm

Center for Spiritual Living, Reno, NV

Pre-registration begins Oct. 17. Tahoe Health Touch, (530) 541.6565, www.tahoehealthtouch.com.

Tapping into Wellness taught by Rosemary Manning

El Dorado County Family Caregiver Support Program

Fall Caregivers Series

Oct. 18

1-3pm

Embassy Suites

4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe

To register, call 800.510.2020.

Reaching for Our Passion taught by Rosemary Manning.

Oct. 10 from 10-11am

Center for Spiritual Living Tahoe Truckee

700 North Lake Blvd.

Tahoe City

(530) 581.5117

The Latino Commission and Family Resource Center are having a party to celebrate Mexico having 200 years of independence.

The event is Sept. 30 from 5-8pm in the multipurpose room of South Tahoe Middle School.

It is free. Food will be for sale. Profits go toward educational programs at Bijou and Sierra House Elementary schools.

It was win No. 3 at the Lake Tahoe Marathon on Sunday for 31-year-old Kenyan John Weru.

Weru, who lives in Oakland now, won the race for the with a time of 2 hours, 59 minutes and 50.31 seconds.

Weru was also a champion in 2003 and 2004.

Margaret Ashe, 52, of Olympic Valley took home the 2010 women’s title for the 26.2-mile race with a time of 3 hours, 34 minute and 29.18 seconds.

Nearly 3,000 participants took part in Lake Tahoe Marathon Race Week, Sept. 22-26, with another 6,000 friends and family members visiting the region to support the racers.

In the Great Lake Tahoe Cycle Race, Jesse Miller-Smith of Truckee finished the 72-mile race with a record-breaking time of 2 hours, 50 minutes and 21.9 seconds, followed closely by Justin Rossi of Reno with a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes and 22 seconds.

For a complete list of winners and times, click to the Lake Tahoe Marathon website and then to 2010 Results.