Ikigai & The High Pleasures of Lake Tahoe

Above Olympic Valley, fully absorbed by the views of the majestic Lake, mountains, and meadows below. The energy of Tahoe is unmistakable up here, divinely pure, reaching into your soul and reminding you you are not alone.

The thrill of the experience is when you reach the top, not after a ride up a ski lift, but when you see it all at once after a long, breathtaking hike, in a t-shirt during an Indian Summer day when the lift isn't running and the crowds remain home praying for snow.

A Reason for Being

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that describes your reason for being, your life purpose or your bliss. 'Iki' in Japanese means 'life,' and 'gai' describes value or worth. It's what brings you joy and inspires you to get up in the morning. Lake Tahoe is our Ikigai, our bliss… our happy place. It's our reason for getting up every morning to hike, discover, learn, photograph, share and be. And from what I've seen Lake Tahoe improves the quality of life for others as well.

For the atheist, this is a place of spiritual awakening;

For the anxious, this is a place of peace;

For the grateful, this is a place of happiness.

In the words of John Muir, "Of these glacial gems, Lake Tahoe is King of them all, not only in size, but in the surpassing beauty of its shores and waters. It seems a kind of heaven to which the dead lakes of the lowlands had come with their best beauty spiritualized."