Watch Out for Altitude Sickness in Sparkling South Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Story, photos/video by Cassie Hepler
As a travel writer, there is a rock and a hard place between pleasing tourism boards and yet still remaining transparent and honest to your readers. I’ve never been one to sugar coat anything so I figured why start now? With a journalism background, it is in my blood to report the truth and also to use my experiences to help others. So here we go on an adventure that does indeed have a happy ending…
Because I never drove through Nevada (without a U-Haul trailer attached), I thought it would be fun to go on a road trip through Vegas from Phoenix (not during rush hour) and through the strange ghost towns and run down brothels on the side of the road along the way in my new Honda Civic. I arrived late on a Thursday night to the town of Minden, Nevada and crashed overnight in an airstream AirBnb that had an outdoor hot tub so I could be well rested and ready to explore in the morning. A public relations firm set up my trip through South Lake Tahoe‘s tourism board which I loosely looked at the itinerary previously with about four press trips prior to this one. The PR firm had called for me to come pick up my dining passes at the office as “they have gone missing before” at my hotel. I thought that was rather odd but kept moving forward as usual and drove up to the top of the mountain which was absolutely gorgeous. I picked up my passes and headed to the bottom of the mountain near the lake at Blue Angel Cafe for lunch.
After lunch, I was extremely tired and assumed it was my long drive and headed back up the mountain to the hotel. I winded my way to the very top of the mountain to Ridge Tahoe which at the peak is about 8,000 feet elevation. While waiting in line to check in, I found out it was a timeshare and confirmed this with the front desk. So sorry folks, I am unsure if you are even able to book a stay at Ridge Tahoe without having a timeshare. At this point, I was so oddly exhausted and just wanted a place to nap so I didn’t care to question anyone. Soon I was passed out for a few hours and my only exploration that night was the barely working hot tub with 8th floor views.
I couldn’t work well either as the wifi was like dial up so instead I got a good night’s sleep and felt a bit better in the morning and was reading up on altitude sickness in the meantime as I had a sneaking suspicion something was wrong. Before I left on this trip, I had called the “hotel” to make sure the shuttle ran to the Bijou Park for the Sample the Sierra farm to fork event. They assured me it did.
Upon arrival at the bus transit station, I was told I had to take another one from there to get to the park. The connecting bus would have made me over an hour late so I took at Lyft which costed me $16 for 2 miles (yes, you read that right…things are not cheap in Lake Tahoe, so plan accordingly). Most hotels at the bottom of the mountain by the lake have shuttles to take you around town. I was pretty annoyed at this point but tried to make the best of it and met a lot of amazing winemakers, chefs and locals at the event.
Some of the finest foods at the Sample the Sierra belonged to Edgewood Tahoe.
It was not even close to over when I was walking along and suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. This is when I asked volunteer Bridgette to help me who then grabbed a Tahoe board member.
I vaguely remember the $40 cab ride. I don’t remember much after that except waking up at 9 p.m. and thinking it was morning and being very confused. I may have gone to the hot tub as I found photos of random people all squeezed in there on my cell phone. I drank tons of water and ate food and couldn’t seem to get out of a head fog and slept more until the next morning. At this point, I started putting two and two together about altitude sickness Sunday morning but was still trying to make the best of it (oh, the eternal optimist in me…).
Reading somewhere if you fill yourself full of carbs it helps with altitude sickness, so off I went to breakfast at Red Hut Cafe after getting confused and lost again – it was as if I couldn’t think straight.
My intuition told me getting off the mountain for a while (this Red Hut Cafe was about 1/4 from the top) would help and so I went to Zephyr Cove and had only the energy to sit on the beach and barely move. I parked my car and my butt on the beach and knew at that point, something was definitely wrong.
Usually like the Energizer Bunny when I travel, especially near gorgeous water and views, I went from being annoyed that other media were literally right by the lake to concerned about my health. It was then I realized how deadly this could be for me while reading about altitude sickness and decided it would be best to be on the bottom of the mountain. I soon drove back up the mountain and began packing and checked out early, having no clue where I was going to go but knew I had to get off the mountain as immediately my head was thumping with a headache and my chest was squeezing. I couldn’t even think of the words “toward Las Vegas” to the front gate man to point me in the right direction. I’m not going to lie, I was scared shitless as I didn’t know what to expect health wise. I drove down the mountain toward Minden, Nevada, where I had stayed the first night crying my face off. Thankfully before I left, I made a Facebook post and my travel blogger friend Fatty Flyer who was in Ireland traveling abroad booked me a room at the Holiday Inn Express with his points which made me feel safe and secure again. The woman at the front desk of Holiday Inn Express said they have guests all the time because of the altitude sickness from the mountain. Fortunately I was able to hightail it back to Phoenix the next day even though I was still exhausted. I just wanted my own bed at that point. And the happy ending to all of this? Visit Carson Valley at the bottom of the mountain and I are going to work on a story together soon featuring the place that helped heal me.
Here are other things I learned about altitude sickness in the meantime: drink lots of water to add more oxygen to your body (H20), DO NOT drink alcohol, acclimate slowly (i.e. hiking up & back at a gradual pace), do not spend the night at high altitudes if your body does not acclimate (Phoenix is at 1,086 for comparison). An altitude sickness hack includes oxygen in a can like Boost Oxygen, think of it like a mini hit of air when you feel symptoms. Alas, I found all of this information out from fellow travel writers way too late as I was already at the confusion stage.
According to the Cleveland Clinic:
“Symptoms of mild, short-term altitude sickness also include dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, sleep problems and a general loss of energy. Symptoms usually begin within 12 to 24 hours of arriving at a high altitude. Symptoms lessen within a day or two as the person gets used to the altitude.
Symptoms of moderate altitude sickness are more intense and are not relieved by over-the-counter medicines. Fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath worsen instead of improving over time. The affected person may start to show loss of coordination and have difficulty walking, severe headache that is not relieved by medicines, nausea and vomiting, and tightness or congestion in the chest. Normal activity is difficult, although the person may still be able to walk on his or her own.
Symptoms of severe altitude sickness include shortness of breath at rest, inability to walk, confusion and fluid buildup in the lungs and/or brain. Other symptoms may include cough and a gray, pale or bluish skin tone. Severe altitude sickness is an emergency situation, and the affected person must be taken to a lower altitude immediately.”
And as a quick FYI, check out areas with highest altitude in the USA are listed here on Geology.com. Also before you plan travel, just do a quick Google of the altitude in the area you are planning to visit so you can preplan & spare yourself the scare. This includes inside & outside the USA like these countries with the highest elevation.
Would I go back to South Lake Tahoe, Nevada? Absolutely. I just wouldn’t stay at the top of the mountain and would tote around many oxygen cans at all times. Travel on (safely) friends and followers!
