Gore takes historic stroll toward Tallac

Tahoe Daily Tribune

July 27, 1997
By Cory Fisher
Tribune Staff Writer

On the tube, Vice President Al Gore's brief hike up the Tallac Trail Friday may have looked like a quiet stroll through the woods.

But viewers at home missed one of the best parts of the show - the media.

Prior to the hike, the parking lot at the U.S. Forest Service Visitor's Center on the South Shore was lined with vans and satellite dishes.

Only those with press credentials were allowed in - the rest were quickly turned away by an army of California Highway Patrol officers.

Inside, more than 100 journalists milled about, cameras hanging off shoulders, note pads and microphones in hand. The constant, scattered ringing of cell phones punctuated the busy scene.

All the big leaguers were there - The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Jose Mercury News, The Sacramento Bee, The Associated Press, The San Francisco Examiner, USA Today and television crews too numerous to mention.

Each vehicle was carefully checked by a swarm of clean-cut Secret Service agents equipped with earpieces and dogs. Mirrors were used to check underneath cars for explosive devices.

"I know my 15-year-old's been smoking pot - we'll see if the dogs pick up on it," chuckled one reporter, gesturing nervously toward his car.

Special attention was paid to Tahoe Daily Tribune reporter Jenifer Ragland's car, whose bumper stickers include "Skateboarding Is Not a Crime" and "McSh_t, Billions Slaughtered."

Soon the journalists clambered aboard the hot, crowded press bus bound for the Tallac trailhead.

Bulky television cameras jammed the aisle, with sweaty bodies standing or sitting three to a seat. It was then that reporters began asking one another about their jobs and brushing up on issues. One was jotting down notes from a newspaper - not his own.

Upon arrival, the crew was led up the trail by Gore press liaison Cory Black. Wingtips and high-heeled pumps hurriedly dodged recently deposited horse manure, and were soon caked in dirt.

Journalists from lower elevations - especially those with heavy camera equipment - quickly became winded. Appearing to mimic local wildlife, Secret Service agents were occasionally spotted off in the brush or behind trees. Despite numerous full bladders, no one dared sneak off for fear of an embarrassing interrogation.

The media was confined to a small, cordoned-off area next to the trail. Those with cameras jockeyed for position, with manzanita and sage brush cracking and flattening underfoot. Several cameramen climbed up on a rotten log, which began to fall apart in large pieces.

Black scolded the group. "Remember, the whole point of this official visit is about preserving the natural environment," he sighed. "Don't stand on the logs and vegetation."

They did anyway.

It was close to an hour before several cell phones rang to inform the "advance men" that Gore was on his way up the trail.

The jockeying intensified.

"You'd better get off the log," said one cameraman - who was there first - to another. "'Cuz when I swing my camera around it's gonna hit yours." "I'll just crouch down right under you," said the other, who looked as though he was about to slip and fall.

And suddenly, there was Gore - smiling and waving. Behind him was an entourage of senators, Cabinet officials, Nevada Gov. Bob Miller, and a brigade of Forest Service officials. At his elbow was Juan Palma, the forest supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Several camera crews attempted to match Gore's pace while walking backward. They bumped into others farther down the line, creating a tangled web of microphones, cables and arms.

Gore made a brief, two-minute speech on Tahoe's unique beauty and collaborative partnerships before continuing on up the trail.

Half an hour later the vice president reappeared, smiling and picking his way back down the trail.

The jockeying began again.

This time Gore spoke for another minute and a half about his recent crash course on the region's ecology, including the basin's struggle with dead and dying trees.

And just as quickly, he was gone.

The journalists were kept in their pen until the vice president was whisked safely away.

When asked what kind of a hiker Gore was, Palma expressed admiration. "It's a 30-minute hike, unless you're hiking with the vice president," he told a gaggle of reporters. "Then it's a 15-minute hike."

Then it was back on the hot bus, and back to the parking lot - the American public would soon learn of Gore's short hike into the Eldorado National Forest.