LOON LAKE ANTHOLOGY

“To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” --- Terry Tempest Williams

The wilderness serves as a common metaphor for a space or time of confusion, transition and growth according to both philosophers and theologians. The bible tells of the Israelite's struggle through temptation, chaos, and revelation as they wandered through it. In the new testament, Jesus does much of his ministry in an urban setting, but many of his most transformative moments occurred in outdoor settings on bodies of water, mountaintops, and deep in the wilderness. As American Bible Society's Jenny Phillips points out, "The wilderness of the Bible is a liminal space—an in-between place where ordinary life is suspended, identity shifts, and new possibilities emerge."

American naturalist and philosopher John Muir tells that the wilderness is a place for healing, inspiration, and renewal when he wrote, "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."

At 6,378 feet, Loon Lake sits about 100-feet higher than Lake Tahoe in the northern section of the Crystal Basin Recreation Area in the Eldorado National Forest along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Offering pristine blue water, textured granite shore and awe-inspiring views one could find a no better wilderness for solitude and tranquility.

Nestled up close to the federally protected Desolation Wilderness, the reservoir created in the 1960s by the Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District is a popular recreation destination for camping, hiking, and kayaking.

As a kayak leader in Bayside Adventure Sports, a church-based outreach program to encourage Christians to connect in an outdoor setting. I have wanted to take some the group on a one-of-a-kind overnight camping and kayaking experience to the Loon Lake for quite some time. With the manta, GOD created the Earth. RIDE IT. CLIMB IT. CATCH IT. EXPLORE IT. PROTECT IT, I knew from my past visits to the lake it would be a great venue for a little recharging of their our own.

At the boat, my crew of John, Jim, Debbie, and Erin scanned the lake horizon, which seemed to be a treat to the eyes. Some patches of snow could be seen on the mountains, while the cobalt waters of the lake were brimming up against its rugged boulder-lined shoreline. I pointed to the northeast, far across the way to where we would camp. The only way to get there was either hike or paddle.

We paddled with the wind, around the peninsula to the northeastern part of the lake called Pleasant Lake. Mostly out of the wind, it would be where we would enjoy most of our time while camping and paddling on the lake. We kayaked to the boat-in campsite, landing our kayaks on a point of granite reaching out into the lake.

Over the next couple of days, we explored the coves, bays, and islands of the lake, slowing meandering around glaciers exposed granite boulders dotting the shoreline. While at night, we reclined along the rocky beach looking towards the sky while we enjoy breathtakingly stunning sunsets across the western horizon. It was an experience we will remember for our lifetimes.

In the firelight, with the stars only above we embraced the quiet and solitude of the wilderness. It was a time for us to bond as a group and draw us even closer in our relationship with God. Above a meteor shot across the sky before burning up into the boundless heavens. It was in that moment of tranquil bliss, I ponder these words of John Muir.

"Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us, God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever."

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