A WEEK IN THE SIERRA PART I

I should be content forever. Bathed in such beauty, watching the expressions ever varying on the faces of the mountains, watching the stars, which here have a glory that the lowlander never dreams of, watching the circling seasons, listening to the songs of the water and winds and birds, would be endless pleasure.  John Muir

In 1868 a 30-year-old student of geology and botany with a deep affection for the natural world around him inspired by the likes of Emerson and Thoreau wandered into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wasn't the first by far. Native Americans, explorers, and fortune hunters had been traveling throughout the narrow range in California's mountains for centuries. He would spend much of the next ten years exploring those mountains. He recorded his thoughts on his beloved mountains in journals publishing nearly 100 essays and articles for newspapers and magazines. His passion for the wilderness would inspire the creation of Yosemite National Park, found the Sierra Club, and set off a worldwide environmental movement that continues to this day. 

Getting ready to paddle Loon Lake

 John Muir is one of California’s most important historical personalities. The famous naturalist is synonymous with Sierra Nevada Mountains. Trails, wilderness areas, schools, parks, roads, and monuments, bare his name. A prolific writer, Muir's words describing still echo from the mountain tops,
"The Mountains are calling, and I must go," is one of his most famous quotes. It's a powerful call that many can relate to. It's the simple notion of the need to be outside, away from the confines of the world, enjoying the calm and splendor of nature.

At least, that is what I had in mind when I brought groups from Bayside Adventure Sports up for a week of outback camping to Loon Lake in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area. The mountains are calling. But throw in high a Sierra pristine blue lake, textured granite shores, starry nights, and awe-inspiring views, it's a perfect venue for kayak camping, offering a Muir-like setting for solitude and tranquility.
Sitting about 100 feet higher than Lake Tahoe at 6,378 feet, Loon Lake is nestled on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Eldorado National Forest. It's not as large as Lake Tahoe, covering some 600 acres, and is about 5 miles long from end to end. Before the dam blocking Gerle Creek was completed back in the 1960s, a narrow ridge at the bend separated Loon Lake from its sister Pleasant Lake but the one now in the shape of an upside-down boot. The lake can easily be paddled in a day. It's even better for an extended along the lake shore camping trip.
 

Rounding the elbow of the two lakes

Just getting here has been a bit challenging. But we're in a wild place now. I reminded the people coming with me to put their phones on airplane mode while loading up at the south access. They wouldn't be finding any bars on their phone anywhere. There are no amenities at all. The nearest store is about 20 miles away. One would have to go further to find any gas or services. When you come to Loon Lake, it's because, you really want to be here and escape everything else.

It was still early in the day. Gentle swells bounded over the lake when we all got on the water. It's common in the afternoon for the fetch to pick up with southwesterly winds creating tiring and dicey waves at the far east end of the lake. Going out is great with the wind at one's back. Coming back, however, can be challenging in the wind-prone choppy waters.

 

John Taylor and a loaded canoe

Aiming for the far mountains to the east, I point out Brown Mountain south of the lake to my group of paddlers. I told them that when I first started coming there with Current Adventures, it always had snow on its top. I could remember feeling excited about being able to kayak with snowcapped mountains in view in August. However, in the last couple of years, the snow is no more. Drought and heat have made it tough on the year around the beauty of the mountains. Scientists warn someday, there might not be any snow in the Sierra as things warm up.

An early advocate for the preservation of wilderness, Muir did his best to hold off reckless exploitation of our natural resources by loggers, miners, am builders. He referred to the wilderness as "places for rest, inspiration, and prayers." He never had to think about global warming and climatic change back. Back then, the world was setting the stage for global warming as industrial nations were just beginning to ramp up the use of fossil fuels at the expense of our atmosphere. It's people now like Greta Thunberg who taking up Muir's fight not just for the wilderness but for the future of the planet.

The lake is really high this year. So high we would be able to get into coves and bays, I've never been able to explore by kayak. Usually, they are high and dry this time of year. We paddle toward the Buck Island Lake Tunnel, a four-mile underground aqueduct starting at Lake Buck Horn and ending at Loon Lake. It's part of the Upper American River Project bringing water and hydroelectric power to the valley.

It's a massive tunnel that I've seen at all stages of the lake's levels. I've paddled in it before using a headlamp for light to guide myself along the cavernous way. One extremely dry year, I climbed up to it and walked into the darkness of the tunnel big enough for a railroad locomotive. And like I said, with the lake this high, the entrance is only marked by the tunnel's warning sign, everything else is underwater.

Finally, the wind and waves come to end after getting around the lake's elbow as we paddled into the calmer and protected Pleasant Lake section of the lake. It lives up to its name after paddling along the wind-prone Loon. The water turns placid and quiet, and time here begins to slow.
 

Brown Mountain and Pleasant Lake

"Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom." wrote Muir in My First Summer in the Sierra.

Our camping site is in view now. A great spot adjacent to the boat-in camping sites. A cove to land our kayaks and canoes, plenty of space to set our tents, and gorgeous scenery in all directions of the lake, forests, mountains, skies, and fresh air surrounding us.

Muir said, "Going to the mountains is going home.”
As we beach the boats with Muir like exhilaration, I say this will be our home for the next week. I would be looking forward to every day, if not every minute of my week in the Sierra.

Keep up with Outside Adventure to the Max, on our Facebook page and Instagram and now on Youtube.

EARTH DAY 2020

Every Day is EarthDay. The changes needed to safeguard future living conditions for all species won’t come from governments or businesses. It will come from the best available science and public opinion. So it’s up to us. Spread the science. --- Greta Thunberg, via Twitter

This past week was the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a week around the world marked with Earth Day celebrations, festivals, and massive clean up efforts all while promoting a cleaner, healthier environment worldwide.
It’s safe to say, however, nobody expected we’d be celebrating indoors and practicing "social distancing" during an earth-shaking pandemic that has inflicted millions and killed thousands. Environmental groups under the guideline stay in place restrictions around the world to fight the spread of COVID-19 were compelled to cancel all their outdoor and group events dedicated to environmental protection and rally online instead.

"Amid the recent outbreak, we encourage people to rise up but to do so safely and responsibly – in many cases, that means using our voices to drive action online rather than in person,” Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network, said in a news release.

Earth Day event organizers went to social media to create creative and fun virtual activities like trivia games, online tours of state and national parks, and interactive scavenger hunts along with tips on how people can honor the earth from home.
“It was hard,” Naina Agrawal-Hardin, a 17-year-old activist told Sierra, "But it was also so clear that it was what needed to happen. It’s not like we were going to pack up our bags just because Earth Day isn’t what we wanted it to be.”

"Like Earth Day, I turn 50 this year," wrote Wisconsin freelance writer Shari Gasper in the Sun Prairie Star, "There will be no party, no vacation get-away, no day at the spa. Instead, you’ll find me outside—in my garden, on a trail, or in my kayak on a quiet lake. My special day will be spent enjoying the simple joys of life, just like when I was a kid, and celebrating our amazing natural world."

But while it might have felt a little hard to celebrate Earth Day locked down in quarantine, the planet earth seemed to enjoy its day during this suspended time out. Around the world, skies are clearing of pollution, wildlife is returning and the normally polluted waters like the canals of Venice are clearer than anyone can remember.

No problems with the natural world have not suddenly vanished. Environmental leaders still warn that climate change still represents the biggest challenge to the globe. They predict that the world will return to its pre-pandemic settings quickly wiping out any environmental benefits of the shutdown.
However, on the bright side, they say the pandemic shutdown does give us a glimpse of a possible alternative into future Earth Days but only if we "rechart our course."
“Whether we like it or not, the world has changed. It looks completely different now from how it did a few months ago. It may never look the same again. We have to choose a new way forward,” Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg told a YouTube audience to mark Earth Day this week.

Like all milestone anniversaries, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day despite this year's lack of fanfare is a salute to the environmentalists who started a worldwide movement and the bold call for action of those like young Thunberg, who continue the crusade by encouraging all to us to honor the earth, not just one day year, but each and every day.
"Each day, every single person," Jane Goodall said in National Geographic's, documentary special JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE, "Has the chance to make an impact through small, thoughtful choices, and when billions of people make the right choices, we start to transform the world. Don’t give up; there’s always a way forward.”

American Rivers Clean-Up Pledge  
While many of the Earth Day river clean-ups were canceled or postponed until a later date due to the coronavirus COVID-19 social distancing guideline, there is still a need. Outside Adventure to the Max and American Rivers is asking those of you who can get outside to take action and clean up and protect the rivers in our own backyards. We need your pledge.
Every year, National River Cleanup^® volunteers pull tons of trash out of our rivers, but by picking up trash you see around you every day, you can prevent it from getting into the rivers in the first place.

Will you pledge to pick up 25 pieces of trash in 25 days? Let’s prevent litter from making it into our local streams and rivers. Add your name here:

Make the River Cleanup Pledge, and share your work on social media with #rivercleanup to help grow our movement. You are the key to protecting our rivers by setting an example for your community and help make Earth Day every day

Want to see more about Outside Adventure to the Max. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram