WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

“Let the wild rumpus start!” --- Maurice Sendak

After living in mostly an urban setting for most of my life, my wife Debbie and I moved to a country setting on the outskirts of Placerville, California, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At the end of the lane, our new home sits on a ridge overlooking the valley below. Our view is amazing! Looking eastward, we enjoy the sunrise every day through our windows and can watch the full moon as it rises over the trees.
In our front yard, Debbie has spent the summer season cutting, clipping, and trimming back the overgrowth of bushes and trees. She constructed a cactus garden and is looking forward to planting a new garden next year.
Behind our home is a tree line filled with California buckeyes, an assortment of oaks, and pines. It is also where the wild things are.
 

The herd of black-tailed deer foraging along the hillside has been a common sight since moving here. Our local population, with their distinctive black tails, wanders about the property in the early mornings and evenings. Shy at first, they seemed to have gotten used to us.
In hopes of them not eating her plants, Debbie has planted deer-resistant plants and offers them squirrel food, of course, which makes the neighborhood grey squirrel population happy also.
The does and their fawns have been roaming through the yard on their spindly legs most of the summer. They have tried with limited success to eat from the bird feeder.
While as of late, even the bucks with their velvet-covered antlers have joined in.

A bushy gray fox and a long black-tailed jackrabbit have routinely welcomed me home as I have driven up the lane. Debbie admired both the tail of the fox and the ears of the rabbit. Commenting that both seem much bigger than any other parts of their bodies. Shyer than the deer, they are gone in a flash.

The pleasant surprise is the covey of California quail that are seen around our home.
The stately male with his distinguishing head plume acts as the lookout while the hens and their tiny babies scurry about pecking the ground.
And there are a lot of them. A single quail’s nest sometimes has as many as 28 eggs meaning all the adult birds care for and protect all the chicks.
Even smaller are the hummingbirds buzzing about our front porch feeder. The little birds are definitely entertaining with their aerial acrobatics.

The excitement came early in the summer when Debbie spotted a rather large black bear rattling through the trees and brush near the house. While it was concerning to have a 380 lbs. bear in the yard. It was humorous to hear my wife talk to it like it was the neighbor's lost pet.
"Go away minster bear," she said from the safety of the bedroom window, "There is nothing for you here. So, you better move along."
Which it did. But it still reminded us to secure our trash cans during the night.

Naturalist John Muir wrote, “Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.”

As Thanksgiving approaches, I wanted to take a moment to ponder how thankful I am for the wildlife. It is hard to for me put into words how grateful I am for wildlife and wild places.
As a human being living in cohabitation with animals and plants, I realize how important it is for all of us to protect nature and show compassion towards all wild things.

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A WEEK IN THE SIERRA PART II

By far the greatest of all these ranges is the Sierra Nevada, a long and massive uplift lying between the arid deserts of the Great Basin and the Californian exuberance of grain-field and orchard; its eastern slope, a defiant wall of rock plunging abruptly down to the plain; the western, a long, grand sweep. Well-watered and overgrown with cool, stately forests; its crest a line of sharp, snowy peaks springing into the sky and catching the alpenglow long after the sun has set for all the rest of America. --- Clarence King

Each morning I'd peel open my tent fly and look out over the stillness of Pleasant Lake. I was at the far end of the peninsula on a flat spot, a stone's throw from a small cove less than a hundred yards wide. It was an easy swim back and forth, that I had done the day before. On the other side, a granite white and grey wall rise out of the water. The fissures and cracks in it made it look like a high-rise apartment. Its mirrored reflection in the water doubled its size. In the shadows of the morning, the wall appeared to glow.
The sun hadn't peaked over the ridge of Sierra just yet. The moon was fading into the western skies. My tent inhaled the cool dawn air as I climbed out of the tangle of my sleeping bags and put on my pullover and stocking hat.
I had the same feeling that naturalist John Muir described best on a July day in his book My First Summer in the Sierra, "Exhilarated with the mountain air, I feel like shouting this morning with excess of wild animal joy."
 

Paddling Pleasant Lake

It's a bit too early for shouting. Whispers were more in order, as I zigzagged through the brush and the hardier little Sierra Junipers trees and leaping sagebrush lizards to our Bayside Adventure Sports campsite. Where I found John Taylor already boiling a kettle of water. Nothing better to start the day than with a little pore over coffee. We've been bringing these faith-based groups from Bayside Adventure Sports for a week of outback camping to Loon Lake in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area for five years. As Muir put it so elegantly and simply, "And into the forest, I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” Our participants always return to the flatlands, refreshed and recharged.

Paddling along the granite shore of the lake

Throughout the week, during morning and sunset paddles on the upper part of Pleasant Lake, we'd explore the narrow coves, bays, and polished granite formations. Paddling here, one can see the mountains' history, through the stories left behind in the rock.

When Padre Pedro Font named the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1776, they had already been around for a long, long time. The ice- and snow-covered sharp saw-bladed peaks, the Spanish padre, saw had begun forming under the ocean about 100 million years ago. Beneath the surface of the earth, the granitic rocks formed from molten rock that gradually solidified. Powerful geological forces then gradually forced the landmass up under the waters of the Pacific Ocean and below an advancing North American continent. As a result, plumes of plutonic rock were pushed up towards the surface, and sheets of lava poured down the slopes of volcanic chimneys rising to the surface.

 
  

Exploring the many coves of the lake

About 50 million later, the volcanoes were extinct. The erosive agents like wind, rain, and frost ate away the softer sediments exposing the salt-and-pepper speckled Granitic rocks containing minerals including quartz, feldspars, and micas.

As the world grew colder, beginning about 2 or 3 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada mountains were coated with an extensive thick mantle of ice. It covered much of the higher altitudes and sent massive ice-crawling glaciers down its valleys. The glacial ice quarried loosed and transported vast volumes of rubble along the way, scouring and transforming the landscape that we see today.

Paddling by the polish white granite boulders, it's easy to see the evidence of the path of the last glacier. Deep grooves are carved into the rock, and erratic and huge slabs of rock are left behind and out of place in a natural balancing act. To our delight, flat smooth polished boulders at the water's edge are perfect for sunbathing and drying off on a hot day after jumping into the cool lake.
 

At sunset the mountains of the Sierra glow red 

Only the bravest trees succeed in the summit crags along the lake, despite struggling against the wind and snow. We see the Sierra junipers growing on tops and ridges and in the splits between the glacier pavements of granite. Muir called them a sturdy highlander, "Seemingly content to live for more than a score of centuries on sunshine and snow...Surely the most enduring of all the tree mountaineers, it never seems to die a natural death."
Nestled in these trees and granite walls of the Sierra are these man-made reservoirs like Loon Lake and Pleasant Lake. After years of construction, they are part of the mountain landscape. These once meadows, canyons, and riverbeds are now glimmering lakes ready to explore and make part of a new history.

On our evening trek around the lake, we were able to paddle into a picturesque pond filled with blooming water lilies protected by steep walls on all three sides. It was only because the water level was still higher than normal this time of year that we were able to see the beautiful yellow flowers in all their glory in our kayaks.

  

A hidden coves reveals blooming water lilies

We paddled back to our camp in the twilight. The sky was ablaze with brilliant golden skies and orange-tinted mountains.
Back at camp, we lay on our backs staring up at the star-filled sky just as Muir did over a century ago. "How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountain-top, it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make leaves and moss-like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone," wrote Muir, " " We all dwell in a house of one room – the world with the firmament for its roof and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track.”

At 6,378 feet, we had no trouble seeing the heavens. We were dazzled by the Starlink satellites, a moving train of bright dots traveling across the sky. Blown away by an amazing streaking meteor that burned across the sky, from horizon to horizon, and later overwhelmed by the full moon rising over the silhouetted mountain top. In my tent, I looked over the lake as moonbeams glimmered off the still water before pulling down the fly. In the distant coyotes howling at the moon, I'm sure, with pure wild animal joy.

 

A beautiful sunset ends the day on Pleasant Lake

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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.

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A POSTCARD FROM YOSEMITE

“The last days of this glacial winter are not yet past; we live in ‘creation’s dawn.’ The morning stars still sing together, and the world, though made, is still being made and becoming more beautiful every day.” John Muir

It was Groundhog Day at Yosemite. The stunning glacier-scarred valley was still partly covered with a blanket of crusty snow. The iconic granite formation of El Capitan and Half Dome stretched out in panoramic view, and the cascading waterfalls Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, together are the continent's highest at over 2400-ft. The water plunged over the sheer cliff in a magnificence spray. Across the valley, Bridalveil Falls was a mixture of falling water and frozen layers clinging to the side of the mountain. In between, the snow-covered meadows embraced the ever so clear waters of the Merced River. To borrow a quote from naturalist John Muir, this is by far the grandest of all the special temples of nature I was ever permitted to enter. 

Wintertime is an ideal time to visit the famed national park. During the summer, the park is extremely busy. While during the winter, the park is relatively quiet. During the few days, my wife Debbie and I visited, we experienced no crowds, no traffic, and no delays during our visit. And outside of ice in the parking lot, the roads were clear of snowmaking driving easy through the valley and up to the Tunnel View to see the incredible postcard-perfect shot of the valley.

We hiked to the tourist favorites of Yosemite. Our first stop was right up the base of two for one waterfall of Yosemite Falls to feel its spray and hear its pounding. Another hike included a jaunt to Mirror Lake that keenly reflected the 4,700-foot Half Dome towering over the peaceful lake. Looking skyward, I think of my friends who have ascended the over 8-mile trail to its very top. Some even more than once. On that day, I settled for just seeing the fabled summit glowing orange in the setting sun while on the trek back to our truck.

  
“The great rocks of Yosemite, expressing qualities of timeless yet intimate grandeur, are the most compelling formations of their kind," said photographer Ansel Adams, "We should not casually pass them by, for they are the very heart of the earth speaking to us.”

Spring does come early to most of California, despite what the groundhog predicts. However, with days like this one in the beauty, the wonder, and the solitude in the surreal splendors of Yosemite, I can only wish for six more weeks of winter if I could spend it here.

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LIGHT SWITCH

The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.--- John Muir 

It's fall back time. This Sunday, the time flips back an hour to standard time. Great if you are an earlier riser in this light switch from evening to morning. However, losing the hour at the end of the day always surprises me. I'm not ready for the darkness, as the sun seems to slam into the horizon before my eyes. Exploding into little bits before disappearing into the night.

“There are very few things in the world I hate more than Daylight Savings Time," said author Michelle Franklin,  It is the grand lie of time, the scourge of science, the blight on biological understanding.”

She is right of course as many who don't enjoy the practice of Daylight Savings will attest. We don't lose or even gain for that matter a dose of sunlight with the time change, we lose it astronomically as the sun approaches its southernmost position, aka the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Still losing that golden hour at the end of the day seems unforeseen and unexpected for me. I can remember a fall paddle on the north arm of Folsom Lake. I had gotten a late start when I slid my kayak into the water on the south side of Doton's Point. The sun was already dipping behind some clouds and hovering over the horizon. It would be a race against it to see if I could finish before it set.

Now I had won the contest against the setting sun many times before while on summer nights camping. I would paddle out across the water watching that giant orange ball dissolve into the lake while I still have enough light to paddle back to the beach and light the campfire before nightfall. Twilight lingers in the summer, but not in autumn.

This time I was humbled. I didn't beat the night. I had paddled out too far and still had to come back. I tried to hurry back as fast as I could. My fingers and feet tingled as I pressed into the footpegs and paddle. But, no matter how fast I tried to paddle, the sun was gone and night had prevailed.

As a full moon rose over the foothills, I paddled back along the shoreline towards the lights of Folsom Dam.  The land and water amalgamated into the murkiness of the night. I can't say I was lost. I pretty much knew the lake and how to get back. But, without my headlamp, it was more like fumbling around in a dark bedroom trying to find the light switch. My truck was out there, I just had to find it.

The moonlight glistened on the water as I paddled up to Donton's Point. In the shadows, I could make out the silhouette of the truck's body parked along the beach. I was back at my starting point tired and a little relieved. I loaded up and drove away thinking, I better get an earlier start next time. It was only a little past 6 p.m.

That one-hour daylight switch from evening to the morning as we fall back to standard time begins this weekend. We don't go back to daylight saving until spring begins.

This article was originally published in Outside Adventure to the Max on November 3, 2017. 

 

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SUMMER NOTES FROM THE BOATHOUSE

 

Give me solitude – Give me nature – Give me again – O Nature – your primal sanities --  Walt Whitman

Walk back into nature, bring on the serenity and embrace the solitude.

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau embarked on an odyssey living simply on the shores of Walden Pond. Decades later naturalist John Muir would travel into the Sierra and while writer Jack London would head to the wilds of Alaska. All of them sought something in the spirituality of nature and wanted to inspire others to do the same. As Muir wrote, “In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”

Now, I'm the first to admit I'm nowhere near as profound as Muir or as gifted with the prose of Thoreau, but for the second straight summer season, I was in charge of the weekend paddle rentals at the small boathouse on the upper part of Lake Jenkinson at Sly Park Recreation Area.

As I have described before, Lake Jenkinson is an idyllic summer setting nestled in the Sierra foothills near Pollock Pines, California. Like a souvenir from my childhood memories, a feeling on nostalgia rekindles upon seeing the placid lake surrounded by a fringe of tall pines similar to the Northwoods. In other words, it's a perfect spot while away your day paddling.

Divided by a narrow channel, the lake has two components. A larger rounded lake that is home to speedboats, picnic, and campgrounds and a swimming beach, while the upper lake has an old-fashion fell being narrower, much quieter and home to the boathouse. Over the summer, again I would rent out a boatload of kayaks, canoes, and standup paddleboards all while keeping a series of notes recounting events and my daily, observations of my days on the lake.

May 18...Dan and I had hopes of opening Sly Park Paddle Rentals this weekend, but the rain and cold have washed out most, if not all of our plans.
We met there any way to prep the boathouse for next week's Memorial weekend opening. The first thing to do was empty all the rainwater out of the canoes.

 May 25...The lake glistens with majesty when I first got here today. the emerald-colored water was still and quiet and unbroken. I brought some PFDS up from the warehouse and staged them with my Necky tandem at the boat ramp across the way and paddled them across. with everything else, I would have to make a couple trips back and forth.
Not much traffic on the lake. Only a couple of fishing boats, but they were gone by noon after the clouds moved in and the wind picked up. The only company I have is a little flycatcher who has set up a nest over my boathouse window. She has a little brewed up there I found out last week. She flies back and forth tending her babies. She has got used to me yet.

May 27...Memorial Day. We were rained out yesterday. It a bad week to start the first days of summer with rain and snow falling. After opening up I spent the first part of the morning dumping rainwater out of the canoes and kayaks. It's always a chore.

 June 2...I can attest to the lake still being very cold. A couple a weeks ago the flag we use to promote the business rolled off the dock and sank below it. It was roughly 15-feet below. I brought my wet suit and fins today to see if I could get it. 
In getting ready for the cold water I had to work up the courage to jump in. When I did it, it took my breath away. I dove to the bottom grabbing the flag and then bring it back up to the surface and tossing it on the dock. If were not for my fins I would not have made it to the bottom.

The first several weekends of being open I was hampered by cool and rainy weather.  A series of two impressive thunderstorms kept many potential boaters away and off the water. The only benefit however to the snowy winter and wet spring was that Sly Park Falls continued to gush and rumbling in a marveling display of water and power.

June 15...I have always said my favorite time of day on Lake Jenkinson is morning. However,  last evening while leading a group for Current Adventures we had an amazing time on the water. The wind was gone and the moon was glowing over the pines making for a beautiful experience on the palicid lake. 
It's a scene right out Tolkien's Middle Earth, as we paddle under the cover the pines against the gentle tug of the creek flowing into the lake. Before reaching the walk bridge we could hear the roar of the falls. Beaching our kayaks, it's was only a short walk from there. The water cascading over the ledge was a foaming white stream. It was magic for everyone. They don't whether to cheer or just stand in awe in the fading primeval light.
 
June 22...A good crew for last night's Solstice Paddle. I love the light on the water as it changes from its burning orange to a subdued glow of pink, blue and green.. The trees in distance flicker in the long summer day as we paddle past. 

June 23..Folks are excited to get to the water today. They always come in three stages. The first show up after opening around 10 A.M. Then at noon, followed by another rush at 2 P.M. But no one is in a real hurry.  Everyone is very patient with the process of getting on to the water.  But what is so amazing to me is all the different languages I hear. Today, I heard English of course, but also Farsi, Spanish, Madraina Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, and Russian all my boat dock. They all came together to experience the song and language of the paddle.

My customers are not the only one who drop by the boathouse. The lake is home to an assortment of wildlife that I observe throughout the summer including, deer, ducks and geese and a congress of ravens, and two eagles who have set up a set across the lake from the boathouse.

June 28...The eagle pair sit side by side in the trees to my southeast near the entrance of the creek. It's always a thrill for me to see them. It takes my breath away to watch them fly over with their white heads and tails glistening as the flyover searching the water for fish. yesterday the two were out and caught the eyes of two harassing crows intend on pushing them back to their side of the lake. It was natures dogfight as the crows pushed them back into their own territory.
 
 July 4... It's been a busy holiday on the lake for me today. Lots of boats going in and lots of boats going out. My friend Paul showed up toward the end of the day. After closing up we paddled up to the waterfall and enjoyed the sight of my eagle friends perched high in the tree.

 
July 14...I never mention the drive through the park, but it's a highlight of my day both arriving and leaving. Its the only time I get to see the rest of the lake. on cool mornings driving through the tall pines, I almost feel like I'm going back in time when I pass the campgrounds. The smoke from their fires filters through the trees silhouetting their modern-day wigwams and teepees.

 July 27...had a big group from Bayside Adventure Sports come out to the lake this evening to take part in an after-hours paddle. We toured the lake. visited the waterfall all while enjoying the stillness or evening on the water. For many, it was their first visit to the park.

August 4...We were sold out for a time being. It's is a mark for a hectic few hours and a very long clean up. 

People always ask why I'm not opened during the middle of the week. My response is because it's pretty much a ghost town around here then. Other questions like, what's like what's a canoe? And how many people can fit in make you make me cringe while questions like last week's, I kid you not, can you load a tandem kayak inside your car? Give me a chuckle.
When opening during the weekend there is always plenty to do in dealing with the business end of the boathouse by keeping all the paperwork in order and tending the boats, however, I do enjoy that time in between, when I study the lake and trees.

August  10...I spent the night up the road and when I got here early to find one of our tandem kayaks missing. It had been stolen overnight. I called the rangers right away to report. I had hoped that someone just took it on a joyride and it would be recovered quickly, which proved to be the case when a paddler found it ant towed it back to me.

 August 11... Yes, I do enjoy the quiet times on the lake before the crowds arrive along with their boat chatter. I like to slip away in canoe for of course, to a brief of time to just float in the palicid stillness of the lake. The soothing sensation of gliding silently takes me away to another world to study the beauty of God's creation. 

August 18...I do swim a lot at this job. Often after boats that break away or when I get busy and have pushed the boats off the other side of the dock and I have to jump in to retrieve them. 

September 2...Labor Day, It's fair, bright and still warm to start the day. I'm a bit melancholy on how fast the summer season has slipped away. Time is so fleeting like a wave on the water. As warm as it is it certainly doesn't feel like summer is ending.

As long as the people keep coming and the weather stays nice, we'll be keeping the boat rentals going into the fall months of September. It's "soothing employment" as Thoreau called it to bask in the warmth of the sun, overlooking the pond while shoving boats and canoes around throughout my days. I couldn't find a more peaceful utopia. As Muir wrote in his classic, My First Summer in the Sierra, "Weariness rested away, and I feel eager and ready for another excursion a month or two long in the same wonderful wilderness. Now, however, I must turn toward the lowlands, praying and hoping Heaven will shove me back again."

If you want to go on a canoe or kayak trip at Sly Park contact:
Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips 
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS: Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

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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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THE ABC'S FOR YOUR SUMMER 2019

After a long cold winter and very wet spring, the days of summer are finally here. This weekend kickoffs the official unofficial start to summer.  It's time to organize and alphabetize yours for summer list of adventure and fun near the water. Not sure where to start? We have some from great tips A to Z  on how you can make this summer unforgettable. So you waiting for, as Van Morrison said, "Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly."

Abandon your phone Ok, not for the whole summer, but at least day or two. Writer Michelle A. Homme says, "The quietness we encounter will allow us to hear the birds sing and to hear the wind whip lightly through the trees as the seasons begin to change.  We can recharge without feeling like we’re being pulled in so many directions."

Blast to the Beach Whether crowded or remote, sandy or rocky the beaches rules are always the same. Breathe the sea air, rest, relax and reflect with no shoes required. "I feel so lucky to know the magic of travel by way of water," wrote kayak adventure Kate Hives in her blog At Home on the Water, "To intimately feel the ebb and flood of the ocean as it caresses the rocky shores and sandy beaches of this coastal playground. Sometimes I feel like I have been told a great secret of the mystery of the natural world and my – our – connection to it."

Catch a Wave  All of that white snow from this past winter means a summer of whitewater for rafters and kayakers as they anticipating a longer season than normal with rapids. “There’s nothing better than spending a great day in nature, on the river with some friends," said Whitewater Excitement's Phillip Schoenhoff, "If you’re looking to smile all day, laugh until your abs hurt, and experience the excitement and thrill of the rapids, come on out and join us!”

Demo Your Dream Ride You wouldn't think about buying a car without a test drive, so why would you want to do that with your kayak? Many shops have demo programs for people who are in the market to buy a kayak. The River Store
 
Escape the City Did you get outside today? No, really outside, away from the noise, traffic and the endless scurrying about. Scientific research has long documented how just spending time in the great outdoors can have numerous mental and physical health benefits for rebooting your body and mind. As John Muir reminded all of us, "Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

Feast on Your Float Tired of the normal river food being peanut butter sandwiches, simple freeze-dried packets, and oatmeal? Check out Lacey Anderson's Camp Cooking WITHOUT Coolers cookbook series.  She has developed menus that are nutritious, good tasting and easy to prepare, that is also lightweight and does not require refrigeration.

Go

Live

Incredible

Delights

Experience

Intimacy

Natural

Wonders

Experience

Tranquill

Lush

Amazing

Nature

Delta

Serenity  Paddler and operator of Delta Kayaking Adventures Kathy Bunton loves her experiences on California's waterlogged delta so much she put in the form of an acrostic poem to encourage you to come to glide along.

Help Clean Your Waterway Last year, cleanup organizers and volunteers spend a lot of time outside getting dirty as according to American Rivers the National River Cleanup registered cleanups at 3,166 sites, mobilized 57,228 volunteers and removed almost 2,000,000 pounds of trash. American Rivers
 
Indulge in S'mores What's a good camp out without the best dessert? Who doesn't love chocolate, marshmallow and Graham crackers? But as camping mom, Christy Harris Bryant points out pay close attention, "Because the golden rule with s' mores is. Never burnt, never burnt, Nobody wants a burnt s' more."

Journey Down A River "I love river trips," wrote outdoor educator Jeff Jackson in Paddling Magazine, "The whole trip though, not just the exciting bits or the paddling parts. I love the early possibilities and preliminary ideas, finding the maps and digging for the info I need to connect the dots."

 

Kayak a Lot That needs no explanation. Just go do it.

Love Your Parks "National parks are the best idea we ever had, wrote Wallace Stegner, "Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst." We heartily agree. Whether it's a national park or state park visiting these national landscapes of beauty and history shouldn't just be done in the summertime, but all year round. National Parks State Parks

Mix and Mingle at Water Festival These gatherings celebrate the river community and its history. Some are well-funded mega-fests while others are grassroots efforts led by volunteers with a universal love of showcasing their river. "These unique assemblies of river enthusiasts, first-timers and nomadic paddlers produce intense challenges, excellent learning opportunities, and unforgettable memories," wrote Kalob Grady in Paddling Magazine, "While non-kayaking friends will love the live music, vendors, silent auction and wild party."

Navigate Your Neighborhood When you live somewhere long enough, it has a tendency to stop being interesting by being too familiar. "Throughout my life, I fell in love with places other than where I was living. This feeling is common in many adventurers," wrote Natalie Warren in her paddling town series for Canoe and Kayak Online, but, after exploring the beauty, and history and the attractions she had second thoughts as she treats her hometown as a new destination and recommends you do the same, "While I don’t doubt that you would love it here, remember to love where you live. Explore your home."


Open a New Window "Summer means promises fulfilled, wrote naturalist Sigurd Olson, "Objectives gained, hopes realized. The surge of doing and achieving, of watching and enjoying is finally replaced by a sense of quiet and floating and a certain fullness and repletion, as though one cannot absorb any more."

Plunge into Boating So what's stopping you? If you been thinking about learning to kayak either whitewater or just want to know how to tour the lake lets just say there are boatloads of ways to get on to the water. "We all know adventure and exploration are not just for teenagers," writes Current Adventures Kayaking School and Trips' Dan Crandall, "Learning to kayak is an easy activity that will rekindle your youthful enthusiasm for many years to come." Current Adventures

Quiet Your Mind It's summer. It's time to stop stressing. Chase away those negative thoughts and take advantage of your precious time. Writer Michelle Maros said, "Sometimes we even forget that the whole point of going on vacation is to relax and have fun! This week, let’s leave all the stress behind and focus on how to really enjoy your time away, no matter where you’re going or who you’re with."

Race on the River Whether you want to support a great cause, get in shape or awake your gladiator spirit. Whether with solo or with a team there are divisions and courses for everyone using almost anything that floats. “If you’re in a competitive class you’re gonna go and go fast pounding down the river to beat your neighbor," The California River Quest race director Emily Matthews told the Chico Enterprise-Record about this weekend's event, "In the adventure class you’re out there to play and have fun. But in both classes, you pretty much paddle the whole time.”Race the Red  Great American Triathlon

Swim in Nature I don't mean skinny dipping but then again, why not. Adventure athlete Sophie Radcliffe‏ tweeted, "There’s something about swimming in nature that makes me happy and relieves stress; I love watching the world float by and gliding through the water with the sun on my back."

Time Travel in a Canoe Go back in time this summer. No special effects needed for this odyssey. All you need is paddle and canoe to feel like a voyager discovering the lake for the first time. "We need to be more aware of where we are headed and from whence we came," said famed canoeist Bill Mason, "An appreciation of the canoe and acquisition of the necessary skills to utilize it as a way to journey back to what’s left of the natural world is a great way to begin this voyage of discovery.” Sy Park BWCA

Unwind at Sunset  English Novelist Pamela Hansford Johnson eloquently paints this description of dusk while on the water, "The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." Who can argue? The sunlight flashing in each droplet from our paddles as the water glows in a golden glitter. How can you resist the sight of tranquil lake basking in the dimming light?

Vow to Wear Your PFD "We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: when you’re on the water, wear your life jacket, also known as a Personal Flotation Device or PFD." states the NRS website, "Year after year, dozens of people lose their lives while boating. And year after year, statistics show that many of these tragedies could have been prevented by wearing a well-fitted, properly-adjusted life jacket."

Wander Like Your Lost  It's the perfect quote for summer from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings that says, "Not all those who wander are lost." It encourages you to slow along the way to the lake or river. Stop in at the paddle shop to get some advice, hike that trail that you have always paddled or stop at that scenic vista. Summer days go by so quickly, you should make them last as long as possible.

X-Out Your Own Adventure "Let’s celebrate that we had our own adventure," writes Pete Delosa in his blog River Bum suggesting in these Instagram days of big water and even bigger drops there is no reason to count out your triumph. "If you went on the water and had fun then you won today and that is worth celebrating. Other people might have been looking paddleboarding kind of day today than we were and that is ok. I hope they found what they were after, but that doesn’t take anything away from our success."

Yoga on Your Paddle Board We get it. Just standing up on the board is challenging enough for some, but as the founder of Stoked Yogi, Amelia Travis told Yoga Journal, "Before you write off stand up paddleboard (SUP) yoga as impossible, here’s what I tell all first-timers: “If you can breathe, you can do yoga. If you can stand on one foot, you can paddle."

Zigzag a Water Trail Whether you want to go the distance or simply float to the next landing there is a water trail just waiting for you. Featuring public water accesses, campsites, rest areas and miles and miles of best paddling anywhere you can spend the day, week or the entire summer just like John Connelly did when he took his epic 1500 mile paddling adventure across the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada. In Dying Out Here Is Not An Option, a chronicle of his trip he wrote, "Seeing the canoe loaded with all I require to survive for the weeks to come," he wrote, "Makes me think. this canoe and I are going to forge a relationship over the next 800 miles. What will that end up looking like? What will be the story?" US Water Trails

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ROUGH ROAD TO SERENITY

 

                                     Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations

Up until then, everything had been OK. But, then the road suddenly stopped! Being a road, that is. Huge ruts and massive rocks block our way. We sat at the point of turning around, going back and finding another way. Meadow Lake Road on the east end of Bowman Lake looked more like a mountain goat trail than a lane of travel.

In all my trips to the water, it's always been fairly simple. For trips to Lake Natoma or the Lower American River, stops signs, traffic, and parking spots are my biggest concerns. With a little luck,  I'll squeeze into a spot at the boat ramp instead of having to park further away after dropping the kayak off at the water edge. For bigger trips, I'll leave the driveway, wade through traffic to the interstate, speed along to the exit, and end up getting stuck behind a slow-moving tractor or truck on the blacktop. At the crossing, I'll turn off the blacktop and drive on gravel down to the boat ramp.

"It’s the portage that makes traveling by canoe unique." said famed paddling guru Bill Mason. He, of course, was referring to hauling canoes through the northern woods from lake to lake. That's how it's done in places like the BWCA. Canoes are inserted on to lakes and streams and then carried by hand to other lakes and streams in between. Meanwhile, whitewater extremists will hike and climb miles transporting their kayaks up mountains to attempt the first descent of a waterfall or canyon creek. The paddling is the easy part, getting to the water is always the ordeal.

Our friend Curt Hough told me, it was a place we just had to paddle. High in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lake Foucherie is an outdoor paradise. Clear water, mountain views, and towering pines encompass the lake. It's a hidden and remote treasure that offers more that than just tranquil splendor, but serenity as well. It's so beautiful that photographer Ansel Adams just might have switched to color film to photograph its grandeur.
We gathered in my pickup with tandem kayak on top and looked forward to what naturalist John Muir described as an inexpressible delight of wading out into the grassy sun-lake when he wrote, "Feeling yourself contained in one of Nature's most sacred chambers, withdrawn from the sterner influences of the mountains, secure from all intrusion, secure from yourself, free in the universal beauty."

The Bowman Lake Road off of Highway 20 on the northern end of California's Nevada County is bumpy but well-traveled by four-wheel-drive pickup and Jeeps. It weaves and winds, mostly on gravel in a northerly fashion past Fuller Lake and then on up to the dam site.
The Meadow Lake Road begins just below Bowman Reservoir's Dam, turning off and winding up the mountain. The road is rocky and a bit unnerving with a steep drop off at ones the side. It would be a wonderful breath-taking view of the mountains and valley if I hadn't been holding my breath at the sight of the depth chasm.
About halfway up we came to our roadblock. There was just no way my truck could clear those ruts and rocks. We regrouped, turned around and went back down to find a different road up the mountain via GPS.

The first road must have been the express lane for four-wheel drivers and mountain goats. The other road adorned with switchbacks, but they still meet together for the same view Bowman Lake. At an elevation of 5,585 feet, the lake gleams through our windshield. Its fortress-like granite rock formations line the lake buffering it between the water and sky. The north side road runs parallel along the steep lakeshore. It was slow going, but, our destination seems to be in grasp.

All the way to the end of the lake and past Jackson Creek the road went from good to bad, to worse. My wife Debbie had taken the wheel now and she compared the road to a dried-up river bed.
The washboard grooves and stones tested the truck's tires and shock absorbers while driving up what looked like an evaporated stream.
I even got out of the truck and walked ahead in spots and clearing rocks and guiding Debbie to even ground.
At the Jackson Creek Campground, the road splits and leads to Sawmill Lake and Lake Foucherie. That road wasn't any better. It was a rugged adventurous drive over a parched creek bed and along a narrow pine-lined path.
When we limped into the Sawmill Lake Campground and saw the sight of Sawmill Lake, we agreed that we would just have to save Lake Foucherie for another day and unloaded our kayaks.

After the rigorous day of travel, the payoff came softly.
Sawmill Lake cooled us off in an instant. The water gave us relief, the pines refreshed us and the majestic mountain views mesmerized us with their beauty. It wasn't our original destination, but the wilderness always seems to sing to me. You made it!  It was the journey that mattered and the adventure in just getting there. Now enjoy my serenity.

Naturalist Sigurd Olson thought of it that way. He said, "And that, I believe, is one of the reasons why coming home from any sort of a primitive expedition is a real adventure. Security and routine are always welcome after knowing the excitement and the unusual. We need contrast to make us know we are really alive."

This article was originally published in Outside Adventure to the Max September 4. 2015