Laying on the granite beach on a Sierra mountain high lake in the darkness has become a customary occurrence for me. The new moon is only a sliver. That will only enhance tonight's viewing of the night sky. Overhead the blueish-white stat Vega gleams in gleams down. While in between two the east mountain peaks, Saturn and Jupiter seem to be chasing each other as they climb in the sky. A fuzzy band of light in the sky, known as the Milky Way, spans across the heavens. And of course, the Big Dipper and (Polaris) points to the north.
It's more than dazzling. It's mind-blowing. To think that our galaxy, is so big, so endless, and so unknown. It is only the most remote regions on earth, like here in the high Sierra-Nevada mountains, where the night skies are dark enough to put on a show in this heavenly body.
"You can feel the stars and the infinity of the sky since life, in spite of everything, is like a dream." attributed to painter Vincent Van Gogh.
However, patience will be needed, for tonight's main attraction. The Perseid Meteor shower is a dazzling display of nature's fireworks that come every August. It is more of a sprinkle than a downpour. There's a waiting period between each burst of fiery light that requires determination and maybe a little luck.
"You never know when one of these fireballs is going to shake you to your core," Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York told NPPR in a radio interview, "The unexpected thing is what you should be hoping that you're going to get, which is a nice big bright one that's going to outshine all the stars - that's going to look like it's going to scare you."
Seeing the meteors streak across the sky was a bonus while being on this alpine lake. At 6,378 feet, Loon Lake has no trouble touching the heavens. Sitting 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, the lake is the perfect backdrop for kayak camping. Offering pristine blue water, textured granite shore, and by day awe-inspiring views, one could find no better wilderness for solitude and tranquility.
For three years in a row, I have led members of Bayside Adventure Sports, a Sacramento faith-based group, on a one-of-kind kayak camping trip to the far end of the lake. During the days, we'd explored the coves, bays, and islands of the lake, slowing meandering around glaciers exposed granite boulders dotting the shoreline. And once again, after dinner, we'd enjoy a breathtakingly stunning sunset across the western horizon during a cruise on the breathless water of the lake.
After our sunset paddle, we'd normally have retired by a cozy campfire. But without fire restrictions, we would have to depend on the meteors to light up the night. We reclined along the rocky beach, looking towards the sky. There is a dazzling array of stars above us. In quiet contemplation, Our thoughts navigate us through time and space. How long does it take the light of the stars to touch the earth? Can those satellites see us from above? Where are those meteors?
"The one thing that I always recommend that everybody bring with them when you watch a meteor shower is patience," Faherty told NPPR.
We wait, stare and ponder, then in an instant. Our thoughts are suddenly disrupted by a flash of a meteor's tale. Fourth of July-like oohs and awes charge the air as the fireball streaks across the sky. But, the shooting star is gone much too quickly. However, it's an experience we will remember for a lifetime. Seeing a falling star is always special, however, catching it with friends while kayaking a high Sierra lake is simply magical.
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Far below, the river frothed and flowed over pebbly shallows, or broke tumultuously over boulders and cascades, in its race for the great valley they had left behind. ---Jack London
