More August Adventures
Rob and me on the ferry from Angel Island to Tiburon on Sunday, August 14.
This was part of a weekend with family away from Emerald Bay.
Thursday, August 11, my niece Emily flew into Reno from Portland, Oregon to visit her mother Theresa at Lake Tahoe and to meet up with a friend to go rock climbing. My sister Elizabeth had stayed over at Tahoe before she headed home to Potter Valley near Ukiah, so the four of us got together for a leisurely afternoon visit at Sugar Pine Point State Park where Theresa is a campground host while Rob stayed back at Eagle Point to play campground host and sell wood.
Emily, Theresa, Me and Elizabeth enjoying dinner in Tahoe City.
Early Friday morning, August 12, I was at the Overlook in Eagle Point Campground where I go each morning to begin my day. I noticed smoke across Emerald Bay near Emerald Point in an area about a mile from the Boat in campground. I knew this was an area where there could be no legal fire and so I called the State Park dispatcher to report it. I followed up a few minutes later with a call to 911 to be sure that help was on the way. I made the first call at 6:56 AM, but it wasn't until about 7:25 that I could see a State Park Ranger truck going down the road nearest to where the fire was. I heard approaching sirens coming from South Lake Tahoe for a long time, but didn't see the first fire truck until 7:30. The smoke continued to grow, but not rapidly. From my familiarity with the area I knew that no vehicle could get closer than about a mile. I got in touch with the Boat Camp host via text and learned a ground crew arrived several minutes after the initial fire truck. I called Rob and he joined me at my Overlook observation location and we watched the smoke and listened while chainsaws began to cut down what we learned later was a burning tree. A police boat arrived in the bay and directed curious boaters who had gathered to stay back from the area of the fire. From our vantage point we could only see smoke, no flames. We finally headed back to the RV for breakfast and to begin our camp rounds. While heading down toward the lower campground we saw a helicopter dipping water out of the lake and then dropping it on the fire. The copter repeated that operation a number of times and finally the smoke lessened. We learned later that about a quarter of an acre burned in total and that though the cause of the fire is officially "under investigation" it was probably started from an illegal campfire in the same location as one that was fully extinguished the day before.
I was very surprised by how long it took for a fire truck to arrive. There are fire stations less than 10 miles away from the drive down to that area from both directions. I was not surprised by the ranger's response time because though the ranger who responded lives less than five miles away he was not on duty at the time and it would take him awhile to get dressed and on the road, but I think of fire personnel as ready to go in an instance. We were fortunate that the weather was mild that morning with no wind, and though vegetation is dry, it is not nearly as dry as it was last year at this time. This was an illustration to me of how long it can take to get personnel to a fire in a remote area. The area where this fire was is close to a trail and a little less than a mile to a road, but fires that start in much more remote areas and especially with more extreme weather have lots of time to spread before humans can intervene.
Friday morning, August 12, 2022, about a half hour after I reported the smoke.
The smoke is growing across the bay.
A police boat in the water protecting the area where the helicopter is getting water.
The helicopter with bucket below heading to the fire.
Dropping the water on the fire.
One of the annoying, noisy personal aircraft that fly over the Overlook almost daily.
Saturday morning, August 13, as seen from the Overlook.
When I was in Girl Scouts I learned this song that we sang at camp when we saw the moon in the sky during daylight hours: "Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, you're out too soon, the sun is still in the sky. Go back to your bed and cover up your head and wait until the day goes by." Of course this time when I saw the moon in the day lit sky it was morning and it was actually still up, not "out too soon." Since my Girl Scout days I have learned that the moon rises and sets on a regular schedule with the full moons always "rising" as the sun sets. That means that the moon is regularly visible in daylight hours depending on what cycle the moon is in. In modern times with living indoors we are just not as aware of the natural rhythms and cycles of the natural world as our indigenous ancestors were.
View north from the Overlook on the same morning of the daylight sighting of the moon.
Another view of the moon on the morning of August 13.
Here is is as seen over the northern Maggies Peak and above the slide area across Highway 89 at the end of Emerald Bay.
The moon over Eagle Lake which is tucked in those mountains above Emerald Bay.
And the moon as seen through the trees
Heading toward Angel Island from Tiburon with lots of sailboats in the windy bay.
Rob and Elsie reuniting.
Rob and Straus.
The cats took a little while to recognize us - they are very comfortable in their island home!
San Francisco as seen from the beach on Angel Island not far from Erin's home.
Closer up view of "The City."
The moon in the morning sky over the oak trees of Angel Island.
Sunrise from Angel Island, Sunday, August 14.
The sun peaking around the north end of Angel Island as seen from the beach below the Immigration Center. Angel Island was the "Ellis Island" of the west coast - lots of history here.
The bench on the left where I sat for awhile on Sunday morning below the Immigration Center.
The Golden Gate Bridge as seen from the ferry returning to Tiburon on Sunday morning, August 14.
Rob with the SS Red Oak Victory Ship behind him.
After leaving Angel Island on Sunday morning we headed to Richmond to meet up with son Shawn who took us out to breakfast on this ship that is being lovingly restored by countless volunteers after having been part of the "moth ball" fleet in Suisun Bay. The Red Oak was a supply ship during WW II, the Korean War and Viet Nam. My father was a Merchant Marine during WW II serving as a deck officer on Army and Navy troop transports. During the Vietnam War he also served as a deck officer on a troop transport chartered to the Navy. The infrastructure of the Red Oak was probably pretty similar to the ships my father sailed on in WW II.
Naomi and Sophia at Willie Mays Plaza chasing bubbles before we went into the stadium for the San Francisco Giants game against the Pittsburg Pirates.
7 of the 8 of us who attended the game together - at least partially visible.
Rob's hat, daughter-in-law Lindsey holding Naomi, Dorene (Erin's friend), Erin, Sophia and Shawn.
Our seats were way up high in the View section, but as some have said, "There are no bad seats at Oracle (the name now) Park."
Looking down at the field and beyond.
Sophia reacting to the Giants winning in the 9th inning with a "walk off" home run.
The Giants had not been doing well at all over the past month, so it really was a thrill to see them win.
After the game Rob and I headed back to Richmond for dinner and to spend the night with Shawn and the girls before heading back to Tahoe on Monday.
At the entrance of Alvarado Park where I walked early Monday morning, August 15.
This beautiful green space is less than two miles from Shawn's house in Richmond.
Back at Tahoe for sunrise, August 16, 2022
More August 16 sunrise.
Mt. Tallac in the early morning light.
Emerald Bay reflecting the early morning light.
And still more early morning light.
Dicks Peak with beautiful clouds, the same morning.
More beautiful clouds a little later on the morning of April 16,
with the hot air balloon inflating on the lake.
Sunrise on Wednesday, August 17.
Looking north from the Overlook, August 18, early morning.
We are so grateful for the continued beautiful clear skies - that is clear of smoke. We have had some afternoon showers, including the afternoon and evening of August 17 which produced enough rain for puddles to form. We're also getting lots of beautiful clouds overhead - quite a contrast to last year at this time when the smoke was terrible and we eventually had to leave because the campground closed due to the Caldor Fire.
Many of the seasonal State Park Aids have left already to go back to college so our entrance station is short staffed, causing us to spend a little more time helping out in the mornings before they are fully opened. That means I haven't had enough time to hike much between morning and noon rounds, but on Thursday August 18, I was able to head down the Rubicon Trail for a round trip hike of about 4 miles. August 18, 2022 is the 108th anniversary of my father's birth. He died in 2010 just one week short of his 96th birthday. He loved the natural world and especially Lake Tahoe.
Lower Eagle Falls on the morning of August 18.
Hard to believe this is the same water fall that totally obscured the rocks in June.
An Osprey on a tree branch along the Rubicon Trail on my way back to the campground.
I'm feeling like our time is getting short for this season at Tahoe and there are still things I want to do and people we want to see. Last year I hiked the trail to Mt. Tallac on July 9 when it was blazing hot. I turned around about a mile and a half from the top when I'd lost any shade. I wanted to attempt it again, but I wasn't sure I could do it. Theresa and I both had the day off on Friday, August 19, so we met at the Mt. Tallac trailhead about 7:00 AM. Theresa knew with her two little dogs that she wouldn't go the whole way and I wasn't sure just how far I'd go. Even though the temperature was much more comfortable than my attempt last year I still thought it might feel too hot when I got above the tree line. I wasn't sure about how I'd deal with the elevation gain - our campsite is at about 6,500 feet and the top of Tallac is at 9,735 feet and the Trail head for Mount Tallac is probably around 6,300 feet. I also wasn't sure about how I'd do with the very rocky upper part of the trail. I felt strong starting out, and strong all the way. The weather was perfect with a nice breeze blowing most of the time I was on the mountain. I was surprised that when I arrived at the trailhead at 7:00 AM that there was only one other car in the parking lot.
Me and Theresa with Mount Tallac in the background not too long after starting out.
I should have taken a picture of the dogs, Spencer and Pippin.
They were real troopers covering 2 1/2 miles before turning around at about the half way point to the top.
Mt. Tallac reflected in Floating Island Lake, a little more than a mile from the start.
Genian, I think.
This flower was new to me, very pretty along the trail near Floating Island Lake.
Cathedral Lake, Theresa's turn around point with the dogs.
After this the trail really starts climbing with rocky steps her little dogs wouldn't be able to get up.
Looking up at the tree I ate my lunch under last year after I'd started back down.
Looking down at the "lunch" tree from about where I turned around last year.
I was feeling good, the elevation wasn't bothering me at all, so I kept going.
This is actually the trail!
This part is no fun and I lost the trail at one point, but then saw some rock cairns that directed me back.
There were some people ahead of me that as I got closer to asked if we are on the trail.
My response was, "I think so."
The group I passed was in the car that had gotten to the parking lot before me - they had about a half hour head start. They were a little younger than me I think, but they live in Sacramento - pretty tough to hike this high when you're used to close to sea level elevation, but they made it to the top. This was my third time approaching the top of Mt. Tallac on this trail. The first time was around 25 years ago with my sister Theresa and we encountered the trail going into a large snow field that we didn't feel comfortable crossing so we chose to go around it over rocks that looked very much like the rocky trail in the previous picture. The second time was last year when I turned around before getting to the really challenging rocky trail. I have been to the top of Mt. Tallac at lease two other times, but then I approached on a much better trail from the back side when I had camped at Gilmore Lake on backpack trips. This day of hiking this year as I crossed the difficult rocks I kept thinking about the easier foot tread on the backside and considered whether I could go back down that way. The biggest problem would have been the mileage - it would take me a couple of days going out a different way!
Cresting the ridge and viewing the glorious granite mountains above Lake Aloha in the heart of Desolation Wilderness. Seeing this made all the hard word of crossing the rocks worth it!
The wildflowers were beautiful on the ridge that was around 9,000 feet.
Flowers at lake level are not so plentiful now in late August.
Coyote mint in front.
I smelled this familiar high mountain plant before I saw it.
Beautiful rock garden on the way to the top.
A field of yellow flowers below the peak.
Looking down from 9,700+ feet to our Eagle Point peninsula.
Emerald Bay is just to the left of the peninsula and out of view from my perch.
A panoramic view from my high point on the mountain.
I didn't feel comfortable going up the additional 30 feet or so in elevation because of the steepness of coming down, so I guess technically I didn't get to the "top," but I was really, really close!
A screen shot of the Mt. Tallac Trail from the All Trails App.
The blue dot is me at the top.
Looking down at Gilmore Lake as I started down.
Lake Aloha is visible at the base of the granite mountains.
Lake Aloha was one of Alex and my favorite spots on our 2016 Tahoe Rim Trail thru hike.
Mt. Tallac from the Eagle Point Campground Overlook Saturday morning, August 20.
I made it to just to the left of the tiny knob on top.
Sunrise, Sunday, August 21.
Lindsey, our daughter-in-law, and the mother of Sophia and Naomi, came up to camp at Sugar Pine Point State Park with Theresa on the weekend of August 19-21. Lindsey and I hiked the Rubicon Trail from Calawee Cove at DL Bliss State Park to Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay and then up the Vikingsholm Trail and across Highway 89 to hike another mile to Eagle Lake and back down. All together, with some detours, we hiked about 10 miles on Sunday, August 21.
Lindsey eating a peach on the trail with some of the distinctive Rubicon Trail rocks over her shoulder.
A lizard with blue highlights on a rock by the trail.
We took a little detour at the Emerald Point peninsula to see the fire that was there on August 12.
In this picture near the center is the stump of a dead tree that had to be cut down because it was burning up high. Also visible in the picture are the rounds cut up from that tree. The illegal camp fire that apparently started this fire was just to the right of the large rock.
One of the sections of the cut up dead tree.
The rotting core of the dead Cedar tree is visible.
While in Emerald Bay we took a tour of Vikingsholm.
This is the front, formal room with the 1929 Steinway piano back in place after spending most of the last year in safe keeping in Sacramento because of last year's Caldor fire.
The kitchen at Vikingsholm.
Through the door is the entry to the area where food would have been plated before being delivered to the formal dining room.
Lindsey and me with the beautiful Eagle Lake behind us.
The sun just keeps coming up: Monday, August 22, 2022.
We are so blessed to be experiencing beautiful clear skies and not too hot temperatures.
A large tree snag across the Rubicon Trail.
This morning, August 23, between morning and noon campground checks I walked down the Rubicon Trail to Vikingsholm as I do at least once a week. About 3/4 of the mile down the trail I encountered this large obstacle which I managed to go around. I did see some hikers climb over it on the way back up the trail, but going around seemed easier to me. I'm sure glad I wasn't on the trail when this tree fell sometime in the past few days.
Angel Island kitty Elsie giving herself a bath.
Straus with eyes reflecting the light.
Elsie and Straus hanging out.
Thanks, as always.
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