Today, I was looking forward to taking my favorite walk, until I realized that the temperature was dropping fast and the winds were about 40 mph. It is downright dangerous to walk alone through a pine forest in winds like that, not only do the dead trees fall over, but the five pound pinecones fly through the air like hand grenades.
So, a little change of course, I went to the east end of the lake for some dramatic photos of the whitecap waves. I tucked under the canopy where it was a little more sheltered and took some photos of things on the forest floor, like pinedrops, desiccated tree trunks, light playing in small aspen trees. I heard a funny noise, I thought possibly it was a dog yelp, and looked around the corner. A couple was swimming! It’s about 48 degrees and WINDY! The water must have been about 50 degrees. How could they stand it?
No way was I taking my usual route along the shoreline, so I went toward the campground instead. This is where the original camps were and it’s an eerie feeling to be there all alone. Followed the path along the creek to the bridge and then decided to take some pictures of the statue. I drove passed this statue everyday and I haven’t taken a photo of it in probably twenty years. It’s George Donner and his wife, Tamsen, who actually never made it this far. They both died about five miles back.
The lake itself is about three miles long at 6000 feet in elevation. Its beauty lies in the water’s deep coloring, surrounded by pine forest and spectacular granite mountain peaks. When we had a house here, I walked in the State Park at least five days a week, three seasons out of the year.