My first visit to Lake Tahoe

Posted by Interdisciplinary 6 - The Sierra Nevada

April 1, 2007

An essay by Holger R. Hahn

I moved to the Bay Area from Ontario Canada in the early 1970's. That alone was a big enough shock. To see oranges growing in January, warm sun and clear skies in December, green lawns all year round. What a place to see for someone who grew up in northern Europe and then lived in northern Canada for many years. I thought the Bay Area to be the most exciting and beautiful place I had ever seen.

After a few months a friend suggested we drive to "The Mountains" I was not too eager because I enjoyed the Bay Area so much. I had been in mountains in Canada and was not too impressed. After some convincing I relented and agreed to go for
the weekend.

As we make our way into the foothills my attention is drawn to the hills blanketed in a thick mantel of conifers. Half an hour later we see enormous boulders of granite. As it usually is in the summer, the day was clear of clouds, everything bathed in brilliant sun without a trace of wind. What a day! We drove past Donner Lake and were soon on the shore of Lake Tahoe. My first view was from the north side of the lake. It was about an hour before sunset and the lake had a calming effect on us after the four hour drive. To see the grand expanse of the water with the sun starting to cast shadows on the western slopes was a special moment. The water had varying shades of blue and black. I can still remember a single sailboat limping to its safe haven after what must have been a dreamy day. The next day we hiked up Shirley Canyon. The rugged boulders and the thick vegetation along the tumbling water in the stream made it a very special place. We were walking in the late spring and there were still a host of different wild flowers. It seemed that the flowers were alive with butterflies and bees wherever they were bathed in sunlight.

The view became more stunning and spectacular as we climbed higher. I observed myself becoming more sensitive to the mountain as we climbed higher. We had not seen another person in a while and I felt a sense of remoteness and isolation. It was a feeling I sought constantly after that first experience.

Now that I am retired from work my wife and I go to the mountains several times a month in the summer and winter. In the winter we go for the numerous places available for cross country skiing. Every time we go, every place we go, whether on groomed trails or in the back country it is a new experience. The snow is different, the sounds are different, the shadows and light differ from hour to hour and month to month. We have hiked up many of the peaks in the Tahoe Basin and hiked to many of the lakes countless times each summer. I think that if someone loves the mountains one can climb the same peak or go to the same lake again and again and have anew experience each time. If one is sensitive to the surroundings and stops to listen and smell and look and touch nature each outing is a new experience.

When our daughter turned six or seven years old, ten short years ago, she started hiking and skiing with us. To see the mountains and lakes through her eyes made each trip seem like anew experience for me.

My first trip to the Sierra Mountains was so long ago it is difficult to recall the details of the trip. In recalling my first experience and thinking about the mountains as I write this paper, I have come to the conclusion that every trip to the mountains truly feels like the first trip.