Leon Turnbull Photography

Our company moved its office to Roseville this week and I must say I’m hating the commute thus far. I used to work 10 minutes from home. Not anymore. The traffic is not so bad but it’s all the darn lights. There are about 5000 of them and I swear the city has programmed them so it is impossible to hit any of them green. Argh.

It also means it is now too difficult to get to the south shore of Tahoe after work on Friday. Going to the north shore is about the only option. So that’s what I did.

It was raining hard when I got to Truckee but by the time I started my hike it was all done. A nice sunset over looking the lake would sure be nice. I haven’t had good luck up here for sunsets this year. I hiked up the Tahoe Rim Trail (first time I’ve ever been on this trail). The info I read said there were good views of the lake on this section. I found nada. I think I would have had to walk a lot farther on the trail to see any, so I decided to climb up to the top of Barker Peak. Surely there would be a good view from up there. Instead I found a big old ridge blocking my view. I could only see a partial view of the lake and it didn’t seem worth staying up there for sunset. I did not like it. Plus I was way off the main trail and I did not have my GPS. Hiking back in the dark might be big trouble.

So I ran back down the mountain to the car as fast as my chubby legs would take me, and drove back down to lakeside, arriving there just before sunset. There was a dock there which I walked out on, but there was not much color out over the lake. Bummer. Then I looked behind me and saw some spectacular color. I was on the wrong side of the lake. Doh! I should have gone to the east side. No time to do that now. I tried to take some shots anyway. It was pretty nice but the angle was not great. The weird thing was there was another photographer there on the dock shooting the nice color but he was standing right along the shore, a far worse angle. Why didn’t he pass by me to get a better angle? Strange. Anyway the color was all done so I packed up and made the long drive home.

Sunset at Horsetail Falls, Desolation Wilderness. This is just above the lowest section of the falls. As you can see, the water level was very low. Normally all that rock would be covered in water, in fact I have never before seen it otherwise until now.

Anyway, I had to wait around 30 minutes or so for the sun to set. I knew those clouds would color up, just not sure how much. It was not too shabby.

From here it is a 45 minute hike down the mountain, so for most of the hike I was hiking in the dark netherlands. No worries, I had my headlamp. No unruly critters were seen on the way back down.

Last day of the recent summer storms so I thought I would head up to Lake Tahoe again for a sunset.
It seemed like it could be a very good one as I headed up over the summit. There were plenty of clouds, and the sun was breaking through, but where would the best color be tonight, if anywhere?

I hiked up to Granite Lake where I thought there would be a good view overlooking Cascade Lake and Lake Tahoe (and indeed, there was!). I realized, as I started the hike, that I did not have my headlamp with me. Doh! That could be quite serious because I would be hiking back down in the dark. However, it is only a mile up to the lake, the trail is easy to follow, it would be all downhill coming back, and I had my iPhone flashlight with me (though it is not nearly as bright as my headlamp, and the battery level was down to 50 percent). Anyway, it should be no problem, right?

When I got up to Granite Lake, I passed by some campers at the lake, who were right in my path for getting to the end of the lake. They and their dog seemed friendly enough, but I took a semi-shortcut on the way back so I would not have to pass right by them in the dark – but I could smell their smoking on the way back nonetheless, and I assure you it was not anything legal.

I climbed up on the ridge behind Granite Lake, and worked my way to a viewpoint. I had to climb a bit further up than I anticipated to get a clear view with no trees blocking the way. From this spot, I could see the two lakes, as well as Fallen Leaf Lake, and I could also see Upper Cascade Falls (but not the lower Cascade Falls). Cascade Creek was just trickling, but if it was flowing strong then the view of the upper falls would have been a very sweet one.

It was about a half hour before sunset and things were looking good as far as the clouds were concerned. But then, about 20 minutes later, a rain storm moved in from the south, blocking the clouds that were starting to color. I thought it was going to drench me as well, but the rain did not come my way; nonetheless it seemed I was going to be skumped yet again by Lake Tahoe. Craning my neck, I could see lots of good color on the north shore of the lake. Of course. At the very end, however, the sun tried to make a comeback, and the clouds started to color up again. It was not overly impressive, but it was enough to get a shot. Not too shabby.

I packed up quickly and headed back down the hill. When I got to the main trail I jogged all the way down to the car. I probably did not need to do that, but it was good exercise anyway, and I did end up having to use my iPhone flashlight once it got too dark. I arrived back at the car 30 minutes past sunset. All was good.

It has been a rough week for me due to being sick. I missed a couple days of work with something or other. Stomach flu, I guess, though I thought it was food poisoning at first. No distasteful vomiting, pleasantly enough, but it was enough horridness to keep me in bed a couple days. Now on Saturday, I have a darn awful cold. Just when I was starting to feel better. Ugh. Anyway, I did recover briefly enough on Friday such that I wanted to get out and hike on Friday evening after work.

I was hoping to catch another good sunset in Lake Tahoe, but it did not look too promising Friday afternoon. It seemed that it was getting more and more cloudy as the day progressed, and rain was moving into the area as well. It could be a total washout. Sometimes Tahoe can be amazing, and sometimes not so much. And most times you won’t know until you get up there which it will be. My alternative was to get up early Saturday and hike somewhere else, but I was starting to feel the cold coming on already and I knew I would not want to get up at the break of dawn on Saturday. Sleeping in was going to be a good option. It was Friday evening sunset at Tahoe or bust. Hopefully not a bust. A few prayers were made.

I have had in mind for a while to try some different hikes at Tahoe for sunset, rather than the usual suspects. But you cannot really decide until you get there to see what the weather is scheming. I got up to the summit, and geez Louise nothing looked too much good. There were heavy clouds everywhere and definitely rain in some spots. It did not seem like it mattered what I did or where I went. Sunset would be most bust-ful. I decided then to make headway on my initial plan and head over to the east side of the lake. I wanted to get a decent hike in anyway, even if it was raining, especially after not doing any exercise this week due to my sicko-ness. Lo and behold, when I arrived at the trailhead, there was some light over the lake. It might not be so bust-ful after all.

It is about a mile from the busy highway where I parked down to Skunk Harbor (Skunk HarboUr for my Canadian comrades). It is a simple and easy hike, except that it seemed to be a lot more descending than I expected – meaning that ascension would be coming later. I had the harbor all to myself. Not even a skunk in sight. It was gorgeous. I have not ever been down here before, but I had seen pictures and I knew I wanted to photograph the lake from here. In particular, I really wanted to see the setting sun line up nicely with this old pier, or pylons, or pile of logs sticking up out of the lake, or whatever they were. Unfortunately, the setting sun was not going to co-operate, thus I had to make do as best I could and shoot from a different angle. Perhaps later in the winter the sun will be more considerate of my needs. I may have to return at that time. And I may just do that, especially if another dry winter is on the horizon.

The sunset, as you can see, was certainly an amazing one. I unquestionably have had good fortune lately at Lake Tahoe with color. God is good. It is not the best sunset I have experienced at Tahoe, but definitely is right up near the top. The color lasted quite a bit longer after sunset this time, getting more and more intense, until finally it started to dissipate. I packed up, by now almost dark, and headed back up the hill, arriving back at the car, huffing deeply, and well after dark. It was a dazzling evening at Lake Tahoe.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is *not* a waterfall. I can’t shoot waterfalls all the time, you know. Well, I could. In fact, I am not sure the last time I even posted a non-waterfall shot. Hmmm. Well there are, as you may know, three nice waterfalls within a mile of this location, and even more within a couple more miles. And yes I did see one of these waterfalls as I walked up the trail to this lake, but photograph it I did not. My primary mission, should I choose to accept it, was to photograph Eagle Lake at sunset, and photograph it I did.

I was not planning on going to any waterfalls this weekend or even to go hiking at all. I was just going to spend the weekend at home. Relax. Take it easy. Drink lots of beer. Then I heard from certain friends (thanks Karen) that Lake Tahoe was experiencing unusual amounts of smoke and clouds from the Rim Fire. It seemed to me there would be a strong possibility of a very nice, if not spectacular, sunset at Tahoe this weekend. So last minute plan change: drive up to Tahoe after work on Friday evening and find a spot to photograph the sunset. No waterfalls in this plan. Just beautiful Tahoe.

The Rim Fire … currently burning out of control just to the west of Yosemite National Park (far to the south of Lake Tahoe). It has actually now entered Yosemite and is heading rapidly towards Hetch Hetchy. By the time you read this, Hetch Hetchy may or may not in fact be burning. It is turning out to be one of the largest fires in California’s history. After two years of drought, everything is bone dry, and the fires are going nuts. It is certainly sad when people lose their home due to a forest fire, and also sad if beautiful scenic locations are burned (such as Hetch Hetchy if the fire reaches that far). On the other hand, there is much good to fires as well. One of these things is waterfalls. The Rim Fire has already burned quite a few waterfalls. How is that good? Am I nuts? Well it will be bad and ugly in some of the very scenic places (such as the Rainbow Pool area), but there are some other waterfalls that are now going to be suddenly accessible, which up until now have not been accessible due to the inordinate amount of brush surrounding them. If that brush has burned, it will possibly be much easier to reach these waterfalls. I can think of a few in this area that fall into this category, and I am already looking forward to trying to get to them (in the next two or three years).

Anyway, back to Lake Tahoe. There are so many scenic spots in Lake Tahoe for a sunset or sunrise, and any of these can be spectacular or duds. It is a long drive up to Tahoe from Sacramento to see a dud sunset. When I go there for a sunrise or sunset, I never have a specific location in mind. I wait and see what the weather is doing when I arrive there. As I drive down into Tahoe from the summit, I can see where the clouds are lining up and where the best possibility for color is going to be. At first, it seemed to me that Emerald Bay was going to be the best spot. The haze was thick over the lake, but the edge of it seemed to be at the west end of the lake, meaning that it might really color up nicely at sunset over the Bay. When I got over there, however, I changed my mind. The haze was just too thick over the Bay, and it did not look like it was going to color much, if at all (and I was right – there was zero color over Emerald Bay at sunset). I changed my plan and decided instead to hike up to Eagle Lake for sunset. This was a much better idea anyway. I wanted to get a decent hike in, and I have wanted to photograph Eagle Lake at sunset for quite awhile now. This was my ticket. It is only a mile up to Eagle Lake, but it is a bit of a huffer with some elevation gain, and I arrived at the south side of Eagle Lake about 20 minutes before sunset, and there was no one else around. Perfect.

Well I was not the only one around. I could hear noise at the far north end of the lake, splashing in the water. Some big animal? I thought I heard faint voices. Campers, I suppose, though I saw nothing. I heard what appeared to be a duck whistle. I finally came to the conclusion that it must have been those weird Duck Dynasty people trying to scare up all the ducks and other wildlife in the area.

I would not say the sunset was epic by any means, and it was not precisely what I had envisioned, but actually it was pretty darn sweet. Thank you Lord. But it did not last very long. Only minutes after sunset, the color all disappeared. It left as quickly as it had come. Ok then, I packed up and headed back down the hill, thinking I might even get back to the car well before dark. Not so much. The sunset disappeared quickly and the darkness came just as quickly. No problem. I had my headlamp so I was not concerned, in fact, I was expecting to hike back down in the dark, just not quite so early as I did. It was a beautiful evening at Lake Tahoe and definitely worth the trip up there from the valley.