A close rival of these is the climb from Rubicon Park up the stately range in its rear to visit the mountain hemlock, the graceful queen of the high mountain, and to gaze across the chasm at the twin crags beyond.
And peer of them all, though requiring but little exertion, is a trip to Brockway to enjoy the unrivalled view of the "Land's End" of the Lake and catch the colors of the pansies that are still in bloom in a niche of the old sea wall. If one possess the artist's mood, he will add thereto a boat ride round State Line Point in the lazy swell of the evening sea beneath the silent pine-clad cliffs, while the moon, as beautiful as any summer moon, rides overhead. Only the carpet of snow and the film of ice that gathers from the spray upon the boat keeps one alive to the reality that the season is winter.
Finally a rowing trip along the western shore of the Lake with stops at pleasure en route. One can have weather to suit his taste, for the waters on this shore are safe in storm, and the barometer and the sky will give full warning long before the weather attains the danger point. The man who loves the breath of the storm and the glow of excitement will loose his boat from Tallac when the clouds swing down the canyon and speed forth borne, as it were, on the wings of the waves toward the distant foot of the Lake—past the black water wall where the waves of Emerald Bay sweep into Tahoe, through the frothy waters where the wind shifts and whips around Rubicon Point, over the white caps of Meek's Bay until by skillful maneuvering the jutting cape is weathered and quieter water is found in McKinney Bay. Full time there is, with the wind astern, to reach the river's mouth at Tahoe City, but the voyager who loves the woodland will tarry for a night in the dense fir forest of Blackwood, while his boat rides safely moored to the limb of a prostrate tree.
Regarding the eastern side of the Lake, the bald shore and jutting headlands, the fewness of the landing places, and the sweep of the waves make cruising in these waters a matter of supreme skill and farsightedness. Let the Viking learn with broad-beamed boat the mastery of the western shore before he turns his boat's prow to the east.
For the man of milder tastes the motorboat will suffice or the mail steamer, which plies the waters of Lake Tahoe twice a week.
In tobogganing, the hills and open meadows at Tahoe City and at Glenbrook will furnish royal sport for the devotee. Skating and ice-yachting must be sought in regions where the snow is less deep and the cold more intense.
| Skiing from Tallac to Fallen Leaf Lodge
Click photo to see full-sized. |
Skiing is the chief method of locomotion in winter at the Lake and the novice soon becomes expert in the milder forms of the sport. Ski trails thread the forests at Tahoe City and radiate from every resort.
The open inns at Tahoe City and Glenbrook, and The Grove near Tallac and the resorts on Fallen Leaf Lake insure the traveler's comfort, while the hospitality of the caretakers at all of the resorts is proverbial. The question of when and how to go is naturally a leading one. During the months of November to April, two sledging services are furnished each thrice a week—one from Carson City to Glenbrook, the other from Truckee to Tahoe City. (The narrow gauge railway has also established a semi-weekly winter schedule.) The mail boat connects with the incoming sledges and train on Tuesday and Saturday. The route from Carson City, which crosses the heights of the Carson Range, affords a superb view of the Lake at sunset. The route from Truckee traverses the wooded canyon of the Truckee River, when scenically at its best.
The traveler who approaches the Lake by way of Glenbrook and leaves by way of the canyon of the Truckee will have an experience in winter travel both unique and replete with beautiful landscapes.