Journeys›Photograph

June Snow and Sunsets at Donner Lake

·Truckee, California·#sunset#tahoe#snow#spring#lake
A snowy mountain lake scene with pine trees, an overcast sky, and a white van parked on a wet road.

Snow in the middle of June. The season here is supposed to run October to May, and Truckee averages over 200 inches in a normal year, but every so often a storm sneaks in after summer has technically started, and this was one of them. It put enough down to whiten the pines out front and cover the little table on the deck, though the road along Donner Lake stayed only wet. A van sat parked at the pullout by the water like it was any other Wednesday.

By evening the clouds broke apart and the sky over the lake went pink — long streaks of it above the snow still sitting on the far ridge, the water picking up the color in patches. It held that way well past when I expected it to fade.

After dark we lit the fire pit and sat out despite the cold, slippers propped up near the rim to warm. One stick lay angled across the ring, half burned through, refusing to fall in.

A snow-covered balcony with two yellow chairs overlooks pine trees, a road with a white van, and a lake.A bright bonfire burns in a metal fire pit, with a person's foot and a red object visible in the dark.A lake reflects a vibrant pink and blue cloud-filled sky above dark, tree-covered mountains.A lake reflecting a colorful sky with purple, blue, and orange clouds, behind dark, snow-capped mountains.A vivid sunset with pink and blue clouds reflected on a large lake, flanked by dark mountains.A lake reflects a vivid pink and blue sunset sky with dark mountain silhouettes in the background.Vibrant pink and blue clouds fill the sky above dark mountains and a calm body of water at dusk.Vibrant pink and purple sunset sky reflected in a lake, with dark silhouetted mountains and distant snow-capped peaks.

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