Journeys›Photograph

Mid-July on the Loch Leven Lakes Trail

·Nevada County, California·#hiking#summer#tahoe#hiking with dogs#alpine-lake
A small dog stands on a rocky shore next to a calm lake, surrounded by tall pine trees under a cloudy sky.

Loch Leven again, mid-July, with the dog. We started under a heavy gray sky at the little tarn near the bottom, where the grass along the far edge has come in thick and green and the dog worked the rocks at the water's edge in her orange harness, nose down the whole time.

The cloud broke up as we climbed. Through the gap in the trees you could see snow still holding in the chutes on the ridge across the valley — more of it than I'd expect this far into the summer.

The lakes themselves were up, water right into the brush in places, and the granite above the far shore had that pale washed look it gets under a half-clouded sky. We followed the trail along the shore past the middle lake to where it drops toward the water, then turned it around. The clouds were stacking up again by then, darker over the ridge, and we didn't wait around to see what they'd do.

A mountain range with snow patches visible through a dense forest of tall pine trees and green undergrowth under a blue sky.A mountain lake with grey rock formations, green pine trees, and a cloudy blue sky overhead.A scenic lake view framed by tall pine trees, surrounded by rocky hills and distant forests under a cloudy sky.A lake framed by evergreen trees with rocky, forested hills under a cloudy sky.A clear mountain lake surrounded by pine trees with rocky mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.A mountain lake surrounded by dense pine forests and rocky peaks under a cloudy sky.A wide-angle view of a large lake with evergreen trees and rugged mountains under a cloudy sky.A hiking trail winds past a lake with evergreen trees and rugged granite mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

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