Journeys›Photograph

A Few Days Camped on Tahoe's West Shore

·El Dorado County, California·#summer#boating#tahoe#sierra nevada#camping
A towering, moss-covered tree with bare branches stands against a clear blue sky, surrounded by other tall evergreen trees.

A few days camped on the west shore, down 89 past Homewood into the El Dorado County stretch near Tahoma. Close enough to home that it barely counts as leaving, but the trailer was packed and the point was to stay put for once instead of day-tripping back.

Morning went to the big trees behind camp — one old juniper with a dead broken top and wolf lichen running chartreuse up every furrow of the bark, branches sticking out bare in all directions like it gave up on symmetry a century ago. Afternoon at the beach, where the water goes green over the rocks and then blue fast. A boat sat anchored just off the sand with someone swimming around it, and the mountains on the Nevada side stayed sharp all day.

Back at camp the fire ring is a big iron kettle on a chain, which takes some getting used to. Steak in the cast iron with red peppers and onion, blue cheese shaved over the top because it was in the cooler and needed eating. The shower tent held up. The towels are draped over everything again.

A moss-covered, ancient tree trunk with bare branches reaches towards a clear blue sky, surrounded by other tall evergreen trees.A white boat with a blue canopy floats on clear blue water near a pebbly shore, with mountains under a vast blue sky.A small motorboat with a blue canopy floats in clear blue water with distant mountains under a bright blue sky.A campsite features a burning fire in a metal pit, a picnic table, a tent, and tall evergreen trees.A camping setup in a forest with a blue pop-up tent, a bicycle, and a trailer with a rooftop tent and open storage.A greasy cast iron pan with leftover food and a spatula sits on a camping stove.A yellow plate holds seared meat, roasted red peppers and onions, and chunks of blue cheese.A very tall redwood-like tree with textured bark rises above other evergreen trees against a pale blue sky.

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