Journeys›Photograph

From Donner Lake to Fisherman's Wharf

·Truckee, California·#summer#lake tahoe#san-francisco#day-trip#fishermans wharf
A calm lake reflects a blue sky and pine trees, with a dirt shore and distant mountains under scattered clouds.

Started the morning at Donner Lake, just west of Truckee. Walked a stretch of the north shore path — gravel underfoot, willows crowding the waterline, the whole three miles of lake laid out flat with the trees doubled in it. Barely any wind. A few clouds sat low over the ridge at the far end where the water eventually drains out through Donner Creek toward the Truckee River, though from the shore it all looked sealed in.

Then the long haul down to San Francisco, which is a strange thing to do in one day. By afternoon we were at Fisherman's Wharf, passing under the big yellow Fishermen's Grotto sign at No. 9, then out along the docks at Pier 39. Alcatraz was visible across the water with a fog bank stacked up behind it, hiding most of Marin. The harbor itself stayed clear — ferries in their slips, the water gone that green-gray the bay does. Mountain lake in the morning, sea lions barking somewhere behind us by four.

A lake with reflections of pine trees and a bright blue sky, bordered by a sandy shore and green bushes.A large yellow sign with blue letters spelling "Fishermen's Grotto" is above a building with a tiled roof under a clear blue sky.A marina with a ferry and boats docked, waterfront buildings, and hazy distant land under a bright blue sky.Blue-green water in a marina with docked boats, waterfront buildings, and a distant foggy landmass under a clear sky.

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