Journeys›Photograph

Kayaks, Dog, and Paddleboards on Donner Lake

·Truckee, California·#summer#lake life#tahoe#kayaking#paddleboarding
An oval wooden mirror stands on a dresser, flanked by axes, a fishing net, a plant, and a glowing lamp.

Donner Lake day, minutes from downtown, so no packing beyond swimsuits and the leash. We stopped under the big pine by the water first, dog straining at the end of her lead the whole time, then got the kayaks in off the public launch at West End Beach.

The dog rode up front in the red boat and spent most of the crossing with her teeth on the paddle blade, which made steering a negotiation. The girls traded off the green Sun Dolphin — one of them figured out a real stroke somewhere in the middle of the lake and pulled away from us, cutting back toward the marina side where the rental fleet sits stacked on the shore.

By evening we'd swapped to the paddleboard down by the piers — there are 37 public ones along the north shore, so there's always a place to put in. Last thing before dark: one kid standing on the board with her arms straight up over her head, still on her feet, barely.

A tricolor dog with one ear up lies on a bed with a patterned quilt and white pillows.An adult, two children, and a small dog stand by a tree trunk beside a lake with forested mountains.A person and a dog holding a black object kayak on a lake with distant forested hills and houses.A person paddles a green kayak on a lake with a forested shore and distant houses under a clear blue sky.A person in a green kayak paddles on a calm lake with a forested shoreline and houses under a clear blue sky.A person in a green kayak paddles on a calm lake surrounded by dense evergreen trees under a clear sky.A person paddles a green kayak on a calm lake, backed by a dense forest and a clear blue sky.A child in a bikini stands on a paddleboard in a lake with mountains, trees, and a dock in the background.

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