Woods Lake Memories

As the children were growing up in California, one of our favorite places to go was Woods Lake. A sylvan peak-bordered lake of pristine hue and perfect size, it was also very convenient from our place in Placerville. Our wonderful neighbor, Hank, told us about it and encouraged us to go and explore it. That was such a gift he gave us before his untimely death. As a result of his advice, many wonderful, golden hours were spent paddling our canoe around the shores and hiking its trails.

One favorite destination was the 1.5 mile trek up to Winnemucca Lake in the Tahoe Wilderness area. A steady grade, it left the forests that surrounded Woods Lake behind and entered a sub-alpine garden of wildflowers and stunted pine trees. Sheer granite walls surrounded two sides of Winnemucca and a trail from it led further up to the pass that crested above Fourth-Of-July-Lake. Our destination was Winnemucca, however, and frigid little toes and feet soaked in the icy waters of melted snowfields that still remained nearby in July and August.

The “getting to” part of the trip was the most memorable. In the years before Rebecca’s arrival, Dan was carried in the baby backpack on my back while Cece went with, or in the arms of either Grandpa or Katie, most usually in good spirits. I have memories of Dan’s little diapered bottom and chubby legs sitting in the pine needles as he happily made piles of dirt and needles and pine cones. The year that we brought Xochitl with us to camp at Woods, she was so incredibly excited that she leaned on the tailgate of Grandpa’s pick-up while he was loading it and chatted volubly. She chatted whole way up in the car and RAN almost the entire way up the trail, once we started hiking. This was at 8,000 ft. elevation!

By the time Rebecca was “campable” Dan was exploro-man and he and I pawed through the ruins of the Lost Cabin Mine, fascinated with the old rusted Studebaker motor and radiator shell left in the hoist house. Then it was Becca’s turn to be carried in the backpack and I can still feel her little fists banging on my head to go faster , this accompanied with her chortly laugh. Oh, she was an evil baby! (not) We also have a picture of her on my back, wearing MY campaign hat for shade, as I could not wear it with the pack on. How is that for fatherly neglect?

Still later, when the Lopez ladies were with us in Somerset, Rosa had an adventure with catching a water snake on the lake shore. I assured her that they were perfectly safe, whereupon it made a liar of me and bit her. Thankfully, they are toothless and it did not hurt but I am sure it scared her and I think Rosa has never REALLY trusted me since.

Hopefully someday we will make it back to Woods Lake, maybe with all our grown-up kiddoes. Then THEY can carry ME up to Winnemucca Lake. Payback will be sweet!

10-2-2010