Donner Lake Revisited

I revisited Donner Lake late July and wondered if this visit would live upto last year's visit. [Last visit post] The answer is a resounding Yes. It not only lived upto expectations but beat them.

Jet Ski - my fav activity was tried not once but three times. Nothing like speed for a teen! Its the headiest of sensations. I could do this all day!

 

I had the lively quite talkative Maria as my companion for the tubing activity. She gave a constant stream of advice on everything from keeping my hands inside to the state of her dog.  The tube bumps and thumps on the water as you are pulled by a powerboat around thtre lake. It is quite like trying to ride a bucking horse, except you are quite secure and the chances of falling off are quite slim.

On the  5 person canoe, I was handled a paddle and thought - Why not try. Ok, maybe my paddling contribution was not what made the canoe go, but the thought counts, right? And it was something new and quite enjoyable. I definitely need to do more of it.

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Once you show the aptitude to try out something, more opportunities automatically come your way. Sure enough, when on the 2 person Kayak, I was automatically handed a paddle and contributed (in my own way) to propelling the kayak onward. By no means was I the primary paddler of that kayak but I got a lot of encouragement to keep trying.

Something totally new was riding on a sailboat. A sailboat is totally wind propelled and has a  sail  connected to a central mast. Under the hull of the boat is a keel or centerboard and aft is the rudder. The rudder is manipulated by the tiller (kind of like steering wheel) on top. Obviously going downstream to the wind would be simple as your sail would just have to be perpendicular. The boat is propelled by "tacking" which is kind of like zigzagging to take advantage of the wind coming at your sails at an angle. The wind on the sail creates a lift and  pushes your boat to one side. The keel acts as an opposing force in the water and moves in a leeward direction (away from wind). The result is that the boat propels forward. The physics was both explained and observed. A very clean "green" way to enjoy the lake and quite fast too. Of course I kept wanting to dip my hand in the water so the boat was somewhat lopsided.

It was an activity packed day on the 3 mile long Lake. Donner Lake is in Truckee and just 11 miles from the massive Lake Tahoe - a DSUSA Event. A Big Thanks to Michael Hunter and the wonderful volunteers who truly made this an amazing day.