Back to Donner Lake

Another fun day at Donner Lake with the folks from Achieve Tahoe

A Kayaking I Go

To say that I am fascinated with water is an understatement. Given a choice, I would live right by an ocean beach or a lake front, where I could see the water all day long. 


Water sports just seem so much more fun than land sports. So when I was asked if I wanted to try Kayaking, I was all agog. My family had been kayaking in Kauai, and rafting on the American River and Rogue River, but I was always a passenger and not an active participant. The DSA instructors had been great with teaching me to ski last winter and this time, they were going to teach me to paddle a kayak. 

Day 1 - Donner Lake 

Day 1 was at the north end of Donner Lake. I was recruited to carry not one but 2 kayaks from the parking lot to the beach along with Michael Hunter. I did have to keep putting down the kayaks a number of times as i had never done this before and the handles do chaff your hands after a bit. In my case, it was more like dropping the kayak, rather than setting them down gently, given my impulsive body, but hopefully i will improve with practice. 

Gary and Michael  were my main instructors for the 3 hour lesson. Its always a bit of a challenge trying to teach someone with my combo of strengths and challenges, a task that requires a good deal of motor organization. So while i perfectly understood Michael's instruction to hold up the paddle with my elbows at 90 degree angle, when it came to the actual motor implementation of this seemingly simple instruction, i was at sea. I could visually imagine my arms up there in that 90 degree, but outwardly, i was restoring to my default stimming behavior, especially when the motor muscles cannot figure out what to do. And there was plenty to stim on as i was surrounded by some gorgeous scenery. 

There were other issues as well. I could not hold the paddle properly for instance and kept dropping it. It is one long black handle, with pink paddles at either end, so where exactly does one put one's hands. It would slide and one side would become longer than the other. Michael first tried to put some kind of fat grip  one one side so that i would have a guide at least for one hand. But the issue with the grip is that its feels a little mismatched in addition to becoming loose. So while one side had a place marker, the other hand did not, so that hand kept sliding all over the place, But the absolutely great thing about the DSA instructors is that they keep trying different things rather than give up. Michael came up with the idea of using 2 rubber tire strips and fastening them on the paddles with plastic tie downs. Now there were 2 grips in which to slide my fingers and grip the paddle. There was less need then for me to worry about how and where to grip the paddles, which helped with the organization. Of course my sensory system still found loopholes on which to stim on - one of the strips was slightly twisted and i kept trying to fix that - a totally unnecessary activity on my part. 

 We had to figure out how to get me to paddle. Finally we figured out that we could do a left-right and 1-2 verbal instruction to help me keep the rhythm.  Voila, the kayak was moving under my own steam without any physical help. The left side of the paddle went into the water, pushed back the water, followed by the same action on the right. i imagined a giant turtle swimming by me - it lifted one big flipper, pushed the water, then lifted its other flipper to do the same. Then it flipped over on its back and did the same. all the while the turtle wagged its tiny tail, saying "how can this not be fun?"

 There I was, paddling to the chant of Gary's 1-2. Now that's progress! I was totally totally thrilled. Though all that paddling was tiring, i was kayaking on my own steam on an absolutely beautiful lake. What more can one ask for?  I can only get better with practice. I have to learn things like steering rather than just propelling the kayak forward etc. At the end of the current lesson, i had to paddle my kayak back to shore and drag my kayak up on the beach as well. The team and nature all cheered for me. Dad gave my effort and performance an A+ and I was promised a dinner at  a restaurant of my choice when i got back. 

6/21/14 Kayak @ Donner Lake Photos

Day 2 - Lake Tahoe

Day 2 began at the Tahoe Vista Recreation Area on the north shore of the Lake Tahoe. I had been boating with my cousin bro Arjun,  2 summers back on Lake Tahoe. We had gone all the way to Emerald Bay from the south shore. Lake Tahoe is absolutely massive and equally awesome, The waters start from a light green near the shore to a ocean blue as its depth increases. When you are in well in the middle of the lake, it almost feels like you are on an ocean, with its choppy waves, except you can see the distant mountainous shore all around. In the bright sun, the far shores turn a mysterious gray blue. Marina from DSA, lives right by the lake - OMG, how fantastic is that! - to see such views night and day, all year long.

I helped carry one kayak down to the beach this time with Danielle. (The not-dropping part is still a work in progress.) Day 2 was a kayak adventure tour of almost 3 hours. A group of some dozen people set out - participants and instructors. We set off around 9:45 and came back only at 1pm.  I was on a 2 person kayak this time, with Gary in front. The DSA staff were hoping that i would copy Gary in front of me and paddle accordingly. In retrospect, i think  it will be better for me to be in the front, so that the instructor can keep verbally reminding me to stay on task. I did keep getting distracted and kept stopping my paddling of  the kayak. Once I start to stim, its like a runaway train and hard for me to get back on track on my own. 

 I was pretty tired after the previous day's activity as well. 

I was surrounded by beauty, I was afloat on beauty. All I had to do was stretch out my hand, and i was touching beauty. The sun rays pierced the water, turning it into a rainbow spectrum. The wind added its caress and expressed itself as waves that lapped at the kayak. The water responded with a  sigh that was deep blue; total bliss and contentment.

The sensory systems of the entire group was exhilarated and we all basked in the arms of mother nature. In my case, however this outwardly translates to more stimming. I rocked and made verbal noises. There was so much visual stimulation (of the good kind), but still a lot for my sensory system to process comfortably. I do wish some medical researcher would  find some clues that would help reduce the stimming, and soon. I am so tired of this constant, almost involuntary, stimming behavior.

Our route hugged the shore all the way to Crystal Bay, where the casinos are. Looking at the shore from the water is a totally interesting perspective. You pass other boats headed for deeper waters as well as other kayakers. You see people on shore and they look like action figures walking around. You see boat docks and buildings. Tom came all they way on a paddle board with a single oar. That looked interesting. You have to stand the whole time, so I guess a good deal of balance is called for. Maybe if I get better at the kayak, I can learn paddle board too in the future.

Thanks DSA for taking the time to teach me. 
I have to agree with my friend the turtle and say, "How can this not be too much fun?"

6/22/14 Kayak @ Lake Tahoe Photos 1

6/22/14 Kayak @ Lake Tahoe Photos 2

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.

Donner Lake

Donner Lake

Big blue, bluer and azure! Donner lake, blue gold by sunlight, turns silver by moonlight. A treat lay in store for the youth attending the DS USA event. Promises of chances to experience this magnificent lake at close hand. The 3 mile long lake lies on the edge of the Sierra Nevada Range near the town of Truckee.

The experience was just way way beyond expectations. Ie: I was in seventh heaven cubed. My favorite had to be the Jet Ski ride, which I did 5 times around the lake!! The Jet Ski just cleanly slices through the shimmering wavy sheet-like water and sends out streams of spray on either side. Houses on the other side of the lake - 3/4 mile away - are visible - mere toys to the eye. Little toy people stand on piers and grow lifelike as you get closer to the other shore. The steep turns and the tilts of the Jet Ski provide extra bonus thrills. I first tried Jet Sking during my vacation to the Bahamas laat year with Mom and Dad. The volunteers go faster than Mom and Dad, so this was more fun.

I would love to be able to drive a Jet Ski on my own!

I also tried tubing for the first time. It was fun to be dragged around the lake on the tube, but it was somewhat bumpy, compared to the Jet Ski. But still, not an activity to be missed - so went not once but three times. And of course a leisurely canoe ride was sandwiched there, somewhere in between.

We had spent the night at the Donner Village Resort. From the floating pier in front of our hotel, we watched others out on lake and the changing color of the alpine waters and the surrounding trees as the sun set. It was just delicious to the senses. (Kind of really over stimulating too!)

What a lovely mini-vacation!

Summer 2011 Vacation Travelouges
(A Mini Vacation 7/31/11)