A Glorious Sight

In January of 2017, I traveled up North to Lake Tahoe, California. My roommate grew up in the Bay Area and has a small cabin near Heavenly Resort. While there, we did the typical mountain activities of skiing the slopes, building snowmen, playing board games, and snuggling by the fire at the end of a day in the snow. While I had anticipated that we would do all of those things, I was not expecting our final activity. Yet, it brought me to open of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

It was our last day, and we would be leaving that afternoon. Rather than lounge around that morning, we decide to go on an adventure. One of my friends suggested snow-shoeing. I had previously never heard of snow-shoeing and was immediately curious. I soon learned that snow-shoeing is comparable to hiking. The special shoes elevate your feet and stick into the snow, keeping your feet from sinking.

Nearby the lake sat a small rental shop. The woman inside rented us our snowshoes and sent us on our way with vague instruction for how to get to the trail. Immediately forgetting her instructions, we ventured toward the direction of the lake.

It was miraculous being able to walk on feet of unplowed snow and not have our feet sink. I had the feeling that I was floating along a blanket of snow. We approached a thicket of trees that were perfectly decorated in white and green. There was no sign of human interference. We were in our own winter wonderland.

For a while we meandered the trees, getting lost a time or two. But with no real destination, getting lost was half the fun. My fingers became like icicles in my pockets, and despite the special contraptions on my feet, my toes were beginning to chill. In the distance I could hear something, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

We drew near the sound and the trees grew sparse around us. At last, I realized that the sound I heard was the ever so gentles movement of the water meeting the shore. I raised my eyes to see the gorgeous Lake Tahoe stretched before me. It appeared as vast as the ocean, but its waters were as peaceful as a lamb in that moment.

What a strange revelation that we were standing on a beach that was covered in feet of snow! Because of Lake Tahoe’s great depth, the lake was not at all frozen. Thus, the rigid snow lay side by side with the rippling water, with only an odd strip of vivid beige sand in between. I had never seen a lake unfrozen in the winter, and it was as though two seasons were meeting along the shoreline. The sky was specked and streaked with white clouds, and in the far-off distance I could tell that the entire lake was flanked by mountains.

Standing there, taking in that glorious view, I knew it was a moment of encountering nature that would remain etched in my mind long after.