Frenchman’s Lake, a reservoir in Northern California, is about 45 minutes north from Reno on US 395 to Hallelujah Junction then west on SH 70 to Chilcoot and north on Frenchman Lake Rd (SH 284).  You pass from scrub desert to lava outcrops and pine forest as you near the lake, a 1588 acre impoundment at 5,588 feet above sea level.  The air is almost always cool and dry, and the shape of the lake is a large cross that can make sailing through the intersection of the main arms of the lake a bit of a challenge.  Additionally, the north arm of the lake attaches to the center via a narrow canyon with 100 foot cliffs on each side.  There are two creeks on the west shore that offer protected anchorages for overnight stays.  There are two launch ramps, one at Frenchman Campground in Big Cove and the other at Lunker Point, on the west shore, north of the canyon.

My circumnavigation required several trips to the lake.  I like the lake for its open water combined with interesting smaller features like the canyon and the creeks that snake through large lava formations.  The restrooms are new and well built, plenty of parking, but the nearest food is 9 miles away down the hills to Chilcoot.  I have sailed and boat camped there for over 20 years.  Usually arrive early in the day, and have decent winds through early afternoon.  About that time on the weekends the power boats arrive and I depart before the chance of afternoon storms.  I don’t want to maneuver around a bunch of hurried power boaters trying to get off the water.  Recently, with the new boat, I have encountered rising winds while downwind of the ramp and decided to beach the boat then play Volga boatman and hand tow it around the shore to the ramp.  That will get your day’s exercise in quickly.  Never the less, I can heartily recommend Frenchman’s for access and the potential of group sailing.

"The Magellan Sailor arrives " Click to Enlarge
"North Arm of Frenchman's scenery" Click to Enlarge
"On the water" Click to Enlarge

Lake Tahoe sits across the edges of western Nevada and eastern California where both states make a simultaneous sharp break to the north.  Known to many as the “jewel of the Sierras”, the lake is also known for its depth, cold water and clarity.  With an area of almost 200 square miles and over 71 miles of shore length (over 25 thousand times the length of my boat) it is obvious that circumnavigating this body will take more than a few day trips.  The first leg was aided by my friend Drew and his boat the DaNada, a 27 foot sloop from a slip in Tahoe Keys on the south shore of the lake.  We picked a fine Sunday morning, with light winds and plenty of August sunshine, and arrived at the slip about 9:30 AM. 

Adding the Magellan Sailor banner took only minutes, and soon we were motoring out through a labyrinth of channels to get to the lake proper. The warm water in the keys is both shallow and loaded with lake weed growth.  As we motored through the mats of weed, the keel, rudder and propeller collected large amounts of the stringy stuff.  We had to stop in small bays and back up to free the weed several times. 

Once out onto the lake we set sails and headed northwest towards Emerald Bay.  Although too shallow for Drew’s boat, it is a beautiful protected harbor worth a drive to visit Vikingsholm, in Emerald Bay State Park. 

Back across the lake to South Shore, dodging a group of sailboats playing fox and hound, with the lead boat wandering through a series of tacks, broad reaches and downwinds right on the edge of the shallows.  The afternoon winds were beginning to rise and we finally headed downwind back to the entrance to Tahoe Keys, dropped sails and motored in, again dealing with an accumulating lake weed collection.  Once back in the slip, we tied up and headed for a late lunch in South Shore.  Home again about 5 PM, a long, sunny and glorious day trip.

"Drew at the Helm of the DaNada" Click to Enlarge
"Offically at Lake Tahoe" Click to Enlarge
"Fox and Hounds" Click to Enlarge
"One of Lake Tahoe's Ladies" Click to Enlarge

June 27, 2010

The drive from Eureka to Reno was probably the longest of the trip, both in actual mileage and in our minds.  We were already wondering when we would again “set sail” for another adventure while at the same time looking forward to staying home for a while.  The condo was quiet, and as I unloaded, we both felt a bit of letdown that the trip was at an end.

Total mileage: 9075 miles

Breakdowns: 2

Traffic and parking tickets: 0

We traversed 18 American states and 5 Canadian Provinces, four of the 5 Great Lakes, saw both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, went as far north as Banff, Alberta, and as far south as Arlington, Texas.

June 24, 2010

As we get closer to home, the homing instinct gets stronger.  We start looking at longer day stages and thinking that we might get back sooner.  But then, when we see that 400 miles will take 8 hours of drive time on the roads available and begin to add in a late start in the morning, lunch, gas stops, potty stops… we come back to our senses and look at the atlas for more scenic or interesting drives. 

Which put us choosing from a full desert rush through Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, with doubtful places to stay or, a diagonal slash across Washington, Oregon, and over by the coast of Northern California, where by chance, my grandson lives. I called the kid, who just turned 18 and found him to be interested in a visit from the greyhairs.  So, just to spike up the trip, we decided to stop at Crater Lake. 

We found ourselves passing down the eastern side of the Cascade mountains, out about 30 to 50 miles, and got good long views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and the Three Sisters.  These are some of the relatives of Mt. St. Helens in the chain of fire on the West Coast.  Crater Lake lies in the stump of Mt. Mazama which, thousands of years ago, blew its top then collapsed the caldera into a lake that became the deepest in the US.

  "Mount Jefferson (nearer) and Mt. Hood" Click to Enlarge

Driving slowly up to 8,000 feet above sea level, with no guard rail, and towards the top, lots of snow along the road, we finally got a peek at the lake.  It is spectacular, and there are several viewing spots to get to see all of its ruggedness.  The drive down the south side of the mountain was not as winding, and soon we were at our motel in Medford.  The heat down below the mountain kept increasing from the 59 degrees at the summit to over 90 degrees down in the valley.  We finally broke down and ordered take out pizza to eat in the room.

  "The Magellan Sailor at Crater Lake" Click to Enlarge

"just Crater Lake (and snowbanks)" Click to Enlarge

June 20, 2010

Last night we heard about the major rainfall in the Medicine Hat area on Friday night.  Seems the 5+ inches of rain had fallen on an already well soaked countryside, causing a serious flash flood situation.  It wiped out a stretch of TransCanada Highway 1 and the Canadian National railroad in the same section, just east of Medicine Hat.  The authorities, needing to provide a detour that would handle 18 wheelers, wide loads, Grannies in Saabs, bicyclists, buses and everyone else, decided on a 300 mile detour (are not many heavy duty roads hereabouts).  Ann, looking at the same atlas, said, “We can do better than that, even if we have to traverse some prairie!”  She naviguessed a route along Highway 32, but when we had just committed to it, we saw a sign saying “travel ahead not advised.” Typical British/Canadian understatement.  We decided to continue on that route anyway.  Soon, three vehicles passed us, one from Texas, one from Maine and one from Alberta.  Guess the Yanks are the adventuresome ones.

Since there was very little traffic most people seem to have taken the prescribed route northward.  We persevered, and soon enough, we were following a new detour across a now dry but potholed and rutted gravel/dirt road, better suited to the farm equipment usually frequented thereon.  Nevertheless (and always the more) we made it back to asphalt, and cut about 100 miles off of the “official” detour, having witnessed miles of wheat fields and black, rich soil.  We had a brief picnic lunch at a crossroads with 1 church, 1 post office, 5 houses and 1 picnic table at Leibenthal.   We breezed into Medicine Hat with time to spare, and since we had providently made a reservation at a brand new Motel 6 we had found a few days ago, we were set for the night.  Being Father’s Day, I talked to both daughters on Skype.  Both had called while we were negotiating the impromptu detour, and I deferred talking to them until at rest.  Dinner at a pseudo-British steak restaurant, The Beefeaters, good steak, good service, good time.

"The Magellan Sailor in the middle of nowhere, Saskatchewan" Click to Enlarge