Generations of memories as the Caldor Fire threatened Fallen Leaf Lake

The following was sent to South Tahoe Now by Tom Hallman, Jr., who teaches a writing class. This is from Carolee Kolve as the fire set its sights on the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The home of my heart is beside a lake that I visit only once a year. I do not own this land, but my connection to it goes three generations back, two generations forward, and encompasses many of my dearest friends. It is where I want my ashes to be scattered when that time inevitably comes.

We have visited breathtaking spots on our goldilocks planet: Lake Bellagio in Italy, Kotor in Montenegro, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, many beautiful islands. But I have seen nothing more beautiful than Fallen Leaf Lake.

It is just southwest of Lake Tahoe, but far enough removed to be quiet, pristine, absent of tourists. The lake is the bluest of blues, surrounded by magnificent mountains and a glorious forest. Many people love Lake Tahoe, but those that get to see Fallen Leaf forever recalibrate their sense of beauty.

And now it is in the inexorable path of the Caldor Fire.

I have my phone set on “Caldor Fire Hourly Updates”, and I watch helplessly as it moves closer and closer. It has now passed Lake Lucille and is approaching Grass Lake and Glen Alpine—all places we have hiked to from Fallen Leaf. All of South Shore Lake Tahoe—further from the fire—is under mandatory evacuation. Fallen Leaf was evacuated last week—the week that we would have been there.

A hundred and twenty-one years ago, my great grandfather and other Stanford professors first took their families to Fallen Leaf every year. In those days, the journey was so arduous that they stayed all summer. From Palo Alto, they packed luggage for a summer—cooking equipment, bedding, cots, tents, clothing, emergency supplies, food—and took the train to San Francisco, crossed the Bay in a ferry boat, took another train to Truckee, took a smaller train to Tahoe City, crossed Lake Tahoe in a ferry, took wagons overland to the edge of Fallen Leaf Lake, and crossed that lake in a barge.

It took two days and was worth the effort.

My grandmother remembered those summers as the best of her life, this lake as the most beautiful on earth. And I grew up to share her love of this place.

In the 1950’s, Stanford bought 20 acres of lake front property and created the quintessential summer camp for alumni families, dubbing it Stanford Sierra Camp. There are 55 cabins which alumni can rent for one week, and they are guaranteed this cabin again for the same week, year after year. There is now a multi-year waiting list for these spots. No one ever willingly stops going, but eventually we are “timed out”.

In the center is a main lodge, where the staff provides wonderful meals and evening programs. Over 60 Stanford students spend the summer there, creating marvelous activities for all of the children. Two professors are in residence every week and they each give a lecture and an informal talk to the adults.

There is hiking, biking, tennis, beach volleyball, pickleball, basketball, and every kind of boating you would want: sailing, waterskiing, paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, “fun yaks”. If you are not really a “boat person” you can still go out on the ponderous “boatster” for a nature or photographic cruise. Or for nightly star-gazing. If you are willing to rise at 5:45, you can go sculling on the pristine, mirrored surface of this exquisite lake.

There are book discussions, bridge games, conversations, family beach games, an egg toss, a sandcastle contest, campfires, a disco bingo night, talent shows, slide shows, an improv night, a children’s carnival, a parade, a mythic Capture the Flag competition, and finally, an egg drop contest that lures all the techie geniuses in residence to out-do each other.

The littlest children sit on the boat dock fishing for crawdads. When they turn 7, they are allowed to go out on the lake alone in a fun yak—with, of course, a lifeguard on duty. And there is a lovely private beach, frequented by all ages.

Part of the magic is the safety of the “campus”. It is at the end of the road and there is no through traffic. You arrive at camp and park your car for the week. After that, everyone is on foot, and the children are safe to wander freely in this beautiful space. Of course, all parents are on the look out for everyone’s child. In a secret pact, we keep them all safe, and they feel grown up and free, bonding with the other children that they will see every year throughout their childhoods.

We first went to Stanford Sierra Camp with eleven close friends from Stanford and all of our children. Now we go with our grandchildren. Our oldest two, now in college, went for nine years, and reluctantly agreed to step aside for their younger cousins.

Now we are taking the four littlest, along with their parents. They are ages 6, 7, 8, and 9, and are devoted to each other. But this week is richer and more special for them because of the many camp friends they have each made. Friends they did not get to see this year, but pray will be there with us next year.

The Caldor fire is considered the number one firefighting priority in the United States. News channels report its approach to Lake Tahoe, but most people do not recognize that it will get to Fallen Leaf first. And it is now less than three miles away.

The Sugar pines, Ponderosas, Aspens, Junipers, White and Jeffrey pines surrounding Fallen Leaf knew my great-grandfather and my grandmother. And now they know my six grandchildren. I can only pray they will stay tall, strong, and safe, and be there to meet the many generations to come.