Copyright © 2018 John F. Oyler
August 23, 2018
Vacation in the High Sierras
In recent years it has been customary for our family to vacation together for a week or two each summer. This year the schedules for our three children and their families were much too complicated for this to occur. Part of our compromise was my spending a week in the High Sierras with Sara and her family.
Our son John is part owner of a lovely ski house in Truckee, California, on Donner Lake. Originally intended to be used primarily during the winter sports season, it has turned out to be equally effective as a summer resort. We have enjoyed many vacations there in both seasons.
I flew to Reno, with a comfortable change of planes in Denver. Based on past experience in the massive, busy Denver airport I was careful to select flights with ample time to change planes. As it turned out that was unnecessary, as my connections both ways were only two gates apart, leaving me ample time for the welcome caffeine/sugar fix.
Sara and (now thirteen years old) Nora met me at the airport and eventually delivered me to the ski house. The drive from Reno to Truckee up the Truckee River valley is particularly enjoyable, except that this time we encountered a massive backup on I-80 right at the state line. After a while we determined that a tractor trailer had overturned, blocking both lanes, and that it would take a long time to open things up.
The solution was to find a break in the median and turn around and return to Reno. We then took the route from Reno to the north end of Lake Tahoe and from there to Truckee. There was a time when this would have annoyed me; somehow the mellowness of my octogenarian years has made me much more tolerant. I actually enjoyed the chance to enjoy the scenery of the drive around Mount Rose.
Jim, (sixteen year-old) Ian, and (ten year-old) Claire were patiently waiting for us, especially since we had picked up pizza for supper on the way. I am sure I was a poor substitute for John’s family and Beth’s family, but we must make the best of what we have.
The effect of the wildfires in California was very obvious in Truckee. With the exception of one crystal clear morning there was always a trace of smoky haze everywhere. One morning it was thick enough to resemble fog. We Easterners really have no appreciation of how serious these fires are; our flash floods are the extreme opposite problem.
The grandchildren made good use of the fleet of kayaks and paddle boards at the ski house. Jim commented that this is the first year they were sufficiently confident with their aquatic skills to allow them to go off on the lake alone without worrying about them. I still am impressed with the paddle boards and their popularity.
As usual the family humored the rail-fan in me. One day we took a trip north, along the east slope of the Sierras. After miles of gorgeous mountain scenery we suddenly came out into a large, perfectly flat valley, appropriately named Sierra Valley. Sparsely populated and completely dedicated to farming, it is a direct contrast with the mountains that ring it on all sides.
Sara and I both wondered what the geological explanation was for this anomaly. After considerable investigation we determined that this originally was a deep, steep-walled valley between the ridges, which ultimately filled up with a layer of sediment two thousand feet thick.
The village of Portola is at the north end of the valley. We had lunch there and then visited the Western Pacific Railroad Museum. This was of special interest to me, since the Western Pacific was a key component in George Jay Gould’s ambitious plan to build a transcontinental railroad, the plan that led to the construction of the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway through Bridgeville in the early 1900s, the route currently operated by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad.
The first rail route through the Sierra Nevada Mountains was constructed by the Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s, eventually meeting the Union Pacific at Promontory Point, Utah, to allow a continuous route from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California. Its route followed the Truckee River to Donner Lake, then up over Donner Summit.
The most difficult part of its construction was the Summit Tunnel (also known as Tunnel #6). It is 1659 feet long, carved out of solid granite by crews of Chinese laborers. In addition to drilling it from both ends, a vertical shaft was drilled at the midpoint to permit work on two additional faces. Its elevation is about 7000 feet above sea level.
This tunnel is currently not in use; it has been bypassed by a more modern tunnel. Consequently it has become a popular tourist attraction. We hiked through it for the second time this summer. I’d like to see them put tracks back in it so you could ride a handcar through it.
Fifty years after the Central Pacific conquered the Sierra Nevadas, the Western Pacific found an alternative route following the Feather River. It is longer but is two thousand feet lower at its summit. Both railroads have gone through numerous changes in ownership down through the years. Today the Union Pacific runs trains on both lines. The Feather River route was famous for its California Zephyr streamliner.
All that is left of the Western Pacific is its museum in Portola. Operated by the Feather River Rail Society, it is housed in an old locomotive maintenance facility. Its collection includes thirty-five locomotives, eighteen passenger cars, sixteen cabooses, and numerous freight and maintenance cars.
We took advantage of the opportunity to ride in a caboose on a circuitous loop around the yard behind a diesel switch engine. This was a treat for me, although I was disappointed that I wasn’t limber enough to climb up and look out of the cupola. Ian and Nora demonstrated that it was practical for normal people.
We always enjoy the “Old Town” portion of the Truckee village. This year we went on a walking tour of it, led by a perceptive guide. There is indeed a lot of history packed in this small area, even before the railroad came through a century and a half ago.
We finally were able to go through the modest, but excellent, railway museum housed in a caboose right along the Union Pacific tracks. Unfortunately the old time Jail House was not open for tourists this trip. It is famous for entertaining such luminaries as Baby Face Nelson and Machine Gun Kelly in its day.
My trip home was disrupted by a hailstorm while our plane was on the tarmac at the Denver airport. It didn’t really amount to much; in fact the sun was shining throughout the storm. Nonetheless this necessitated a long delay while all the aircraft were inspected. I didn’t enjoy arriving at the Pittsburgh airport in the middle of the night (3:00 am), but understand the logic of over-reacting on the safety side.
It was wonderful to be able to spend a week with Sara and her family and wonderful to continue our exploration of the glorious High Sierras. Nonetheless it is equally wonderful to be safely back home with the chance to relax and catch up on my sleep.
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