On the family room wall of my childhood home in Southern California we had a very large relief map of the Golden State. I would feel the contours of the Sierras as if, by Braille, I could learn the geology of the Sierra Nevada.

As a teenager and without license or transport, my backpacking pals and I would hitchhike from LA up route 5, to 99 to the Porterville Hwy to gain entry into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We all shared a reverence for those parks and the wild and intimidating challenges they presented to young men not yet sure if they were worthy. Not sure they could brave a 4 day trek, minimally equipped on meager rations with the hope of supplementing our food supply with caught fish. Giant Sequoias, bears and the unforgiving High Sierra climate made unforgettable experiences that stayed with us through the years.

As a young man I found something very comforting in the seemingly infinite vistas of uninterrupted wilderness, forests and mountains. Comfort that it was off limits to human destruction. That it was protected and conserved. That it was there for us at the moment and for the future. It was love at first sight and I have loved the Sierra Nevada of California ever since. It is a privilege to make my part time home here at Donner Lake and to continue the exposure of its majesty to my children.

Mountains may teach us many things including reverence and humility but also that our experience of time is but a whisper next to the geologic time of earth and mountains.

In the 4 plus decades that I have been exploring this mountain chain they may have grown by about 4”. The Sierras are a relatively youthful mountain range and began their uplift from a seabed about 4 million years ago. Mere babies compared with the Appalachians at 1.2 billion or the Makhonjwa Mountains in South Africa at 3.5 billion years of age. They continue to grow as a fault block category mountain which is distinctive say from the volcanic Cascade mountains of North Western US.

The Sierra is sometimes described as analogous to a wedge lying flat in an west to east orientation with the tapered, sharp end representing the gentle slope of the Western Sierra and the head as the Eastern Sierra with its precipitous shear which are the fault block escarpments. Thus we enjoy the dramatic descent into Truckee as we travel west to East crossing the pass. Think of some other dramatic Sierra west to East descents such as Tioga, Carson, Monitor, Sonora, Forrester passes. You get the idea.

Donner Pass is the one of the least forbidding and lowest altitude routes across the Sierra and that is what brought us the trans continental (Central Pacific to be specific) railway and the first roadway that spanned the country. Old highway 40, AKA the Lincoln Highway. Check out this website for more on the Central Pacific Railway Photo History or read "Nothing Like It in the World" by Stephen Ambrose.

Our backyard of Summit Canyon and Donner Pass are part of the eastern fault block geology and also a west to east drainage that eventually joins the Truckee River with a terminus at Pyramid Lake. Notable as an endorheic watershed system in that all of the Truckee River and its feeders including our own Summit Creek, do not flow into any sea. Most major water drainage finds an ocean outlet. Ours does not.

The human history of our region is as fascinating as the geology. Paiute, Ute, Shoshone, Washoe, Miwok and Martis are some of the tribal names of people who have occupied this land as far back as 9,000, with some archaeologists suggesting 13,000 years. The Martis in particular left their petroglyph graffiti to prove their existence which is easily viewable below the China Wall. A short walk from highway 40.

The immigrant invasion of the indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada is profoundly disturbing yet it is ours to bear. This website pulls no punches on that sordid history, California Indian History

There are different versions of how the Paiute name Truckee managed to stick to our town. If you care to know some of the legend of Chief and later US Army Captain Truckee and more about Native American history then check out this website. Truckee-Donner Historical Society

The History of Truckee also happens to be one of a town that has burned to the ground with some regularity over the years. Ours is a fire zone that continually presents a challenge for our association and all of the inhabitants of this valley which is why we became a FireWise Community.

There is one additional asset of the area which many who visit may not think about. It's our amazing night sky. As you escape the glare of city lights and city neighborhoods, turn off those exterior lights and enjoy the stars! In addition to us humans experiencing the wonders of the milky way and the joy of finding those illusive constellations, our wildlife and plants need the dark sky to thrive. If you would like more information on the importance of maintaining a dark sky, please visit the International Dark Sky Association at www.darksky.org.

I hope this gives you some accurate information about time, place, and the history of our region. It is a remarkable spot on the planet. We work hard to keep it that way.