Lake Bon Tempe in Fairfax, part of the Marin Watershed System and where we get our drinking water from.
I never used to bother checking the weather report. I don’t have a lot of faith in meteorology and consider it an unreliable pseudo-science, like astrology or Indigo Biofeedback Therapy. But as our relentless sunny summer forges on in Northern California, where it’s constantly in the dry, unvarnished 70s, and as I watch my family and friends in New England get pummeled daily with the wrath of winter, I have started to kind of freak out.
Last year was already our driest year in history, and according to Gawker:
The Climate Prediction Center says winter will come and go without the usual winter storms that provide the snowpack that provides all the water people use. Fire conditions will be awful until summer, when they will continue being awful until next winter, if winter ever shows up again.
So yeah. No more winter here in California. Nice idea in theory. On Monday—a holiday—I actually got stuck in beach traffic while trying to get back to my house just off Highway 1 in Marin.
But in reality, there’s the pesky little fact that we need water.
Seriously, it’s not optional. I don’t want to sound like a prepper or anything, but if we’re really embarking on a “medieval drought” like they say we are, we’re going to have to start thinking about our water consumption here in privileged NoCal. And personally, I can handle letting the yellow mellow and watching my garden (aka the Pit of Despair) languish, but the thought of giving up my nightly Marie Antoinette-style baths is upsetting.
Yet, it’s alarming watching the lakes dry up by the day. Here in Marin, we have a beautiful watershed system linked by hundreds of hiking trails. I regularly hike by and around Phoenix Lake, Bon Tempe Lake, Alpine Lake and Lake Lagunitas. Normally in winter, walks along these lakes yield a panorama of lush, verdant foliage and the feng shui-esque sounds of water babbling. Seasonal waterfalls, like Cataract, stream off Mount Tam, and the trails themselves can be precariously muddy.
But this year, the largest of the lakes, Alpine, is a cracked muddy wasteland, not a drop of water in sight. Currently, they are taking expensive and rather drastic measures to siphon from Phoenix into Bon Tempe to keep us flush in drinking water… for now.
What will happen to us? Is it going to be like The Road? I hope not, because if there is one character I relate to in The Road, it’s Charlize.
In homage to water, here are some photographs I’ve taken around here over the last few years…
Lake Bon Tempe at dusk.
My favorite lake, Phoenix, which has a magic to it.
Phoenix Lake is bounded on one side by forest and on the other by the rolling golden foothills of Mount Tam.
I can’t remember which moody beautiful lake is in this particular shot, but I want to go there.
Phoenix Lake, where the trees reflect the water emerald green.
Lone watch at dusk.
The view across Phoenix Lake to this spooky log cabin no one seems to live in.
Every few years or so, it snows on Mount Tam. Used to snow on Mount Tam. It was magical.
Just a light dusting, but you can smell the snow.
There’s something very Walden-esque about this.
Cataract Falls goes off in winter. Used to go off.
So, so so beautiful… I would be sad/worried as well if it all went away. Of course, I am sitting inside with coffee and a wool sweater because it’s about 7 degrees right now in Iowa, where we are more concerned about the threat of floods from melting snow come spring, but I feel for ya out there in NoCal. Btw, the ‘rolling golden foothills’ shot of Phoenix Lake, perfectly framed, is so stunning, I just stared at it for awhile and dreamed.