Standing in the River

Summer offers many sensations and one of the best is that of standing in the Truckee River, up to your waist for more than a few seconds. After an hour or two of fruitless fishing for elusive 'bows below the 267 bridge, it seemed permissible to shed vest, hat, rod and staff, socks and boots and dive in. With the outside airtemp well above 80 degrees, the plunge had a terrific effect: cool, refreshing relief from the dust and heat of mid-August.
Three gates are open at Tahoe City and nowhere is it more appreciated than in the stretch of the river below the town. With few exposed boulders, deep runs of fast water, and crystal clear at that, the 63 degree water is just what one needs at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Swimming against the current, alternating from midstream rush to side eddy slack, the exhilaration is complete. The solitude is joined only by the sound of rushing water. By and by, it's time to move on, but the experience lingers in the mind, leaving a feeling of great joy and relaxation, a time of immense physical pleasure, a time captured moment by moment, slowly, in 2012 summer, on the Truckee.(@ Horner's Corner!)