The Allure of a Mountain Lake
The joy of nature…
Into The Blue is about finding joy in simple pleasures. One of those pleasures is a lake in the mountains.
Sometimes people ask if I’m a beach or mountain person. My response is yes.
I love them both.
Now if I could only choose one place to be, I’d be sorely tempted to pick a mountain lake (okay, or a beachside tiki bar, depending on the day!). You get some of the joy of being seaside (and without the jellyfish) and all of the joy of being in the mountains. Mountain lakes breathe peace into my soul.
Deep Creek Lake
In fact, I’m sitting right now at Deep Creek Lake in the mountains of western Maryland. It is raining like the dickens and still glorious, maybe even more glorious. The birds are singing, the chipmunks skirting across the forest floor, the pines and ferns drinking in life. The deep green waters of the lake are agitated but somehow still peaceful.
We go camping here every year, so many times now it is like visiting an old friend. Once we even celebrated Thanksgiving in a cabin here with my parents during Covid. There is so much to do, but usually the thing I need most is to do nothing. A little hiking. A little kayaking. A lot of looking at the water, smelling the pine forest, hearing the campfire crackle, and just taking a deep breath. That is definitely what I need this year.
Mountain Lakes I Have Known
But my history with mountain lakes goes back much further. My first memory, I think, of their enchanting nature is of some boyhood trips to my great uncle’s summer cabin on an idyllic lake in New Hampshire. Playing in the water, canoeing to the tiny island with huge boulders and tall trees, getting chased by an angry beaver in a nearby cove, paddling to the other side to hike in the forest. Now, that is the stuff of dreams.
There is also the lake at Pipestem State Park in West Virginia. We have had our family reunion there since I was a kid. Every year, we make the short pilgrimage from the lodge to the lake and admire the beauty. We always pass the tree in which my uncle carved a heart with his and my aunt’s initials. They have both passed on, but that tree still bears witness to their love. And somehow, when we reach the lake, I’m 14 years old again, laughing and joking with my dear cousins. The power of a mountain lake.
More recently, I’ve had the great good fortune to visit Lake Tahoe a couple of times. Now, this lake is so sublime that it almost seems in a category all its own. The pale blue of the water is like no other. It takes your breath away. It’s almost as if the Aegean Sea was transported to the Swiss Alps. Simply divine.
And there are so many others. New Germany, Rocky Gap, Brighton, Woodford, Sainte-Croix, Chiemsee, Constance, and the list goes on. Maybe the best ones are the remote, little lakes you come upon on a mountain trail whose name you will never know. Each one different and each one the same. A sea of tranquility.
The Joy of a Mountain Lake
So what is it that makes mountain lakes so special? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but somehow they radiate peace (and for a child or a child at heart, they definitely radiate fun). The coolness of the water, the magnificence of the surrounding forests and peaks, the sights and sounds of wildlife at water’s edge. It is as if, for a brief moment you find yourself in the Garden of Eden, where you were always meant to be, and all is right with the world.
What a joy.
Do You Love Mountain Lakes Too?
Have you been to mountain lakes before? Do you have a favorite? What makes them so special to you? Please share with us in the comments.
A Short Meditation
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
From Sanai to Jerusalem, in ancient days God’s people often ascended the heights to meet with him. Mountains are so majestic, such a reminder of our smallness; they call us to climb and seek spiritual aid and perspective. Indeed, it is not by accident that we refer to transcendent and joyous moments as “mountaintop experiences.”
The mountains testify to the Maker of the universe, their Creator and ours, their Sustainer and ours. They call us to lift our eyes beyond their majesty to God’s. They call us to place our faith and trust in him, to seek him for spiritual aid and perspective.
For he is forever faithful to watch over and keep us. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Amen.
There is nothing like catching trout at a high mountain lake. The air is clean, so is the water. It’s peaceful. Even if I catch nothing, I still benefit from the tranquility.