GLENBROOK AND MARLETTE LAKE
In Chapter XVI the history of Glenbrook is given in some detail. It is
now, however, converted into a pleasure resort especially popular
with residents of Nevada, and largely used by automobiles crossing the
Sierras and passing around Lake Tahoe.
The Inn, and its veranda overlooking the Lake, is built with an eye
to comfort and convenience. Every need for pleasure and recreation is
arranged for. For those who enjoy privacy, cozy cottages are provided,
around which beautiful wild flowers grow in wonderful profusion. The
guests here are especially favored in that the Inn has its own ranch,
dairy, poultry farm, fruit orchard and vegetable garden. The table,
therefore, is abundantly provided, and everything is of known quality
and brought in fresh daily.
Glenbrook Inn makes no pretense to be a fashionable resort. It
especially invites those individuals and families who wish to be free
from the exhausting "frivolities of fashion," to come and enjoy to the
full Nature's simple charms, regardless of the city's conventions as
to dress and fashion. Rest and recreation, amusement and recuperation
are the key-notes. Simplicity of life, abundance of sleep, sufficiency
of good food, tastefully served, the chief hours of the day spent
in the open air, fishing, boating, swimming, trail-climbing,
horseback-riding, driving or automobiling,--these bring health,
renewed energy and the joy of life.
The specific pleasures provided at Glenbrook are varied. It is
confessedly the best place for fishing on the Lake. During the season
the fishermen from all the resorts at the south end of the Lake bring
their patrons over in this direction. The Inn has its own fleet of
gasoline launches and row boats, with experienced men to handle them,
and it supplies fishing-tackle free, but those who wish to use the rod
must bring that with them. As is explained in the chapter on fishing
the trout of Lake Tahoe are taken both by rod and "jerk-line"
trolling. Near Glenbrook, however, the rod can be used to greater
advantage than anywhere else, and catches of from one-half to thirty
pounds are of daily occurrence.
While promiscuous fishing is not allowed now in the famous Marlette
Lake, eight miles away, the patrons of Glenbrook Inn can always secure
permits, without any vexatious inquiries or delays, and there an
abundance of gamey trout of various species are caught.
The bathing facilities here are exceptionally good. There is a long
stretch of sandy beach, which extends far out into the water, thus
ensuring both warmth and safety to children as well as adults.
In mountain and trail climbing Glenbrook has a field all its own. The
ride or drive to Marlette Lake is a beautiful one, and the climb to
Marlette Peak not arduous. The chief mountain peaks easily reached
from Glenbrook are Dubliss, Edith, and Genoa Peaks, which not only
afford the same wonderful and entrancing views of Lake Tahoe that
one gains from Freel's, Mt. Tallac, Ellis and Watson's Peaks, but in
addition lay before the entranced vision the wonderful Carson Valley,
with Mt. Davidson and other historic peaks on the eastern horizon.
The drive along the shore by the famous Cave Rock to Lakeside Park
or Tallac is one that can be enjoyed daily, and for those who like
driving through and over tree-clad hills, surrounded by majestic
mountains, the drive over the Carson road is enchanting.
[Illustration: Glennbrook Inn, on Nevada side Lake Tahoe]
[Illustration: Sunset at Glenbrook, Lake Tahoe]
[Illustration: by Harold A. Parker. Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe]
[Illustration: Cottage overlooking Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe]
It is at Glenbrook that the famous Shakspeare head is to be seen
graphically described by John Vance Cheney, and quoted elsewhere
(Chap. XVI).
TO MARLETTE LAKE FROM GLENBROOK
Marlette Lake and Peak are two of the attractive features to visitors
at Glenbrook Inn. The trip can be made in a little over two hours, and
as on the return it is down hill nearly all the way, the return trip
takes a little less.
Leaving Glenbrook on the excellently kept macadamized road over
which Hank Monk used to drive stage from Carson City, the eyes of the
traveler are constantly observing new and charming features in the
mountain landscape. The Lake with its peculiar attractions is left
entirely behind, with not another glimpse of it until we stand on the
flume at Lake Marlette. Hence it is a complete change of scenery, for
now we are looking ahead to tree-clad summits where eagles soar and
the sky shines blue.
About two and a half miles out we come to Spooner's, once an active,
bustling, roadside hotel, where in the lumbering and mining days teams
lined the road four, six and eight deep. Now, nothing but a ramshackle
old building remains to tell of its former greatness. Here we made a
sharp turn to the left, leaving the main road and taking the special
Marlette Lake road. We cross the grade of the abandoned railway--the
rails, engines and equipment of which are now operating between
Truckee and Tahoe--see in the distance the tunnel through which the
trains used to take the lumber, and notice on the hill-sides the lines
of the old flumes which used to convey the water to the reservoir on
the other side of the tunnel, or bring water and lumber ready to be
sent on the further journey down to Carson City.
My driver was in a reflective mood, and as he pointed these things
out to me, made some sage and pertinent remarks about the peculiar
features of some industries which required large expenditures to
operate, all of which were useless in a comparatively short time.
Mainly uphill the road continues through groves of cottonwood, by
logged-over mountain slopes and sheep-inhabited meadows until the
divide is reached. Here a very rapid down hill speedily brings us to
the south edge of Marlette Lake. Skirting the southern end we follow
the road to the caretaker's house, tie our horses, and walk down to
the dam, and then on the flume or by its side to a point overlooking
Lake Tahoe, from which a marvelously expansive view is to be obtained.
We return now to Marlette and while drinking a cup of coffee prepared
for us by the hospitable caretaker, glean the following facts in
regard to the history and uses of Marlette Lake.
Marlette is an artificial lake, fifteen hundred feet above the level
of Lake Tahoe, and about three miles from its easterly shore. Its
waters are conveyed by tunnel, flume, etc., over the mountains, the
Washoe Valley and up the mountain again to Virginia City. Originally
the only supply of water available for Virginia City was from a few
springs and mining tunnels. This supply soon became insufficient and
many tunnels were run into hills both north and south from Virginia
for the express purpose of tapping water. These soon failed and it
became necessary to look for a permanent supply to the main range
of the Sierra Nevada twenty-five or more miles away. Accordingly
the Virginia and Gold Hill Water Company called upon Mr. Hermann
Schussler, the engineer under whose supervision the Spring Valley
Water Works of San Francisco were constructed. After a careful survey
of the ground he found water at Hobart Creek, in the mountains on the
east side of Lake Tahoe, and in the spring of 1872, received orders to
go ahead and install a water system. He ordered pipe made to fit every
portion of the route. It had to pass across the deep depression of
Washoe Valley with water at a perpendicular pressure of 1720 feet,
equivalent to 800 pounds to the square inch.
The first operations were so successful that as needs grew the supply
flume was extended eight and a half miles to Marlette Lake, thus
making the total distance to Virginia City thirty-one and a half
miles. This Lake was named after S.H. Marlette, formerly Surveyor
General of Nevada, who was associated with W.S. Hobart, of San
Francisco, the owner of the land and one of the original projectors of
the Water Company. The site was a natural basin, the dam of which had
been broken down or eroded centuries ago. A dam was built in 1875, and
later raised eleven feet higher so as to afford more storage capacity.
The area of the lake is now about 600 acres (before the heightening
of the dam it was 300 acres), and its storage capacity is about two
billion gallons.
When the supply was enlarged a second pipe was laid alongside the
first with an equal capacity, each being able to convey 2,200,000
gallons every twenty-four hours. A third pipe was installed later. The
second and third pipes were laid by the late Captain J.B. Overton, who
was Superintendent of the Company for over thirty-two years. Captain
Overton also extended the flume lines, constructed the tunnel through
the mountain ridge, built the Marlette Lake dam and made many other
improvements and extensions.
On leaving Marlette Lake through an opening at the lower portion
of the dam the water is conducted five miles in a covered flume and
thence through a tunnel four thousand feet long through the summit
of the dividing ridge or rim of the Tahoe basin to its easterly side.
From this point it is again conducted through covered flumes, together
with water from Hobart Creek and other streams, to the intake of
the pipes across Washoe Valley. These pipes are three in number, two
twelve inch and one ten inch. The difference in elevation between
the inlet and discharge from No. 1 and No. 2 pipes is 465 feet. The
difference in elevation between the inlet and discharge of No. 3 pipe
is 565 feet. The pipes are laid across Washoe Valley in the form of
inverted syphons. At the lowest point in the valley, the perpendicular
pressure is 1720 feet on No. 1 and No. 2 pipes and 1820 feet on No.
3 pipe. The pipe lines go up and down nine canyons in their course
across the Valley. Each line is something over seven miles in length.
The pressure gauges at Lake View, the point of heaviest pressure,
register 820 lbs. on No. 1 and No. 2 pipes when filled, and 910 lbs.
on No. 3 pipe when filled.
When this work was first contemplated many hydraulic engineers
condemned the project as impossible, as never before had water been
carried so far under such pressure. But the fact that the first pipes
laid by Engineer Schussler are still in active use demonstrates the
scientific and practical knowledge and skill with which he attacked
the problem.
It is an interesting fact to note that, prior to the building of the
dam, part of the water was used for "fluming" lumber and wood to
Lake View, and also for a short period of time after the dam was
constructed. But for the past twenty years this practice has been
discontinued, the water being solely for the supply of Virginia City.
The total cost of the work was about $3,500,000. The Company is now
under the immediate and personal supervision of James M. Leonard. The
flumes and pipe-lines have recently been rebuilt and repaired where
necessary so that the entire system is in excellent condition and a
high state of efficiency.
DUBLISS, EDITH AND GENOA PEAKS
The ride to these three peaks can easily be made in a day, and though
they are all in reasonably close proximity, there are differences
enough in their respective outlooks to make a visit to each of them
enjoyable and profitable. With a good saddle-horse from the Glenbrook
stables, a guide, and a lunch tied to the saddle, one may start out
confident that a most delightful scenic trip is before him. The first
hour's riding is over the rocky and tree-clad slopes, far wilder
and more rugged than one would imagine, rudely bordering the Lake
southwards. Then turning east, hills and vales, flowery meads and
dainty native nurseries of pines, firs and hemlocks enchant the eye.
Reaching the summit of any one of the peaks, a wide expanse of Lake is
offered, extending to the surrounding mountains north, south and west,
but on Genoa Peak an additional charm is found in the close proximity
of the Nevada Valley, and mountains to the eastward. The contrast
between the richly clad Sierras and the apparently unclothed, volcanic
Nevada mountains is remarkable.