Heck, I almost forgot about that wrecked day of fishing near Lake Tahoe back in '81. I hadn't been out fishing for quite a while since moving from Watsonville, CA to Minden, NV. Some shirttail relatives (Lonny and Brenda) lived in South Lake Tahoe. Lonny and I decided we would make a day of fishing at Fallen Leaf Lake with a little side hike up to the small wilderness trout pond hidden in the forest on the main stream feeding the lake.
Fallen Leaf Lake is a beautiful lake only a small fraction of the size of Tahoe, and is somehow connected directly to Tahoe via underground water passages. When Tahoe rises, Fallen Leaf rises at the exact same rate. The water is clear, and the bottom is visible for at least 35 to 40 feet. You can see the fish, and they can see you. Therefore, You either cast way out from shore, or fish from a boat out on the lake in deep water.
After an early morning of getting skunked at the small pond, Lonny and I headed back down the trail toward the lake. As we were getting near the lake, we heard a woman screaming. We began running down the steep incline. As we approached one of the few cabin/homes at that end of the lake overhanging the creek gorge, we headed down onto the deck leading to the back of the house where the screaming was obviously coming from. There was a shiny red VW in the parking space with the driver's door wide open. It was really spooky, because we were apparently the only people at that end of the lake, except for the screaming woman and probable attacker.
As we were just about to round the corner to the back of the house, there was the unmistakeable sound of the cocking of an automatic firearm. Immediately, a man's harsh voice said "shut up, or I'll blow your blanking head off!" Well, that stopped our forward movement, and since we only had a couple of trout rods, we weren't going to become lifesized targets for a mad rapist. The girl had guts though, because she didn't stop screaming for more than a few seconds.
Thank God the rapist didn't make good on his threat. Without wasting any time, Lonny and I headed for the phone booth only a couple hundred yards away where my suburban was parked. Oh, and on the way, I leaned into the VW and snatched the keys out of the ignition, lifted the hatch on the engine compartment and took the coil wire for good measure. Lonny was a fast runner, and already had the the emergency people on the horn when I got to the suburban.
I tossed the keys and coil wire on top of the phone booth out of sight, then we hopped in the suburban and drove just out of pistol range and watched the place. I'm happy to say that the lawmen and other emergency vehicles arrived shortly in a cloud of dust. They were smart enough to kill the sirens a few miles away. Too bad he had that weapon though, otherwise, Lonny and I would have roughed him up just a wee bit! Obviously, we were through fishing for the day. Come to think of it, I never did tell the lawmen about the keys and coil wire. They probably had the VW towed away anyway. That was one puke that couldn't get away with rape.
Fallen Leaf Lake is a beautiful lake only a small fraction of the size of Tahoe, and is somehow connected directly to Tahoe via underground water passages. When Tahoe rises, Fallen Leaf rises at the exact same rate. The water is clear, and the bottom is visible for at least 35 to 40 feet. You can see the fish, and they can see you. Therefore, You either cast way out from shore, or fish from a boat out on the lake in deep water.
After an early morning of getting skunked at the small pond, Lonny and I headed back down the trail toward the lake. As we were getting near the lake, we heard a woman screaming. We began running down the steep incline. As we approached one of the few cabin/homes at that end of the lake overhanging the creek gorge, we headed down onto the deck leading to the back of the house where the screaming was obviously coming from. There was a shiny red VW in the parking space with the driver's door wide open. It was really spooky, because we were apparently the only people at that end of the lake, except for the screaming woman and probable attacker.
As we were just about to round the corner to the back of the house, there was the unmistakeable sound of the cocking of an automatic firearm. Immediately, a man's harsh voice said "shut up, or I'll blow your blanking head off!" Well, that stopped our forward movement, and since we only had a couple of trout rods, we weren't going to become lifesized targets for a mad rapist. The girl had guts though, because she didn't stop screaming for more than a few seconds.
Thank God the rapist didn't make good on his threat. Without wasting any time, Lonny and I headed for the phone booth only a couple hundred yards away where my suburban was parked. Oh, and on the way, I leaned into the VW and snatched the keys out of the ignition, lifted the hatch on the engine compartment and took the coil wire for good measure. Lonny was a fast runner, and already had the the emergency people on the horn when I got to the suburban.
I tossed the keys and coil wire on top of the phone booth out of sight, then we hopped in the suburban and drove just out of pistol range and watched the place. I'm happy to say that the lawmen and other emergency vehicles arrived shortly in a cloud of dust. They were smart enough to kill the sirens a few miles away. Too bad he had that weapon though, otherwise, Lonny and I would have roughed him up just a wee bit! Obviously, we were through fishing for the day. Come to think of it, I never did tell the lawmen about the keys and coil wire. They probably had the VW towed away anyway. That was one puke that couldn't get away with rape.
