By Mary Thompson
April 30, 2008

Twelve pine-studded acres surround the 14 cottages at the Kit Carson Lodge, which sits on the brink of Silver Lake in California's Alpine County. Lacking telephones and TVs, the historic resort is an eclectic mix of classical music and dusty hiking trails, of wild mushroom crepes and fly-fishing workshops, of watercolor paintings and scenic swimming holes.

But it's this blend of elegance and rustic beauty that keeps the customers, like Harry and Lois Lutz, of Pleasanton, Calif., coming back year after year.

"We've been coming to the lodge every year for the last 15 years," Lois said. "And we've been meeting our family here for the last seven."

This year the Lutzs had to rent two cottages to accommodate the three generations of family members they brought with them.

Each morning, they start their day with brunch at the lodge's restaurant, which also doubles as a gallery for local artists. To match the ambience of the watercolors on the walls, the food is prepared with a touch of Pacific Rim palate.

Switching gears, the Lutzs leave the fancy fare behind and head for the woods.

"We love to hike and, for the grandkids, the big attraction is the water," she said.

Lois also said they don't miss the link to the outside world -- the telephone and the TV.

"At night, we tend to eat a lot of big dinners and play cards," she said. "And then we wind up just talking to each other."

A getaway from the heat of the city was the reason Captain A.O. Smith and his wife, Katherine, built the resort in 1926.

They were adventuresome types.

An aviator for the U.S. Army, Smith always wanted to have a lodge that was set off of the beaten path. So they built the resort in the summer of 1926, spent the snowbound winter in the lodge, and opened up for business in 1927.

Fishing -- the resort's main attraction in the early days -- drew crowds of people from the Sacramento Valley who were seeking relief from the sweltering summer heat. At 7,300 feet above sea level, the cool mountain air became the resort's hottest selling-point.

After two years in business, Smith was re-enlisted in the Army and they sold the resort.

Ownership changed hands a few times before the Echland family took it over after World War II. But in 1986, they got an offer they couldn't refuse.

"I was skiing at Kirkwood one weekend and I drove by the sign -- it was carved wood -- and I really liked it," said Brad Pearson, who was working as a San Jose city planner at the time. "It wasn't for sale but I made an offer anyway and they accepted."

Brad and his wife, Ximena (pronounced Himena), said they were ready for a change.

"We wanted to combine the lifestyle of living in the mountains with work," Brad said. "And it all worked out."

The Pearsons, and their 14-year-old daughter, Amanda, live at the resort during the summer months. During the winter, they live in Shingle Springs, Calif., and tend to the lodge's paperwork. Occasionally, they make a trip to the lodge after a heavy snowfall to shovel the roofs so they won't collapse.

In the summer of 1993, the original builder and owner of the resort, Katherine Smith, paid a visit to the Pearsons.

"She was in her 90s then but she was still as sharp as a tack," Brad said. "And she still felt a tie to the place after 65 years of being away from it. She said it was exactly what she wanted it to be."

Much of the recreation at Kit Carson Lodge is the same as when Katherine Smith lived there in 1926 -- hiking, fishing and swimming.

Trails around Silver Lake and the Carson Pass area lead to a variety of landscapes on the El Dorado National Forest. Volcanic buttes, grassy meadows, alpine lakes and crashing creeks -- each trail offers unique scenery and different difficulty levels.

Visitor Lois Lutz said she enjoys the trek to Winnemucca Lake which starts from the top of nearby Carson Pass on State Route 88.

"We always go up there to see the flowers," she said. "But the kids really like going to the Potholes."

The hike to the Potholes follows the bubbling waters of Silver Fork of the South Fork of the American River, Silver Lake's only outlet. The Silver Fork's rumbling course toward the sea has ground smooth, round pockets into the granite riverbed -- good for swimming if the water isn't raging too high.

And great for trout fishing.

"It's a lovely area, with virgin forest," said Chris Shutes, a licensed fly-fishing guide who offers workshops from the Kit Carson Lodge. "There's a lot of 12-inch fish in there, but they're really smart."

Shutes said Silver Lake is stocked with brown and rainbow trout.

"It's good float-tubing and boat-fishing out there," he said. "And the fish are bigger in the lake than in the streams."

Shutes said fishing on the lake is good following the winter thaw and that the next few weeks will mark the primetime for catching fish in Silver Fork.

"But a lot depends on the stream flow."

Fishing isn't the only activity that lies at the mercy of the water that has been harnessed by the Silver Fork Dam, which was built before the turn of this century.

Brad and Ximena Pearson said their Kit Carson Lodge depends on it.

Brad said El Dorado County, who owns the water rights to Silver Lake and nearby Caples Lake, has plans to use the water to support its growing population in Cameron Park, Calif. But he says draining the water could ruin the recreational opportunities at the two lakes as well as put a damper on area businesses.

"The main concern is that the peak season for using water (for the county) coincides with the peak recreational season -- summertime," Brad said. "When the lake is drawn down, the shoreline becomes exposed and there's a bathtub ring around the lake and it looks more like a holding tank.

"People remark on that and it drives business away," he said.

In 1991, Pearson started the League to Save Sierra Alpine Lakes, an organization dedicated to preserving the lakes in the Sierra.

"Silver Lake is the headwaters of the South Fork of the American River, if you lose the lake then you lose an entire chunk of the ecosystem," he said.

Recently, through two victorious lawsuits, the League has gained some leverage in its fight to save the lakes from being squeezed dry in the summer.

Still, Brad said the battle hasn't been laid to rest.

"It's been a real uproar with the people who use the lakes," he said. "We won two major lawsuits (against El Dorado County) but the danger won't be gone until a decision is made by the courts on how this water is going to be used."

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