The continued drought in California has taken its toll on Lake Tahoe. Yesterday the lake level fell to the lake's natural rim. The reservoir held by the dam built in 1913 is "drained". The level today is probably a few inches below the level of the lake in September, 1861. Anyone interested will find easy access to visit the Secret Harbor beach where documentation indicates Sam Clemens and John Kinney slept among the rocks the first two nights of their September 1861 Timber Claim trip, or the huge granite boulder-table where primary documents indicate they had their own camp, at the SW corner of Sam's timber claim. The best ground approach to the boulder is to park off the unmarked turnoff for Thunderbird Lodge, keep to the right and hike. I suggest scouting it out visually from the highway first, it isn't all that accessible, which is why the shoreline there remains much as it was in 1861. Boat access is not recommended (boulders) but canoes find it easy to reach the beach and visit the boulder-table. On Aug. 14, 1865, also mentioning the granite boulders throughout the area, General Land Office surveyor Butler Ives described the land as "steep broken granite mountains rising abruptly from the shores of Lake Bigler [Tahoe]. . . ." and "The shores of Lake Bigler are bold rough & rocky, the water deepens out gradually for some distance, & then pitches off suddenly to the depth. . . ." Robert E (Bob) Stewart Carson City NV