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Tag Archives: kayak

On the Water

What fun to finally get my kayak back on the water. It’s been a challenging spring with lower back pain slowing me down at every turn. It is on the mend and while it’s not pain-free, it’s mostly tolerable. The weather is improving this week too. Yesterday was even what you might call warm. Well, depending on where you live and what you’re used to!

I moved stuff around the garage on Saturday and dragged the boat outside to hose off the dust and other winter accumulations; yesterday I put the racks on my car and finally, finally I loaded my boat with some trepidation anticipating that spasm of back pain. I managed without causing anymore pain so I took off for the lake. Ken and the dogs followed a while later with the fishing boat. I saw some Wood Ducks and a pair of Hooded Mergansers and Canada Geese, in addition to lots of singing Yellow-rumped Warblers and other song birds. It was nice to get out if even for just a short while. Today I’m a little sore but mostly tolerable still.

 

 

Patterson Mountain, still covered in yellow
A male Hooded Merganser trying to get a female’s attention.
Sky just now noticed me
Ken teaches the dogs about fishing tackle.
Sky was very interested in the fishing. Luna was along for the ride.
He caught several trout
Supper?

Summit Lake

Summit Lake has a small provincial park with a campground. When we arrived it appeared to be full and we were considering going on up the road towards Nakusp, unsure if we’d find anything better and available. We enquired with the park host who said the young folks putting up the toadlet fence were leaving that afternoon and we ought to check with them. Sure enough, they’d mostly finished with the fence and had most of their gear packed so we moved in before they were all the way moved out. It was a double spot and we shared it with some nice folks from Castlegar. We also met some other nice folks from Kamloops and an unplanned party went well into the evening one night! We really liked their dog and they were pretty nice too. By this time we must have been missing our dog, back home at Rover’s Ranch.

Summit Lake is a lovely lake for paddling and fishing. I saw numerous canoes and kayaks – more than I’ve seen in one place in a long time. Common Loons must have nested there this year. I saw an adult with an almost grown youngster. Ken enjoyed the fishing – catching some very large rainbow trout that we enjoyed, cooked over the fire.

The toadlet fence is designed to keep the toads out of the campground and also to funnel them to a highway crossing. They are born in the lake and spend their life there as tadpoles til they metamorphose into western toads and then they need to go to the mountains. In order to get there they have to cross the highway and it’s a dangerous gamble for the tiny creatures. We were told that in the past, so many toads were squished on the highway that it needed to be sanded. That’s a lot of tiny toads. Unfortunately all the toadlets don’t understand that they are supposed to come out of the water on the other side of the fence. We saw numerous ones on the road to the boat launch who did find the fence and some were able to squeeze through the tiny holes. Western toads, like many amphibians, are having a hard time these days. Summit Lake is considered a stronghold for them.

That’s it. The last post from the vacation. It was a fun road trip and we will probably re-visit that area again someday.

Summit Lake
Summit Lake
Very healthy devil’s club. This is a wet climate to promote such growth.
Dinner cooking on the campfire
Ken demonstrates proper use of cooking utensils including a shovel and pliers
Hold it like that
Dinner is served!
Toadlet fence along the road to the boat launch
Toadlet fence
Tiny toadlet thinking I can do it, I can get over this thing.
How do they know where to go?
I told you they were tiny
The dark dots are toads
We were there at the start of their season
Learning to crawl before hopping
Last paddle, the last morning of the vacation.

Gibson Lake

Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is straight up in the mountains from Kokanee Creek Provincial Park. It is a long bumpety bump drive to get there through many kilometers of industrial demonstration forest. There was a warning that the road was not for low-clearance vehicles nor for the faint of heart. We took it slow since the boats were still on the roof of the truck and we did not want them to get jostled around too much. It was fortuitous that the boats were with us as the road ended rather abruptly at a beautiful high mountain lake – the kind that we generally think we have to hike many miles to see. We had intended to go for a hike to another lake but with spectacular Gibson Lake before us it seemed like the only thing to do was get the boats down and go for a paddle. And you know, Ken had his fishing tackle with him so he was sure to wet a line. He enjoyed catching cutthroat trout that he promptly released. I poked around the edges of the lake and found a Solitary Sandpiper in addition to the more common Spotted Sandpipers and I was surprised to find a Great Blue Heron. I just don’t expect to find them at an elevation of 6000′. I imagine it was migrating and maybe it was young too. I watched it hunt – poking its long bill into nooks and crannies – and it often came up with a bite to eat but I could not see what it was catching.

Finally we had enough of the water and thought we ought to check out the trail. It was 4.5 kilometers to the next lake so we put on our packs and started up. The mosquitoes were horrific. And it was late in the afternoon – already 4:00 – and we did not have more food so after a couple k of enjoying the views and the wildflowers, we turned back and returned to camp.

But the most interesting part of the visit may have been seeing cars surrounded by chicken wire! We both have lots of experience at trailheads and had never seen such a sight.

What on earth?
That explains it
How many beautiful places has my boat seen
GBH profile
Great Blue Heron preening
This butterfly was hungry for salt
Such an interesting stride
Heron hunting
Heron in the woods
Cutthroat
Do you think he enjoys this?
Fishin fool
View from my boat
Monkeyflower next to the lake
Pointed at a snow field
Fireweed along the trail
Fireweed
That’s as far as we got.
A long-stemmed buttercup
So pretty and dramatic
View from the trail

Kokanee Creek Provincial Park

We stayed three nights at Kokanee Creek while we visited Nelson and also Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. It is located on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake – a large body of water that reminds me of the reservoirs on the Columbia River. It may be historically part of a natural lake however it is now held back by a dam and dike system. Ken learned that it is known for very large trout or kokanee (landlocked) salmon. He fished two or three times and got one bite but was not able to bring it up to the kayak. I paddled across the lake early one morning when it was perfectly still and enjoyed the feeling of big water. It’s been a long time since I’ve paddled anything besides small lakes. But then the ski boats started up and they are a bit nerve-wracking from the low exposure of a sea kayak.

Kokanee Creek drains out of the Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park and is a pretty stream where the kokanee salmon go to spawn. We were a bit early to see them. Seeing lots of Osprey around, we figured that it would not be long til the fish went upstream. I spent some time wading in the creek trying to get the ‘perfect’ moving water photo. It probably still eludes me.

 

Some people have prayer flags at their campsite. We had drying towels
West Arm looking north
Looking south
Gnome afloat
Looking up Kokanee Creek towards Kokanee Glacier Park

 

Back in the Boat Again

Last week there were several good weather days and twice I managed to get my kayak in the water. Last year I hardly used it due to persistent lower back pain from gardening. I am trying to really take care of my back this year with more yoga and being very aware of how I move when I am carrying heavy stuff and trying to get help when I can. So far, so good for the most part. Of course with kayaking there is the business of getting the boat on and off the car to take it to the lakes. That worried me. I was able to do it and paddle two days in a row and I am happy to report that I didn’t have any pain! What a relief. Here’s hoping it stays that way all summer. Here are some highlights from two lakes near Winthrop.

Patterson Lake is my favorite

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Interesting rock formations

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Non-native trees line one end next to hay fields

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Last year’s cottonwood leaf

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Folks keep adding to this lakeside sculpture

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You can tell from the line on the rocks that the lake is not yet full

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These trees died after the lake level was raised some years ago. Now the snags are good habitat for nesting swallows and other birds.

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Red-necked Grebe

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Pair of Wood Ducks

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Patterson Mountain reflected in Patterson Lake

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More reflections near the boat launch

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At Pearrygin Lake State Park, it’s still cold for swimming

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A pair of Mallards

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The hen decided to go her own way

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The drake had to fly to catch up with her

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4 Bufflehead ducks

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They didn’t like me or the motorboat approaching from the other side

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Pearrygin is a pretty warm lake with different vegetation types.

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The reeds make nice reflections

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This float had broken away from its moorings

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In addition to motorboats, I saw this stand up paddler and a rowing scull

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Killdeer on a mud flat

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The mouth of Pearrygin Creek. This creek ‘blew out’ two years ago, resulting in flooding in the state park and the loss of this boat launch. They say that the state will replace it.

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There are LOTS of Yellow-rumped Warblers out and about these days.

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And Osprey are commonly seen above any water that might have fish in it. There were lots of newly-planted trout for the next day’s fishing season opener.

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