As the fall weather provides cooler conditions we often return to home base – the river, Edith Lake, Stake Lake, and Jacko Lake.   Most lakes are paddled once or twice in a year, but Jacko is a favorite so I paddle there 6- 8 times each year.     On a grey fall day, I launched my kayak and paddled around the lake.

There was a lot of construction going on on the newly-rerouted Trans Mountain Pipeline just to the north of the lake, but otherwise there were some fishermen, some ducks and eagles, and one kayak on the lake.
The lake is a scenic spot in every season, but there was some fall colour too.    The surrounding grasslands had very little rainfall so the hills were a shade of amber.

In the summer, the shallow bays become choked with aquatic growth, but there is more open water once the water temperatures cool down.

Eagles were doing swoops over the lake and coots were diving, but they worked in pairs taking turns to eventually catch their prey.   I watched the same thing happen at Mamit Lake the next day.

The final days of paddling will mostly be on nearby lakes and on the South Thompson River.    The paddling year will have started mid March and will end some time in November.