On the first day of fall, I drove up to Lac le Jeune in the morning and paddled the east end of the lake.    There was no wind at the start and the lake water had a blue-silver glaze.

There was 3 still fishing boats with quiet electric motors on the lake, but no other paddlers and almost no ducks or geese.    Loons were fishing in the middle part of the lake.

I followed the shoreline, veering around fallen trees, and seeing more ready to fall over the winter.

The marshlands on the northeast side of the lake provided some color as the reeds, rushes, and sedges lose their greens and show yellows, oranges, and a bit of reds.

I don’t choose to paddle Lac le Jeune in the summer when there are too many boats on the lake and shoreline activity includes a lot of noise.   In the fall, the lake becomes quieter, especially on a cool mid-week morning.

The sun was shining through clouds and dark clouds to the east was contrasted with sunnier conditions to the west.    The wind picked up near the end of this paddle, the 77th day of kayaking this year.

Lac le Jeune is one of the best paddling lakes of our area.    This was my third time on the lake this year and I plan to paddle the west end and the smaller lake one more time before the weather becomes cold.