Three Lakes
With the change in seasons, the weather cools and we see more windy days. We can paddle in the wind, but it is harder on larger lakes so we often choose to do loops on smaller lakes. Any lake that sits in a forested bowl below a ring of hills has more protection from the wind. This may mean doing two loops and if so, we paddle once in each direction. Two loops of these lakes takes about an hour so we can add a hike too, doubling the workout. Three favorite spots to paddle and hike were visited recently and are featured here.
On a mid-September day I was first on McConnell Lake and finished paddling before any other paddlers or fishermen arrived, then went for a hike. Click an image for a lightbox view.
Jacko Lake has less forest so can be a slight bit windier, but it is a scenic spot. Between summer drought and draw-down, the lake was significantly down and the shallow bays couldn’t be paddled.
One of the best spots to paddle and hike is Stake Lake. At the equinox, I paddled around twice, then hiked for an hour on the trails.
We still hope to get out to any lakes we haven’t yet paddled before the end of the season, but we are waiting for the right weather for these outings.