Stuart Lake, June 12th, 2010

Okay, I'm going back in time a bit here, since I was at Stuart Lake about a month before St. Marie and Davie Lakes, but I wanted to post this anyways.

I spent many weekends as a child camping on Sturat Lake, at Parrens Beach, and Sowchea Bay, and I know how fast the winds can pop up and ruin a person's day on the water.  I was a little reluctant to take my little boat out on this massive lake, but it was relatively calm when I got there, and there was plenty of beach to stick close to just in case the weather turned ugly.

I started out at Parrens Beach campground, and headed west along the shore to the little estuary where Sowchea Creek flows into the lake.

This is a view of the hills on the northern shore.  I think that may be Mount Pope (not 100% sure).

The trees along the beach looked like they should have fallen over a long time ago.

There was a lot of driftwood in some spots.

This is the entrance to the estuary. 

Once inside, it was beautiful.  Such calm water, and so many birds singing.  There was an eagle's nest in one on the trees just to the right of the bow.

There's a better picture of it...

One of the things I love about being in a kayak is the ability to fit through small spaces.  I had to take a bit of a run at this one...

....But I made it!  I turned around at this point, as this was the end of this little reach, and lily pads that thick are difficult to paddle through.

Such pretty reflections.  That little sandy strip of land was all that was separating this part of the estuary from the actual lake.  

The rain clouds were getting closer, so I headed back along the beach to my starting point.  I was lucky to get a nice break in the weather, because not too long after I got off the water, it got ugly.

This is the Stuart Lake I remember from my childhood.  Crazy wind and big waves that will swamp a boat that is moored too close to shore and fill it with gravel.  Definitely not a lake I would take my kayak out on.  So I am glad to have had a small window of good weather to explore a part of it.