Summitt Lake, July 16, 2011

The summer continued to be dismal and rainy, resulting in few kayaking trips during what should have been prime kayaking time.  I managed to sneak out to Summitt Lake for a few hours one Saturday, between rain showers.  The sun shone just long enough to make it feel like summer.

I launched my kayak at the boat launch off Adams Road, and paddled through the islands towards the western shore of the lake.

A nice picture of Elephant Rock to start off.  I say nice, because from this distance, it just looks like a rock.  If you get too close to it, all the grafitti is visible, and it doesn't look as nice.

Stump across the lake from the boat launch :)

Summitt Lake is one of those lakes that is big enough to have several islands, and plenty of nooks and crannies to explore.  Each time I go there, I end up somwhere I haven't been before.


This time I followed the western shoreline towards the stream leading into Upper Summitt Lake.





I paddled up the stream for a short distance, but turned around before getting to Upper Summitt Lake.

Reminds me a little of St. Marie Lakes.

 

Pretty reflections on the way back to the boat launch.



Purden Lake June 11, 2011

It was a harsh winter with an alarming amount of snow.  Spring came eventually, but it was slow, and as a result it was almost mid-June before I got out on the water.  Usually I am out on the water by mid-May. 

My first trip out this season was to Purden Lake, on a cool but rain-free Saturday on June 11th.  I spent many weekends in the Provincial campground here as a child, but never really appreciated the lake until I saw it from my kayak.  It is very close to the Rocky Mountains, which makes for some nice views of snow-capped mountains from some spots.  Purden Lake is usually very busy with boat traffic, but it was almost deserted this afternoon.

Small island near the boat launch.

A pretty spot in the  far west corner of the lake, near the boat launch.

Once I got away from the boat launch, I paddled past the beach, along the northern shore.  As always, I found plenty of stumps.  This was the nicest one.

Continuing along the northern shoreline

I didn't get to see very much of the lake this time around, but it was nice to finally be out on the water.  All in all, it was a good start to the season.

Las Caletas, Mexico

Ahhh Mexico.  The first time I ever paddled a kayak was in January of 2008, at a resort in Bucerias, just north of Puerto Vallarta.  There were 3 of us out that morning, and we were visited by a pod of playful dolphins.  I was hooked from that point on. 

In January 2011, I spent a week at a resort near Punta de Mita, which is about an hour's drive from Puerto Vallarta.  I was really looking forward to doing some more ocean kayaking, but the conditions at the resort were too dangerous, with too many high waves breaking all at once.  Each day, I kept hoping the conditions would improve, but they didn't.  We had to get on a boat and go to a different beach to do some kayking, and it was worth it.  I didn't take my camera with me on the water, but here are some shots from the beach of the area I got to paddle around.

 Beautiful beach!

Even in Mexico there are stumps.....