August 18th - Gavins Dam Marina to North of Verdel
Up at 6:00 and out the door around 7:30. Darrin and his two sons, Jimmie and Jacob, took me down to the the Marina at around 8:00 after a quick stop at WalMart for some groceries.
Jimmie and Jacob helped me get my gear into my canoe and after pictures I was off. Paddling lake waters was going to be a new experience and I was wondering what kind of miles I would make in a day and how I'd handle the waves when the wind picks up. Today it is relatively calm and what wind I have is coming from the southwest and not much of a factor.
All was going well until around 11:00. I was making good time, but I could see that a storm was nearing from the west. As I continued to paddle I also saw that I was approaching high cliffs on my side of the lake and it could be hard to find a place to pull over in case things got real bad. Smart thing would be to pull over, but of course I kept going!
I rounded a corner and realized this was going to be a bad storm. Very dark in the west and lightning off in the distance. I saw a place I could pull over, but again I figured I may find something better around the next bend. Sure enough, just when things were going to get real nasty, I came upon a boat landing. I quickly pulled my canoe out of the water, turned it over and headed up the boat ramp to see if I could find some protection. As luck has it, there was an outhouse at the top of the ramp, so the next hour I spent in the outhouse out of the rain. Not the best place to have a late morning snack!
Once back on the water, nice and dry, I paddled to the end of Lewis and Clark Lake and started to weave my way through sandbars with tall grass, which made it hard to see which way was the right way. Finally got through most of the tough stuff near Running Water. Now the current was getting faster, but I was still, with a little effort, able keep up good speed.
I ended the day just past the Verdel Landing and the mile or two of cottages and trailers west of the ramp.
Very pleased with the first day. Lake paddle was good although I knew if I had any wind it would be a tough go. Once on the river by Springfield, the current picked up but was manageable. Tomorrow will be river until the Randall Dam and then more lake paddle on Francis Case Lake.
Jimmie and Jacob helped me get my gear into my canoe and after pictures I was off. Paddling lake waters was going to be a new experience and I was wondering what kind of miles I would make in a day and how I'd handle the waves when the wind picks up. Today it is relatively calm and what wind I have is coming from the southwest and not much of a factor.
All was going well until around 11:00. I was making good time, but I could see that a storm was nearing from the west. As I continued to paddle I also saw that I was approaching high cliffs on my side of the lake and it could be hard to find a place to pull over in case things got real bad. Smart thing would be to pull over, but of course I kept going!
I rounded a corner and realized this was going to be a bad storm. Very dark in the west and lightning off in the distance. I saw a place I could pull over, but again I figured I may find something better around the next bend. Sure enough, just when things were going to get real nasty, I came upon a boat landing. I quickly pulled my canoe out of the water, turned it over and headed up the boat ramp to see if I could find some protection. As luck has it, there was an outhouse at the top of the ramp, so the next hour I spent in the outhouse out of the rain. Not the best place to have a late morning snack!
Once back on the water, nice and dry, I paddled to the end of Lewis and Clark Lake and started to weave my way through sandbars with tall grass, which made it hard to see which way was the right way. Finally got through most of the tough stuff near Running Water. Now the current was getting faster, but I was still, with a little effort, able keep up good speed.
I ended the day just past the Verdel Landing and the mile or two of cottages and trailers west of the ramp.
Very pleased with the first day. Lake paddle was good although I knew if I had any wind it would be a tough go. Once on the river by Springfield, the current picked up but was manageable. Tomorrow will be river until the Randall Dam and then more lake paddle on Francis Case Lake.
posted by Coach at 8:19 PM
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