Trip Report
What a wonderful trip! I got to the boat ramp at 0615 and in the water paddling at 0630, I paddled out of the bay to the main lake and stayed on the northern shore line until I was directly across from the inlet to the falls. At this point there was only my self and one power boat on the lake and he was fishing off in the distance. When I crossed the lake a slight breeze was playing with the bow of the boat, but nothing that was inconvenient. When I got to the inlet a noticed something swimming in the water, turned out to be a beaver and when I got three boat lengths away he slapped his tail and swam under water about 50 yards. I stopped paddling and waited to see where he surfaced, when he did he was about 5 feet from shore in the inlet. He quickly make it out of the water and hid in the underbrush. I did get a photo of his tail flipping water splash :) .
As I paddled up toward the falls, the morning mist was lifting slowly and made for some wonderful scenery, the dark green of the trees and the shallow water had a surreal look to it. When I got to where the water level was to low to paddle any further, I was able to sit and view falls with no sounds of the power plants, boats or people. It was just me, the canoe and water... and some mosquitoes... While sitting there I got that feeling like I was at home, There are very few places that this happens, for example when ever I hiked to the top of mount Washington in New Hampshire, I have always felt I belong there, Or when Scuba Diving in Maine, I have never felt unsafe or uncomfortable! This feeling of safety and calm was a very nice reward to a early morning paddle.
I did not want to over stay my welcome, so after a few minutes and some photos I back paddled the boat to where I could turn around and head out of the the inlet. When I exited the inlet I took a left and headed north on the shore line around the camp ground. By this time it was 0730 and people where getting up having their morning coffee, walking their dogs and enjoying the cooler morning weather. Still making my way north I found my self paddling around Slunger Bay, The cabins and ranger station there have a nice rustic look, It makes the bay feel homey and inviting. Every few minutes I would stop paddling and enjoy just looking around, seeing how calm the water was and noticing how quiet it seemed.
After making it out of the bay I started to paddle north again but decided it was a better idea to cross the lake again and head home. I was feeling a bit tired from being up all night at work and I knew I had to get some things done at home. The wind picked up a bit more as I crossed the lake and on the east shore line it pushed the bow of the boat all over the place. After I got it settled down and I started to pay attention to my paddling a bit more I used the wind help steer the boat and used less correction strokes.
I paddled the north side of the power plant and met some people fishing off their dock, they commented on how nice the morning was and how hot it was going to be in the afternoon. I fallowed the shore line all the way back to the bay where the boat ramp was, I planned to paddle the little inlet on the south side of the power plant, but decided to leave that for another day. My trip ended at the boat ramp where I started, a very nice quiet even paced trip. 0930 was when I got out of the water and got the boat on top of the car.
A side note, this was the first trip I used my otter tail paddle, I usually used a beaver tail paddle and my back up paddle is either a Traveler or my aluminum/plastic short beaver tail. This whole trip I used the otter tail and was amazed on how little correction I needed to control the boat and how the resistance in the water was minimal. I was able to keep a good pace and speed the whole way around the lake, only switching sides every 40 minutes to an hour.
So all in all... This was a great trip
, only regret... Carrie was not with me to share all that I saw and felt!
) 
