Canoeing on Canoe Lake

On days with heat warnings it is necessary to start your activities early.  As much as I don’t like early mornings, I did it.  I packed my breakfast and carried my coffee and we were out of the house by 6:30.  There was a lake that has been on our radar for a while.  It seemed that if you want to go canoeing, you should do it on Canoe Lake.  

When we arrived, the lake was like glass and the temperature just right.  It is about 7 km long and not very wide.  

We paddled along the west side, keeping in shade most of the time.  I was able to enjoy my breakfast on the water.  

An eagle flew over us a couple of times.  They are such majestic birds gracefully gliding across the sky.  A family of loons sang their eerie chorus and fluttered around to warn us not to get too close.  

When we were almost to the end, we crossed over to come down the other side.  We found a few spots to get out of the canoe and go for a swim.  The day was getting warmer and the water helped to refresh us.

At one point a blue heron was flying ahead of us, landing in a tree and then flying when we paddled close.

The one problem about going down the opposite side of the lake was that what we assumed was an island was actually a very long peninsula which added a little more time on the lake.  This also meant another stop to cool off.

It was a beautiful day. We paddled 15.57 km which meant that we were on the lake for just over 4 hours.  In case you are wondering, our average speed was 3.8 km.  

We decided to drive a different way home and it felt like we were really on some back roads.  

The road took us by some falls.  

Further along a deer was standing in the swamp.  

All along our travels, there were lakes.  

More lakes means more canoeing explorations.

That Place

Sometimes you just need to be in that place.  That place for me is Bon Echo Provincial Park.  It has many happy memories of childhood camping.  It now gives me peace.  Even on a busy Friday afternoon, we can find a quiet place to enjoy the lake.

We left home just before noon with a packed lunch.  We put the canoe in at the creek and paddled along the main beach.  

It was a hot day and many people were finding their happy place in the lake.  It was an easy paddle to the narrows and then the wind picked up.  We stopped at another beach and ate our lunch.  After a little bit of people watching, we canoed into the wind a little further and then let the wind help us back.  We stopped at another area and enjoyed a swim and more watching.  

We thought it was time to head back so we canoed past the beach again.  More people had found refuge in the lake by this time of the day.  We loaded the canoe and then headed back into the water to cool off again.

Yes, some days you just to find your place to breathe a little deeper and make new memories.

What’s In A Name?

I called a friend on Wednesday night and asked what she was doing.  She responded with “nothing, what do you want to do?”  We set a plan in motion.  Kevin and Pam were going to meet us at our house at 7:00 am with their kayaks.  Sarah said that she didn’t want to go with “us” but then learned that us included two extras and so she decided to drag herself out of bed.  Our first visitor wasn’t Pam and Kevin though…Penny, the neighbour cat showed up for breakfast.

After Penny had her breakfast, Sarah had hers and Kevin and Pam arrived.  They followed us down Mountain Road.  After living in Alberta, we wonder why this road is named that.  There are no mountains in Ontario. Oh well…what’s in a name?  Really…Penny, the cat??

Back to my story…we arrived at Eagle Lake and if you are getting in your mind that we drove up a mountain to a lake where eagles soared, you would have to change your thinking.  We drove along a somewhat curvy, unelevated road and we did not see one eagle.  The lake would be more aptly called, Loon Lake because we did encounter a number of these.

Speaking of names….we once hiked to Lost Lake.  We wondered if after being there it should be called Found Lake??

We set out paddling.  Kevin and Pam were in their kayaks, Sarah on a paddle board and Ron and I in our canoe.

It was a beautiful morning.  We paddled and chatted.  Ron and I went around Comet Island since we were working together in our canoe and the others were all independent.  Once again, we have no idea how this island got that name.  We didn’t see any comets, satellites or even stars.

We enjoyed our morning even without mountains and eagles.  Loons on a lake made for a good day and I’m talking about birds!

Early Morning Paddle

When the heat keeps coming and you don’t want to stay inside all day, you get on the lake by 7:00 am.  That was Ron’s idea yesterday and I decided to drag myself out of bed to join him.  He put my coffee in a carry cup and we were off.

Even when we unloaded the canoe, we could feel the heat.  We slid the canoe into Sharbot Lake and I set up my breakfast table.  

There was a gentle breeze already as we paddled around an island.  A Blue Heron proudly stood at his post as we paddled by.  He stayed long enough for me to snap a picture of his stature like pose.  

The sound of the loon set my breathing just right.  Their haunting song which is sometimes called a yodel is one of my favourite sounds.  I should make it clear that I like the sound of a loon yodeling but for humans to do it, it just sounds loonie!

A little otter swam by and stuck his head out of the water watching us, curious to see who was disturbing his morning swim.  By the time we had canoed around the island, the heat was on us.  The sun had broke out and the humidity was high.  

I could see the beach ahead of us and we both knew today was going to be a swim day.  The water felt so good.  We dipped in the lake before we loaded the canoe and nice more after.

We got home just before 10:00 am and Sarah was still sleeping!

Today is another HOT one and Sarah has her last exam to write and then she is off for the summer.  What adventures will we have?