Bugs, Beavers, Dogs, and Ducks

today i thought that a nice leisurely trip would probably be better than struggling with a new design. i just wasn't feeling creative and decided not to try and force it. Plus, i have been wanting to get back into the lake tributaries again ever since my last trip there a few weeks ago.

it was a beautiful morning. the air was cool, but not cold, there was a gentle breeze, and the lake, as far as i could tell, was completely empty. the only one fishing this morning at 7am were ducks and geese. it took about 10 minutes to cross the lake, and another 5 minutes to make my way back to the dock by the park. i was surprised at the amount of algae and weeds that had grown in the area in the last 2 and a half weeks. areas that were completely clear then were now so crowded with vegetation that it was difficult to see the top of the water. i thought about ending the trip there and just circling the lake instead, but decided to press-on and see how far i could get.

After passing the dock i came to a fork in the stream. last time i went to the right. this time i went left. if the maps on google were correct they should come back together. and as i recall from the last trip, i did see a spot where it may have been possible. after paddling a little way i noticed what looked like a small lagoon to the left and decided to go check it out. it was pretty cool, but very overgrown with weeds. after accidentally scaring some ducks, i noticed a bunch of bare sticks and logs littering the entryway. on closer examination i realized that the bark had been stripped by a beaver. so, maybe the thing that i saw last time was a beaver after all and not in fact a muskrat. i guess i'll never know for sure, but this was sure some good evidence for the beaver argument.

after snapping a few pictures i decided to see how far into the lagoon i could get pushing through the weeds and lilies. it turned out to be about 6 feet. as i started through the weeds i felt something on my arms. i looked down and saw thousands of little tiny bugs all over the place. they were on the kayak, they were on my, they were everywhere. apparently the were living on the lilies and when i went through they decided to jump on board. i back paddled as quick as i could and started brushing them off. banging the kayak with the paddle scared a lot of them off, but not all of them.but, i was more worried about the ones on me anyway. i decided not to try to go through the lilies again and headed back out of the lagoon and continued on my original path. i eventually came to a sharp bend around which i found a bridge and a house. a house with 3 dogs that are probably not used to people paddling by. two were tied up and just barked, but one was loose and thought it necessary to stand on the bridge and bark at me the entire time that i was passing under the bridge. i must say that it was a little intimidating. it was a big dog. it wasn't very far past the bridge that i finally came to a dead end. this was almost to the point where i was supposed to meet back up with the other forked stream, but i was definitely not making it through. it was completelyovergrown with cat tails and reeds. it was a good time to turn around anyway. i took to long messing around in the lagoon and was already behind schedule. the trip back was uneventful. when i made it back to the lake i finally splashed off the rest of my little buggy hitchhikers and then paddled like crazy to make it back to the car in time to make it to work.

it looks like there is one more tributary to the lake. i'll have to try that one next time.

Today's Stats and Map