Paddling on the Pitt

I really should do a post on things around here, but sometimes a post just presents itself and it's just easier to take the path of least resistance, lol!  

Meredith had some time off work, and no big plans for it, so we figured we could at least get one day of kayaking in there.  I wanted to go to to Pitt Lake, which is what we did.  The plan was to cross the lake and go into Widgeon slough and paddle up the creek from there.  We weren't exactly sure where the entrance was, so went across the lake and up the shore to the north a bit, for some sight seeing.

Below is where we set off from, although the picture was taken when we got back.  It was cloudy when we started out.

The entrance to the slough was just behind the boat to the right, we could tell that when we got out on the water, but still kept to the original plan of paddling to the right once we got across.  It was quite breezy there, and I had read that it often gets windy, but just a light bit of chop on the lake at that point.

The sky was looking promising, and the forecast was for some sunshine, so we were hopeful.  Meredith took most of these pictures, so that is me.

Heading back south down the lake.  Depending where you read, Pitt Lake is either the largest or second largest tidal fresh water lake in the world.  I couldn't find out which lake is considered larger, if there is one.

The water was very shallow along that grassy area, and at low tide is probably dry ground.  There is a 2-3' tide change.

Look at that sky.  The sky was amazing that day.

We found the slough and it was quite calm behind Siwash Island.   Some very shallow bits there too, Meredith and I both ran aground, gently enough that we were able to push ourselves off with our paddle.  Parts were a bit weedy in the slough.  The sky was a bit ominous, coming over the mountains on the west side of the lake.

We found the entrance to the creek.  

We were heading northwest and then north.  The sky was looking pretty ominous now, and Meredith was sure she felt a drop of rain.  

We had been paddling for an hour or more by this point, and shoulders and arms were aching.  A sandy bank presented itself and that seemed like a good place to stop and stretch our legs and put on a long sleeved layer.  It had gotten quite cool.  We had taken some muffins and dried apples, so we called that lunch.  

Those two mountains were interesting looking.  We weren't quite sure where we were, we had passed a side channel that may have been the way to the actual creek, and we couldn't get any phone reception so no help from google.   Since we were tired and knew we had quite a way to go to get to where we had started from, we called it good and headed back.  We were paddling into the wind now, but it wasn't as hard as we thought it might be.

The tide was going out, so the water level was dropping.  We kept to the deeper channel on the way out.  When we got to the open lake the wind had definitely picked up.  There were white caps and some big swells.  We made out okay going across, at an angle to the wind.  It was a bit exhilarating, not really scary, but you had to pay attention and there was no stopping paddling to take any pictures.

I think that dark double topped mountain over Larry and I is actually a sideways view of the two humps in the previous two photos.

The sun was shining on the east side of the lake, and we were happy to have made it back in one piece.  None of us felt anywhere close to tipping coming across the lake, but we were glad that the wind wasn't blowing any harder.

The longest paddle we have done this summer, and but it was probably the most interesting one too.