Okanagan Lake - July 18, 2010

An 8:30 AM start to today's club paddle. We met at the Indian Rock boat launch at roads end in Naramata. This was only about 50 km. from home in Summerland. It was a beautiful morning for kayaking and we enjoyed our paddling.

We stopped at Van Hyce beach for a short break on the way north and a few of us went in for a swim.

Today was scheduled for a paddle and a hike. We stopped again at the far side of Commando Bay, the GPS says we travelled 8.4 km.

We came across a Merganser duck family out for a paddle.

The hike was planned with Orion from Sagebrush Nursery in Oliver. He showed us and told us about various native plants we came across on the hike. One of the plants that can be trouble is poison ivy and here is what to look for if you want to avoid it. (Leaves of three - Let them be)

Here are the kayaks on the beach at the start of the hike.

We even came across a rattlesnake. Can you see it in this photo?

We were hiking up the trail in a draw and we heard the rattling in the grass beside the trail. I guess he was just letting us know he was there. He didn't get excited, just kept slowly moving away through the grasses. Probably 3.5 to 4 feet long. Apparently that is a rather large specimen. A Western Diamondback we were told.


If you heard a scream echoing down the lake around noon on Sunday, that was Janet after seeing and hearing the snake beside the trail.


It was great to get up on the mountainside and get a few different views of the Okanagan valley.

This is looking south to Penticton.

And this is looking north to Kelowna.

At one point, Janet and I came across a school of good sized fish all swimming near a large tree that had fallen into the lake. I tried to get an underwater photo, but manoeuvring the kayak in the waves and wind and trying to lean over getting the camera in the water and of course the fish not knowing what I wanted them to do; made the job rather challenging. Here is the only shot that sort of turned out.

On the way back, Janet and I stopped again at Van Hyce beach for a swim and a rest. Beautiful day out.

Here is a photo of us on our way back south.

Wildlife seen included quite a few fish, a Merganser duck family, a bald eagle, and of course the rattlesnake.


Thanks for visiting and keep on paddling.

Vaseaux Lake Paddle June 19, 2010

Hello, my name is Al Hays and I am a very recent addition to the sport of kayaking. I have started this blog to document my kayaking adventures and I hope you can enjoy the blog and photos. Thanks for visiting.

Today, June 19, 2010 we had another great day on the water with the Hoodoo Adventure Kayaking Club. We met up about 9 AM just south of the Vaseaux Lake Provincial Park and found a large parking area where all members were able to unload and gear up. The wind was starting to pick up a little and everyone was hoping it wouldn't last long. Actually getting on the water was a little interesting and we managed to launch 19 kayaks from a 10 foot beach access. A great bunch of helpful people these kayakers are.

Today we had with us a very informative lady - Jacqui Likins - from the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance. She will be giving us a couple of talks on the flora, fauna and ecology of the area.

We headed out around 9:30 to the southwest, crossing the lake towards a sheltered bay. The wind was already letting up and it looked promising for a great day.

Once everyone had crossed the lake and met up again, Jacqui gave us a great little talk on some of the history and ecological concerns taking place in the area. A nice little rest from paddling, a sip of cool water, and an entertaining talk while enjoying the sun. What more could you ask for ?

After the talk we got back into the repetitive exercise we so much enjoy and headed north up the west side of the lake. We followed the shoreline pretty much and seen a few birds, ducks, a bald eagle winging right overhead and I heard a turtle was spotted as well as 3 buck deer at the waters edge.

My wife, Janet, even spotted a very interesting bird, which we later found out to be a white headed woodpecker. Apparently very rare in this area. Our Peterson bird book shows this bird located only in a small area in Washington state. Cool find.

We took our time and just enjoyed the paddle and the sun and the now calm winds. Half way back down the lake we stopped again for another little talk from Jacqui and enjoyed the float. 

See the nice calm water - Oh Yeah - I like it, I like it a lot !

More paddling and more talking and before we knew it we had reached the north end of the lake. It was nearly noon and we had stopped for another break and a few kayakers even got out of their boats in the shallow water to stretch their legs and cool off a bit in the water. I had my trusty old fly fishing water thermometer and took the surface water temperature at a fresh 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

After a good rest we paddled a little way up the channel to the north and found a rather large beaver lodge. I had some fresh mud plastered on it, so some busy beaver had been at work patching the roof.

We worked out way back to the vehicles first east then south on the east side of  lake past the lakeside homes and highway cliffs. On the way back I did manage to see 5 big fish I think are carp. A browny, reddish color with big scales. Four of them swimming lazily together were about 16 - 20 inches in length and one big guy later on about 30 inches long. Boy they sure got into high gear quickly when they noticed the kayak closing in ! I also seen a muskrat swimming quite a ways from shore. He dove under as I approached and when he came up he was a lot farther away.  I was paddling but he must have been paddling much faster.

Along the highway edge where the sharp corners are, I seen several schools of small fish, kind of aquarium sized with black tails. I'm guessing these are baby bass fish, swimming peacefully where the big broken rocks were tumbled into the lake from the highway construction.

Anyhow, we got back to the vehicles around 1:30 and my Garmin GPS told me I had travelled 11.1 kilometers in the kayak.

A great day for kayaking and a beautiful day overall.

Please leave a comment if wish.

Thanks and have a great day.