I’m not sure how it happened, but I didn’t go to the lake a single time during the month of October. We had the blizzard on the first weekend and between cleaning up from the blizzard, taking a week’s vacation and a few other adventures, I simply didn't go. It is a bit harder to go to the lake in the fall and winter because the days are short. When the sunrise is so late, I need to be at work. I haven’t gotten into paddling in the dark, though it might be an interesting adventure.

But I finally made it to the lake yesterday. Paddling in November doesn’t take too many precautions. Because there are very few people at the lake, I need to have a solid plan for self-rescue should anything go wrong. The first part of that is to wear a dry suit. Should I take the plunge into the cold water, the cold would get to me in as little as five minutes or less. My dry suit is warm and because it is designed to keep me warm and dry, it doesn’t breathe. So it is always a bit of a balance in the sun. I can open up the neck on the jacket, but it was chilly yesterday and I paddled with a full suit, including warm booties and gloves. If I were to fall into the lake the only part of me that would be wet would be my head. And I was wearing a woolen stocking cap. Wool is good because it still has good insulating capabilities when wet.

The mood at the lake has changed and some of the change is for the better in my opinion. There’s no other people around, so the sounds are the sounds of the wind, the trees and the animals. And a lot of those creatures have left for the season as well. The geese, normally the lake’s loudest folk, were gone, headed south most likely. There were sill a few ducks left, but they weren’t much into making a racket.

The lake looks a bit different because of the storm. There are a dozen or more trees that have fallen into the lake, mostly uprooted. A few of them are really big trees and extend out into the water quite a ways. In previous years, the forest service has let some of those trees rest where they have fallen and little by little they deteriorate and become a part of the mud at the bottom of the lake. It takes several years for a big tree. I don’t know what will happen to these trees, but I hope a few of them stay. They will provide a place for fishermen to sit for a few years. They provide good perches for the Great Blue Herons, eagles and osprey who like to fish in the lake as well. And they make the paddling a bit easier.

The prevailing winds have come for the winter season, which means that when I launch from the north shore, the only way to go is downwind. That isn’t a problem as long as I remember that it will take me longer to return than it does to depart. The sun was bright and reflecting from the lake as I launched. I headed across the lake to a little inlet where the young beaver has been hanging out since August. I wanted to see if he had abandoned that territory or was hunkering down for winter. I was pleased to see that he has made a fine new lodge for himself. It is a significant construction, so I’m hopeful that he may have found a partner to spend the winter with him. He has chosen one of the first places on the lake to freeze up. Of course freeze is not problem for the beaver who is accomplished both under and on top of the ice. But if he was successful in finding a mate, I may be able to see the pups before the hoards of campers arrive next summer.

I sometimes think of the beaver as grumpy because he doesn’t particularly like to share his end of the lake with me. He’s always slapping his tail and warning me to keep away. But beavers are really social animals and though they may not enjoy my company, they like being with each other.

The heron, on the other hand really is a loner. He hangs around other herons only during the mating and nesting season. So it was fun to see a heron perched on top of the new beaver lodge sort of like he had dropped by for the housewarming party and was reluctant to leave. The fishing must still be pretty good at the lake to keep the heron around.

I didn’t have much agenda to my paddling. I was mostly enjoying being outside, stretching my muscles and messing about in my boat. My kayak is warm and I was comfortable as I paused to take a few pictures and feel the sun as it reflected off of the water. I was hoping to see the beaver, but he wasn’t in a mood to surface and give me a glimpse, so after a while I paddled away. I toured around the edge of the lake looking at the fallen trees on shore and the way the water reflects an image of the shoreline. With the wind, the tree trunks that rise straight upward look like they are reaching down in wavy lines as if their trunks were twisted in the reflection.

I paddled slowly but deliberately on my way back into the wind. My little boat tracks easily even in a quartering headwind and it didn’t take long to get back to the shore. I was loaded up and headed for home in a little more than an hour after I arrived at the lake.

I’m sorry I missed October paddling. Most months have open days when I could paddle, though the lake will likely freeze over come January or February. As long as the water is liquid I can safely paddle.

There is always something new to discover.

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