Kayak Gypsy

Zen Paddling

2012-06-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Luck was on my side today, I had a day off and the weather was stellar! After dropping my daughter off at work I headed to Canoe to launch my kayak and head across to Heralds Park.

I often find when I am out kayaking by myself that I have some really great ``ah ha`` moments, and today was a pretty profound one! I love the water,(I don`t put much stock into the horoscope or signs but I am a Pisces so maybe there is something to it) and would just love to live on the lake. As I kayak past the waterfront homes and cabins I admit I do feel envy for the owners of those homes and today was no exception. In fact my neck was getting a little sore from scoping out all the beautiful homes, and then something clicked. I realized that I was missing out on what was going on around me, missing out on the calm lake, the creatures around me. Just as I snapped out of my envy trance` a little fish jumped a few feet on the other side of my kayak. I`d like to say that I stayed present for the rest of my paddle, not quite, but there sure was a vast improvement in my attitude and perspective.

I read a book on walking a few years ago and one of the points that stuck with me I think could also be applied to paddling. That with the rhythm of walking (or paddling in this case) our thoughts slow down and instead of racing around and really getting no where with them we are more able to problem solve or see situations from a different perspective. I was once told that we can think 600 words per minute but we can only write 150 words per minute, and that`s one of the reasons it is helpful to journal. I think paddling has a similar effect.

Thank goodness for some good weather!

Looking towards Sicamous

Little Shuswap Lake Fish Pictograph

2012-05-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

I was able to get out on the water this weekend with my Sister on Saturday, what a beautiful day to be on the water. We kayaked from the wharf in Chase to the pictograph and cave site, I have been there quite a few times but recently read that there was a fish pictograph that I had not found during my previous visits. From the directions I had this is the only pictograph in the area where the fish was supposed to be and it does kinda look like a fish hanging from it's mouth.

Just around the corner from this there is a rock wall and you could see that the whole wall at one time was covered with paintings. As they are exposed and there was no overhang to help protect them, none are really visible anymore. You can just see paint here and there and where the rock has crumbled and fallen off.

I can hardly wait to get back out on the water again. My next planned trip is to launch at Totem Pole Resort and cross the lake to another pictograph site and boat only campground. I hope to be able to get to that within the next two weeks. I wish there was a few more hours added to each weekend day, they just seem to fly by.

Fish Pictograph?

Tappen site pictographs

2012-04-13T12:30:00.001-07:00

My son and I were going to kayak today but the weather was a little iffy so we decided to take off on foot to the Tappen site. The pictographs were easy to find and pretty easy to climb up most of the way, I chickened out of the last little bit as it was very slippery. So the photo's were taken by my son Karl who is more agile than I and a whole lot braver, heights are not my thing!

I recently borrowed a book from the library called "Exploring B.C.'s Pictographs" what a great book and it's due to the direction in the book that we found the Tappen site so easily, and also the reason I knew the animal in the pictograph was a porcupine.

Hunters, sun symbol and porcupine.

Deer

View from above the pictographs

Two eagles skimming the lake.

First trip on the water for 2012

2012-04-06T15:16:00.001-07:00

This was the scene for my first trip out on the water this year. What a beautiful day, lots of sunshine, a slight breeze and good company! I have at least a half dozen trips planned for this spring and I am just itching to get going!

Bald Eagles duck hunting on Shuswap Lake, B.C. Canada

2012-04-01T11:54:00.001-07:00

In November of 2010 I was expecting a uneventful, last of the season outing in my kayak. That is exactly what I did not have.

A group of a couple hundred waterfowl flew over my head, the sound was phenomenal. What I did not realize was a group of four Bald Eagles were chasing the flock. I saw a lot of splashing about 100 meters ahead but could not make out what exactly was going on so decided to check it out. Once I got a bit closer an eagle took off from the water surface and a few seconds later a very terrorized looking duck popped it's dishevelled head out of the water to only duck down seconds later when a eagle swooped down. The four eagles took turns swooping until one finally grabbed the duck, flew off to the shore and perched on a rock to start it's feast.

The video I did get on my camera is shaky and does not do the scene justice but I thought I'd post it anyway!

Copper Island

2011-10-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

Our picnic beach

My daughter and I kayaked to Copper Island today. The sun was shinning and the fall leaves surrounding the lake are

breath taking.

We hike almost to the top of the cliff face but it started to get a little dangerous so we settled for 3/4, the view was worth the scrapes and scratches we are now sporting.

I have heard there are pictographs on the island, we didn't find them. Please drop me a line if you do know as I would like to check them out.

All in all it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

View towards Magna Bay

View towards Blind Bay

Blake Point, Magna Bay, B.C. Pictographs

2011-10-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Moose and Hunters Pictograph

I am lucky enough to still have some holiday days left and choose a great day to use one up!

I put in in Eagle Bay and kayaked across the lake to Blake Point in search of the pictographs. They were exactly opposite of where I thought they might be, right beside a beach and beach staircase up the side of the cliff. They are very weathered and I could not make out many of the figures. I did manage to climb up a rock wall and get a close up of a moose with two hunters, which is really cool as my Husband and I have always loved moose.

It was really neat to see such a thick vein of quartz and it just kept going down under the water.

Quartz vein above and under the water

I love kayaking in the fall, I just lay a blanket on the bottom of my kayak, put on my spray skirt and I stay quite comfortable. And one of the best things is, I don't have to stress about being run over by other watercraft, I only saw one other vessel out there and it was at least one kilometer from me.
I will probably re-post about these pictographs when I have a little more time to zoom in and play with the contrast a bit more and hopefully get some clear images.

The middle of Shuswap Lake looking towards Copper Island

Pictograph

Mara Lake Pictographs

2011-10-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

My Sister

My Dad

I went out to one of my favorite fall kayaking spots with my Dad and Sister today. We hit a bit of rain while we were driving but thankfully it cleared up and the water was like glass and aside from one fishing boat we were the only ones out on the water, which made it very peaceful and relaxing.

I have not been very successful in obtaining information regarding the history and meaning of the pictographs in the Shuswap area. I have looked online but not too much out there that I could find, I have ordered a couple of books from the library and hope those will be a good starting point. When I do find the information I'm looking for I will post for those who are interested.

Osoyoos Desert

2011-09-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend in Osoyoos and Oliver, we brought the kayaks as we did want to get out on the water, but we never made it. The first day we were there is was 36 degrees, way too hot for us to be sitting out on the water with a life jacket strapped on.

We did a lot of driving and exploring, the second photo here is of Spotted Lake just outside of Osoyoos. The mineral deposits are said to have healing properties, I would have loved to get down closer but it's private land and should be respected as such.

We toured a few of the many wineries in the area and tasted some fantastic wine, thanks to Burrowing Owl, Forbidden Fruit, Blasted Church and Road 13
Wineries for some great tasting experiences. This is
my second year venturing down here and I am sure
this will be an annual event for me and any family
members wanting to tag along.

Mouth of the Thompson in Chase

2011-09-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Spent yesterday on the water with on of my favorite kayaking buddies, my daughter! We kayaked from the warf in Chase across the bay to the east side of the bay. The salmon were jumping around us, the sun was out and the powerboats were courteous.....just couldn't ask for a better day. There is a small private beach over there on which I have found several black smooth rocks which appear to have chip marks on them. I have only found them on one part of the beach and they are quite different than all the other stones there. My theory is they are shards off of arrowhead/spearheads, there are so many little thin shards and they are in groups, so I'm sticking with my theory, it's more fun than the other explanations I can come up with:)

There are quite a few little pictographs spread all around in this area but the brush is thick and there are lots of thorns, I usually wear shorts and flip flops when kayaking so it makes it a little hard to get around to get a good look at what there might be for pictographs. I would like to go back in the fall with heavy pants and explore the area better. If anyone knows of the history of this area please drop me a line as I am really interested in learning what I can about these areas. The photo above shows a pictograph in the middle of the photo, I couldn't zoom in to get a clear shot so I'm not sure what the image is of.

Mable Lake

2011-08-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

I went out this morning for the first time on Mable Lake and really lucked out. As this is a big lake and it was a bit overcast I was a little concerned that it might be a bit tough going, but the weather was perfect and the lake was extremely calm. I would rather be out on this lake than Shuswap Lake any day, there were far more fishermen and less water skiers which makes for a lot less wake:)

I kayaked up to the point directly across from Cottonwood bay and was able to get out on a nice little bit of beach and stretch my legs, there's a bit of a campsite there and no signs stating you can't camp there so I assume it's available.

There are two pictograph sites before this beach, the first one has a number of symbols and is not in great shape anymore so I had a hard time understanding the images. The second site which I have included photo's of was really interesting, again it had some symbols I could not understand, I have heard that this pictograph means good fishing so I did wonder if some of the images were of fish that have been filleted, just my guess? I love the deer drawing, there is one similar at the Mara Lake site as well. I thought it was neat that you could see paint drips on the rocks below the pictograph, I could really visualize the artist at that spot when I saw those, I'm an artist so I think it might be an artists thing.

I had the privilege of having a Kingfisher fly about 50-75 meters ahead of me the whole way to the pictograph site, it would just stop and wait up, then when I got too close it would fly off again find a perch and wait all over again. Well at least I'd like to think he was joining me, maybe I just happened to be going the same direction??

I put in at the River Mouth boat launch as the other one a bit farther down the road is private, crowded and there is a small charge to launch your boat. Although Mable Lake is a bit farther than I am used to traveling to "put in" it was well worth the drive and I will be back.

Copper Island

2011-08-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

My sister and I kayaked to and around Copper Island this morning, and I am so thankful that the going was tough on the way there and calmer for the trek back as our arms felt like wet noodles! I have measured on my map and it seems to be 10 kilometers or so. Doesn't sound like much but with 18-24 inch waves crashing over our little recreational kayaks, it was quite a feat! Due to the rough waves I was not able to get some good quality photo's but I did manage to snap a few.

Blind Bay is a very busy spot with lots of pleasure boats, houseboats and waterskiers, so we did feel a little vulnerable out there in our 8 & 10 ft kayaks, I would suggests early morning only and sticking to the shore line on the trip back.

The water was warm, the sun was shining and there was good company for the trip, we even managed to have a bald eagle fly over us and check out what we were up to, a perfect day in my books!

Salmon Arm bay and the mouth of the Salmon River

2011-08-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

I was on the water by 7 am last sunday and it was so peaceful. I paddled up the Salmon River, just a little way as there were so many little duck familys about half a kilometer up that I turned around, I didn't want to disturb them anymore than I already had.

This photo is of a group of pelicans that were also enjoying the peaceful morning! I saw a group of seven of them this time last year, but there were only three this time around. This is the third year that I seen them here in late spring and through the summer, I didn't even know we had such exotic birds here as these. The pelicans were curious regarding what I was but with all the canadian geese sqwaking and flying off like I was a predator the pelicans decided that maybe they should too!

Mara Lake Pictographs

2011-06-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

These are some photo's I took of some pictographs on Mara Lake. I find it just amazing that these can withstand the weather we have here. I did a little research on this particular site and they are estimated at two hundred years old, and the one large pictograph (bottom photo) is said to represent a fertility right, other than that it looks like they were recording their life in that area. My favorites are the one with the adult and two children, (looks like the adult is holding up fileted salmon) and the one of the deer. There were a ton of salmon there last fall and it was really neat to have them swim along side my kayak or to be sitting on the cliff ledge and just watch them gracefully swim by, as well as bald eagles and osprey feasting on the expired salmon along the shore.

This is by far one of my favorite places to kayak in the fall, as it is quite a busy lake during the summer months I haven't been brave enough to chance being out on the water. There were a few kayaks hit and their occupants injured last summer in the BC interior, so I tend to shy away from busy power boat locations.

Hope you enjoy the photo's and thanks for stopping in!

Little Shuswap Pictographs

2011-06-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

These are a few photo's of a cave and some pictograph's I explored a couple of weekends ago on Little Shuswap Lake. I had to kayak across a swollen river mouth, which made me a little nervous as there was alot of debris floating in the lake, as I am just a recreational kayaker and somewhat faint of heart:) There are probably about a dozen of these site in my local area, I have been to two so far and would like to get to most of them before the late fall when it's a little too cold for me to be out on the water.