Mable Lake

 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

 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

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

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

 

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.