October 5, 2009
Although I cranked out 37 miles in the mountains this weekend, my love for the outdoors drew me out again today. Since the weather had been mostly rainy and overcast for the weekend, I wanted to take advantage of the sunny day that I had. So after work I threw my kayak on top of my truck and headed to Thompson Lake, a lake I had yet to explore. I just couldn't believe it when I reached the parking lot and raindrops started to hit the windshield. No matter, I was going kayaking!! I had planned to put in at the public boat launch but seeing the beach area was closer and no one was there, I carried my kayak across and down some steps.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here's today's track
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fortunately, the rain only lasted a few minutes.
I paddled out a hundred and feet and turned around. What a wonderful surprise I had!! There was the most beautiful rainbow that I had ever seen!! It was too big to capture in one shot. I took 2 shots from 3 different viewpoints. I stitched each set of two into one picture.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This one didn't stitch together quite as nice. You can see the seem.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After soaking in as many of the colors of the rainbow as I could. I decided to begin my adventure by checking out the extreme north end of the lake which wasn't far away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At the northern end there was some type of defunct factory. There was a small dam there as well. There are a ton of lakes in Maine, but many of them have dams causing me to believe that they are either completely manmade or have at least been enlarged by man. As you can see in the photo below, the rainbow I had seen had a fainter second rainbow above it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I've never had much time to go kayaking in October. It gets dark so early that I just never made it a priority to get my kayak out after work. But I plan to do more of it. It is the best time to go. The beaches are deserted and I didn't see another boat on the water. Plus, look how vibrant the leaves are.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Time to head south
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I wasn't positive, but it looked like an island ahead. It looked like there was just a little opening to the right so that's where I headed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sure enough it was an island. It had a small house on it as well. Note the electrical line in the photo below supplying the house with power.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My GPS was showing that a small piece of the lake spilled over onto the other side of Pleasant Street. I decided to see if I could get over there. It was slow going since I had to paddle through some thick reeds.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hmmm? Is there enough headroom to get under that bridge.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There was. But there was not a lot to see. Lots of reeds on the other side. Nevertheless, I paddled around for a couple of minutes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I paddled back under the bridge. As I continued on my way I went by some old stumps, sSupporting evidence that this lake cannot be entirely natural. It also meant the water level was lower than normal.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Just then I got stuck. There was another stump just a couple of inches below the water's surface, and I paddled my kayak right on top of it. For a moment I thought I was going to have to get out, but a couple of minutes of rocking back and forth freed the kayak.
Off again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I saw a flock of ducks close to the shore so I went to investigate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Then I got a little too close. They all took off.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Beautiful homes dotted the shore.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Given the short time I had, I would only be exploring the northern portion of this lake.
Goat Island was straight ahead, my turning around point.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Closing in on the island
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There was a small cabin on the island but no sign of power running to it like the last one. I kayaked around the small island. It was a good landmark for when I explore the next section of the lake.
Time to head back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I was hoping for some sunset photos, but not today. Dark clouds began to roll in, blocking most of the sun as it set.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The wind picked up as you may have noticed by the choppy water in the photo above. I always try to allow myself extra time for the return. No matter what, the wind always seems to pick up and go against me for my return trip. It was a race against the clock as the clouds rolled in and the light was diminishing. I did get caught in some rain on the way back. It looks like snow in the photo below, but those are raindrops.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here is a picture of the entire lake. Today's track is in red at the top. As you can see my 2+ hour adventure barely put a dent in this large lake.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I hope I get to explore more of it before winter.
| 
