pawsplus
Paddler
Last Friday, I ventured out in the heat to Hole-in-the-Wall Island at Percy Priest Lake. I know I said I was done for the summer, but we had a slight break in the weather (i.e., high of 92 instead of 97 and a little less humidity), so when Roger, the guy I met at that bogus paddling class a few months ago, suggested the trip, I said I'd risk it as long as we launched EARLY. We met at 6 AM and were on the water by 6:30. It was in the 60s at that time (instead of high 70s as has been the norm), so it was pretty pleasant!
Hole-in-the-Wall Island is interesting because, when the area was flooded to create Percy Priest Lake, a narrow channel formed, leading to an inland pond. You can't see the shape on this map--in fact, on the map it looks like the channel goes all the way through, which it does not.
We launched from Hamilton Beach, went the long way around the back of Bear Island (the big one).
We saw this Blue Heron drying his wings after a hunting trip. I had NO IDEA what he was from a distance--the lump at the bottom as just so bizarre. When I got closer, I realized what he was doing. I'd not seen that before!
We stopped at Bear Island for a quick snack break. My WS Tsunami is in front here; in the back is Roger's Necky Looksha.
Then we paddled to Hole-in-the-Wall and went around to the back side. There we found the famous (around here, anyway!) jumping cliffs. Crazy people throw themselves off there regularly in the summertime (we were too early for them, I guess!). We, however, merely looked. ;-)
Here I am, heading for the hole-in-the-wall:
And here is the entrance to the hole:
A little further down:
And inside the little interior pond:
On the way back out:
After another snack break, we headed back to the launch site. According to Roger's GPS, we went a little over 9 miles. On the way back, I saw this cool tall grass:
So it was a great trip, and I'm glad I braved the weather! By the time we returned, it was starting to get unpleasantly hot, but it wasn't bad while we were out. It's now back to 95 and high humidity, though. But it was great to have a little tune-up before my paddling day in Vancouver next week and my 4 days in Johnstone Strait at the end of next week.
I'll post a couple of videos in a few.
Hole-in-the-Wall Island is interesting because, when the area was flooded to create Percy Priest Lake, a narrow channel formed, leading to an inland pond. You can't see the shape on this map--in fact, on the map it looks like the channel goes all the way through, which it does not.
We launched from Hamilton Beach, went the long way around the back of Bear Island (the big one).
We saw this Blue Heron drying his wings after a hunting trip. I had NO IDEA what he was from a distance--the lump at the bottom as just so bizarre. When I got closer, I realized what he was doing. I'd not seen that before!
We stopped at Bear Island for a quick snack break. My WS Tsunami is in front here; in the back is Roger's Necky Looksha.
Then we paddled to Hole-in-the-Wall and went around to the back side. There we found the famous (around here, anyway!) jumping cliffs. Crazy people throw themselves off there regularly in the summertime (we were too early for them, I guess!). We, however, merely looked. ;-)
Here I am, heading for the hole-in-the-wall:
And here is the entrance to the hole:
A little further down:
And inside the little interior pond:
On the way back out:
After another snack break, we headed back to the launch site. According to Roger's GPS, we went a little over 9 miles. On the way back, I saw this cool tall grass:
So it was a great trip, and I'm glad I braved the weather! By the time we returned, it was starting to get unpleasantly hot, but it wasn't bad while we were out. It's now back to 95 and high humidity, though. But it was great to have a little tune-up before my paddling day in Vancouver next week and my 4 days in Johnstone Strait at the end of next week.
I'll post a couple of videos in a few.
