It is said that at noon the wind picks up. Yesterday we found out the warnings we had received were indeed accurate. Our approach is to leave earlier and even though the trip will be shorter, today we want to be back at our put in spot before noon.
At 8.30am G drives by our camp site and we follow in behind. As we leave our ‘loop’ and join the collector road that leads to the highway, we turn the corner and the camp attendant’s truck is stopped and blocking our path. I joked to Debbie, ” What the hell is he stopped for….. a bear?”. Sure enough as we creep by the stopped truck there is a grizzly bear chopping on a small bush covered in berries. It is totally engrossed in its exploits and our vehicle passing does not even cause a flinch. Very cool, I can’t say I have ever seen a grizzly before and for sure not that close. Later talking to the park attendant I found out the bear is the cub of Number 139 and her other cub was in the bush near by. We totally missed the second bear. The one we saw is stunning, quite big even though it is only a cub, and the coat was lustrous, dark brown in colour with golden brown shoulders and hump.
Our kayaks are unloaded and we are boarding by about 9am. We will paddle down the lake until 10.30am then about face and head back and try to make it back before the witching hour. For most of the trip the water is glass smooth. The surroundings are quiet and tranquil. The mountains adjacent to the lower lake are not as rugged as the ones surrounding the upper lake but it is still an alpine paddle and the reflections on the still water are impressive.
I spent a good amount of time taking photos of those reflections but somehow a picture never captures reality and although the pictures are nice, the fleeting images can only be experienced if one is sitting in a boat.
About 11.30am a few gusts disturb the water’s surface and the mirror type reflections become distorted. Still interesting but not nearly as noteworthy.
Our paddle back to the spot from which we disembarked is much less stressed than yesterday’s and we arrive right on time. After getting the boats back on shore and loading them on the car we sit on a bench and eat lunch overlooking the lake in a spot not as exclusive as the previous lunch but with a no less impressive view.