What Was Your Work Out Today?

About 16 miles of paddling.

I like to go visit Waldo Lake at least once per year. At about ten square miles, it's the second largest natural lake in Oregon behind Crater Lake (nearly 21 square miles). Waldo is also the second deepest at 420 feet compared to Crater Lake at 1949 feet deep. It's one of the clearest and purest lakes in the world. On a clear, calm day you can see over 100 feet down. The water is nearly invisible, but when it's deep and calm, it's an impossible color of cerulean.

I always wait until at least early September when the mosquitoes settle down. I made the mistake of going in August one time. Camping in the forest was brutal. We got in the canoe the next morning; it was full to the gunwales with insects. It's a little less than two miles to cross from that campground to Klovdahl Bay; we were about half that distance, a mile from shore, before all the insects were gone. Awful.

We couldn't go last year because of the fires. It was sad to see all the damage from those most recent fires. The two campgrounds on the north end of the lake were closed, so visitation was way down.

We paddled about 16 miles skipping the very far south portion of the lake. There were very few other boats on the north end since it takes a while to get there and back, and the wind can come up any time. We were fairly lucky with the wind except at the very beginning of the day and then at the end. At the end we had some wind chop, about a foot swell, but we were basically in the trough going south. That's when I realized how much I like this boat; it was pretty seaworthy. It's a We No Nah Voyager, a 17.5 foot long solo canoe.

We stopped for lunch in the very northwest corner where the North Fork Willamette starts to flow. It's a very special place to me, and it was so sad to see the devastation from the fires. It won't be safe to camp there for a while as those burned trees start falling apart. Maybe the next year or two it will be OK, but after that we'll have to wait for years before it's truly safe.

Even with the damage from the latest fires, it's still an amazing place to visit. I may go back later this month or early next month and maybe even carry my camp across the lake instead of car camping. Or car-camp and spend two nights camping and two days paddling.

Tired and hungry today so I just walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes. I always say the key is to try to do at least something when you don't feel like it. So that's what I did.