Double Eagle Padde/What I did this Saturday

Jeff Horton

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The Heart of Dixie
Since I finished my kayak shop time has been slipping. I was afraid of this but I am enjoying myself! I started with a fair breeze blowing out of the North. Very overcast but radar had shown the rain leaving the area.

I got on the water about 9 am and start working my way though ‘The Islands’. They provided pretty good shelter from most of the wind but you do have deal with the milfoil (aquatic weeds) because of all the shallow water. That’s when you really appreciate a Greenland paddle. They are easy to paddle in the weeds once you learn how.

When I reached the last island I made a quick stop to stretch my legs because I knew I was about to hit the wind and a long stretch before I would reach Goat Island. I didn’t expect to find a good stopping point before then.

After coming around the island I was in open water and paddling against the wind. I picked out a couple of points far off in the distance and paddled toward them for at least half an hour. When I finally got close enough I was surprised to find one of my points was a yellow shirt a fisherman was wearing. It was quite amazed at how visible it was from so far away.

About this time I heard what I assumed was a hawk calling. I decided to double back to see if I could catch a glimpse. To my surprise I flushed two mature Bald Eagles out of a tree and they were not happy with me!

They flew over my head saying things I can not repeat. :D Seriously I have never heard Eagles make so much noise. I turned and paddled back towards the two fishermen and to my surprise I flushed out two more Bald Eagles that were just as vocal. I assume it was the same pair that I had just upset a few minutes before. But it was a beautiful site. I love seeing Eagles. And I have never heard Eagles carry on like that before. That was worth the trip!

I paddled near the fisherman and talked for a couple of minutes. They were both older gentleman and were fishing for catfish. I invited myself to supper but they said I had to furnish the fryer and I obviously didn’t have one with me.

Just past the fisherman above Goat Island are some limestone bluffs that look much like the Painted Bluffs below Guntersville Dam but much shorter. But they have some of the same coloring.

If you have never been there, Goat Island is nothing to but a great big rock with some dirt scattered around on it. Lots of trees there but I am surprised anything grows on that rock. I paddled behind the Island looking for a landing because the front looks like nothing but a bluff. The backside has a low bank but very rocky. I found a couple of possible landings but decided against them for different reasons. I finally found a decent landing spot at the far end of the Island. There is no beach just more rocks just under the surface large enough for the boat to rest on. I found a nice spot with a view of the dam and made myself comfortable. I rested a while and ate some lunch I had packed in the boat.

As I sat there I noticed the wind picking up and I stated to notice a few white caps on the waves. The waves were growing and I realized that I was going to have to be careful getting back in my boat. I decided I had better leave just in case it was going to get worse. With my small Ocean Cockpit it’s not that easy as it is to get in the boat but add the waves bouncing the boat around and the all the rocks... it could get interesting if this got worse. I got in no real problem but it wasn’t easy to keep the boat off the rocks and wiggle in balancing the boat with a paddle and trying to keep it upright.

I worked my way through another open area against the increasing wind. I gave in and worked my way back toward the bank to get out of the wind. I paddle along more bluffs and finally found the Bat Cave. I knew about where it was but it had been years since I had been down there and couldn’t remember exactly where it was. My plan had been to paddle to the dam but it looked like it’s about a mile away and I am starting to get tired. It’s a long ways back so I decided to turn around and head home.

With the wind to my back I made such good time going back that I didn’t even stop. Of course the way my legs felt I know I should have stopped and stretched. Except for a couple of sections behind some of the Islands the winds pushed me back. The return trip took half the time it took me to paddle up. I was out a total of six hours and less than 2 hours of that was coming back.

I took a lot of photos but due to the overcast weather not that many were worth keeping. Look for the Lake G’ville 9-6-08 Gallery

http://www.kudzupatch.com/photos/
 
Cool pics, Jeff. Sounds like it was a great day on the water, too.

What's the bird in this pic? Looks like a crane to me, but I'm not real well versed in bird identification. A couple weeks ago we had a pair of cranes roosting in one of our tall pines in the back yard. We're not really near any sizable bodies of water, although there's a nearly dry river about 1/4 mile away. Just seemed sort of strange to see cranes up in the foothills above LA.
 
Very nice photos Jeff.

It has been several years since I have been kayaking. This past week someone approached me about buying my kayak that has been sitting in storage. I turned him down as I plan to get back to it. It seems a sin to not be kayaking, since I have a sea kayak and the San Juan Islands are in my back yard. People plan entire vacations from across the nation just to kayak the islands. All I have to do is drop my kayak in Bellingham Bay and take off.

Dang! Seeing your pictures is making me realize what I have been missing. If you ever get this way, be sure to try the kayaking here. Just hitch a ride with Larry sometime. I will show you around.:)
 
Those rocks looks merciless, but them is some nice pics.

when I was driving around the blue ridge mountains a few years back, I thought I finally found out where Batman and Robin live, the kids were all excited. I even shot a pic of it, so we could tell everyone they hide out in the mountains down near Ashville.
 

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Vaughtn, that photo was a Great Blue Heron. They were killed off in the 60's (?) with DDT. As a kid it was a rare site. Now they are like sparrows, they are everywhere! When you get close they fly off and cuss you. ;)

Bill, I have been to Seattle and saw a little of the Sound. Yea you need to get that boat off the wall!!

Allen, that cave the one here are just vacation caves. 'THE' Bat Cave is in Gotham. ;)
 
Looks like you had a great experience. My heart still gets a bit skippy when I take in the beauty of that kayak. I may have missed it, but can you tell us more about the Greenland paddle?
BTW, in my opinion, a trip like that should involve other people. Alone presents risks. I like to trail ride my ATV but understand that the technical stuff should not be attempted solo.
 
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