Paddlers: Bill, Bob, Bob, Janet, Miles and Stu
Finally we are getting close to home so I did not have to leave until 7 am today to meet with fellow RRYC friends Bob Lindeman, Bill Green, Stu Lindsey and Miles at North Beach in Burlington. Janet Chill was waiting for us at the Converse Bay Fishing Access.
Directions to North beach ($4 parking fee)
Directions to converse bay fishing access
Well we got on the lake a little late about 9:30. on this trip we piled 3 kayaks on Bob L. truck! Two upside down with the third resting right side up between the two boats (all boats cheek to cheek so to say :)
Converse Bay is an interesting little bay dotted with a couple of islands. To leave the bay you need to head in a southerly direction and then We rounded the corner and headed north once again.
The lake starts to widen out a lot and looking north it looks like the ocean as you can't see any land in front of you (just on the sides). The day was absolutely gorgeous with fantastic views of the Adirondack Mountains and the green mountains, most notably camels hump and mount Mansfield. AS you paddle north the four brothers islands slowly work there way into your view as the emerge in the horizon by the New York shore.
There are some very nice looking homes on lake in this area and I find the architecture fun to look at comment on. N the VT side the shore is rolling hills with trees on top and a cliff when it reaches the water. Nestled between the hills is open meadow to the water and sometimes a nice (but private) beach between. This often called the Forbidden shore line since it is all mostly privately owned.
We stopped for lunch at Shelburne beach boat access in Meach cove a very beautiful spot. The folks in Shelburne are lucky to have such a beautiful spot to live in. I personally like the rock cliffs on Meach Island.
Once again after lunch I started feeling quite ill again. Not as bad as last time luckily. I think the break of standing on dry land and then getting back in the boat is making me seasick (plus the heat etc). I am not sure if I want to kayak anymore as it really is not very pleasant and it takes until the next before I feel better. I think I might have to try some motion medicine before I attempt another trip.
Since I was once again not feeling I was keeping the group back by traveling much slower than normal (about 3 mph compared to our 4 mph). However slow has it advantages. I had stopped to get Janet hat out of her hatch. Janet suggested I try it since it is a great hat with a neck shade on the back. While we were sitting there a loon surfaced not to far away. It was one of the few loons that we saw on the lake. We paused to watch the loon for a few minutes and drifted quite close. They are very beautiful birds.
I was surprised that there really was not a lot of boat traffic s the day was just wonderful. As we neared Shelburne Farms Bob L. stopped at a small rocky ledge as he had a surprise for Bill. Chocolate covered strawberries. They sounded really good. Since I was not feeling well I passed on eating them :( but instead took some medicine to help with my neck pains and rested a little bit. This is when Stu and Miles got into a very intense water fight with their respective water armaments. It frightened Bill so much he left and worked his way north to avoid getting caught in the conflict. Janet shouted that her open cockpit was in the line of fire!
We worked our way north following the shoreline to Quinsy Island. Since it was later in the day than we had planned we decided to head straight for north beach as the green roof of the main building was plainly visible across the ____ miles away. The privately held island was interesting as we paddled around it. I am very much attracted to the rocky out crops. I also found Juniper Island in the distance to be very interesting in shape and would love a tour of the island. So if you own it please send me an email :)
So to make the open lake crossing we all bunched up and headed out together. There was a spurt of motor boat activity coming out of Burlington. The result of course was several large waves for us to jump! We all made it safely to North Beach enjoying the view of Burlington from the water with the Mt. Mansfield in the background. Another great day on the lake (once again even with the sea sickness)!