Astotin Lake

In mid-September I took an afternoon paddle on Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park.  It had been a few years since I've been out here to paddle.

 

The Park has continued to upgrade its facilities and there is now some kind of snack bar (weekends, it looks like) at the beach. The dock was also nice and there are boat rentals to be had. I went off of the beach instead of the boat launch and it was a touch green getting in!

The water further form shore was the usual iced-tea colour and the water level looked higher this year than in the past by several feet.

I paddle out to the island in front of the beach and then wound my way through the islands on the south half of the lake.

It was a rare calm day on the lake and I had it to myself mid-week.

I ran across a young coyote hunting on the shoreline of the large island in the SW corner of the lake. I watched him for about 10 minutes before he noticed me.

Getting out without putting a foot in the algae was entertaining (well, for those watching!).

Overall, a lovely trip just as the colour was starting to change. I also saw a bison and a tonne of waterfowl flocking up for migration.

Hasse Lake

 I ducked out after work one day in early September to paddle Hasse Lake, just SW of Stony Plain.

Access is through a recreation area maintained by Parkland County. There is a big dock, parking, a port-a-potty, a playground, and a boat launch.

The boat launch was challenging (shallow and gross). If I'd had a canoe (or more nerve), I would have use the dock. I managed to get both in and out without getting my feet wet or muddy but there was a lot of bum-scooting the boat.

Once away from shore, the water clearer up some and was a murky iced-tea colour. Lots of birds and some fish evident in the lake.

The most interesting part was a group of pelicans on the island the middle. They sunned themselves for most of my paddle and then went fishing near the end.

The lake itself is fine and it was a very nice day. The shore is all reeds (small beach by playground) with bushes or trees in behind it.

There was one (and maybe two) beaver lodges. The lake is silting up so the edges were often very shallow. 

Lots of water fowl and shore birds. I would think this would be a bird watchers paradise in the spring.

All told, this was okay. The gross entry was a major drawback and there are nicer lakes (Mayatan, Hubble, Jackfish, Wabamun, Muir) in this general area so I probably won't be back.

Mayatan Lake

Took the family out to Mayatan Lake in late August. The water was a bit lower than in the spring but still very clear.

We had a beautiful sunny day for it. Probably Jess's longest paddle board of the summer and my 30th paddle the year (which was my goal).

The narrows between the two halves of the lake were interesting but very shallow and smelled terrible.

The water was super clear and we checked out the underwater passages to the beaver dam on the east lake.

I didn't get a picture but saw what I think was an osprey.

Crazy clear water when lots of other lakes have algae warnings.

The parking lot was empty when we arrived but by noon it was filling out and there was even a momentary back-up at the boat launch.

A pretty good paddle on a nice lake. Would definitely go back.

North Saskatchewan, Dawson to Accidental Beach

I took a rare trip east of downtown and put in on the North Saskatchewan just downstream of the Dawson Bridge. Dawson Park has great parking, washrooms, and a decent boat launch.

There were all manner of boats on the river: SUPs, outrigger canoes, a dragon boat, a jet boat, and a lime scooter.

This was a nice section of the river with a gentle current on the north shore all the way up to accidental beach. The new LRT bridge seems to narrow the river a bit and the current picks way up at this point, so I ferried across to the south bank and floated back.

Accidental beach was quiet and is starting to get some plant growth.

Overall, this was a very nice way to spend an hour and was a pleasant change of pace from the west end.

The area around the boat launch itself is quite shallow so I was happy the river was higher the usual.

North Saskatchewan, Quesnel to Fort Edmonton

It was extremely hot this past summer so many activities got scheduled early in the morning. I was on the river at 7:30 on day in August, putting in under the Quesnel bridge. It was already 17 degrees out (hit 33 that day).

The river was up a bit for that time of year. It was hit even paddling in the shade of the south bank. Lots of crew out on the water that morning.

I followed a beaver upstream and the water was clear enough to catch a picture of it swimming underwater.

I went as far as the Fort Edmonton footbridge. I'd hoped to go further but I was starting to cook (it was 24 by 8:15!) so I turned around and floated back.

Lovely morning light on the north bank--lots of interesting erosion to see.

This picture conveys a bit how hot it was. Just scorching and dead calm.