Lac Ste. Anne, West Cove launch

Cancelled plans led to a sunset paddle at Lac Ste Anne in early September. The weather was a bit unsettled when we drove out, so we put in at the West Cove launch, thinking we could shelter from any wind behind Farming Island.

The launch was deserted when we got there. The water definitely has some blue-green algae (pretty common in Lac Ste. Anne at this time of year) but it wasn't too bad.

There was a bit of chop and a slight bit of rain when we set out so we paddled north along the eastern side of Farming Island as the storm blew past and the sun came out.

It was super quiet on the lake. I expect the first day of school and the weather were responsible for that. 

The skies cleared as we rounded the north point of the island and the wind mostly gave up. 

The sun was starting to set as we headed south. There was also periodic drumming and singing from the Alexis First Nation that drifted across the water, which was super cool. 

Not much for birds on the water (some pelicans in the distance, some annoyed grebes in the reeds) and a few fish jumping.

I nearly bit it getting out of the boat (couldn't seem to to find the balance point as I stood up for whatever reason) but managed to catch myself and only got a wet sleeve! Overall, a great night on (and partly in) the water.

East Pit Lake

In early September, I hauled my boat down to East Pit Lake. Access to East Pit requires carrying the boat over 1000 feet from the parking lot with a pretty significant elevation change, so generally I end up going here on my own with my kayak riding on my head.

The upside of East Pit is that the water quality is almost always good (a tough thing to find at the end of a hot summer) and the carry deters most paddlers.

The muddy shore launch is fine. There were a lot of folks fishing (it was the Saturday night of a long weekend) and even a few folks on the water, which is unusual. Most cleared out by about 6 pm.

The lake was calm (it sits about 100 feet below the surrounding land) with just enough breeze to help cut the heat.

There were lots of ducks, plus two osprey fishing, and these two making a lot of noise in a nesting box (maybe eagles--it was too far away to tell).

I did two laps in about 90 minutes and there were a lot of fish jumping.

The climb back out is always a chore. The canoeists in the picture below took a lot of breaks getting up the hill.

I managed to make it up the hill in one go...

...And then down the other side to the parking lot. The trail from the crest to the parking lot has had a bit of wear since I was last here and required more attention to footing (roots and terraces, mostly). I wore my runners for the walk and changed into and out of my water shoes by the shore.

Overall, a lovely trip if you're up for the carry. Inflatables--which is what most people were using--really come into their own here.

First Chain Lake (Ponoka)

In late August, we found ourselves in Red Deer. After a night in a motel on the dodgy side of Gasoline Alley (every hotel in town was, somehow, full???), we headed for home and stopped at the First Chain Lake, just east of Ponoka on our way. Access is on the east side of the lake, coming down Range Road 250 from the north, take the right fork down to the water.

The launch is sand, with space to park. There are no facilities here. I don't normally flag road conditions (since they change) but, like the Second Chain Lake, this entry might not be for everyone. Below you can see the launch from the water and, on the right, the road down to the launch.

It is fairly steep and the sandy soil can erode. I didn't have any trouble getting down (or back up) in our Escape (I just went slowly). If it was super wet, the tire tracks suggest some floorin' it might be required.

The lake runs north-south. It is about 2.5 or 3km long and maybe 100m wide. The shore is reeds giving way to steep wooded slopes.

Overall, the lake has a pretty alpine feel to it and offers good wind protection from the east or west. Google maps suggested the lake might be pinched by a swamp about half way up but that turned out to be a loose set of lily pads that were easy to navigate.

We did the whole lake in about an hour without really breaking a sweat. There was no one on the lake at 9 am on a Saturday.

Overall, this a nice prairie lake. The water was very murky (like slightly diluted motor oil) and there were lots of bugs in the water, so might not be the best for paddle boarding.

Payne Lake

In late August, we stopped on our way back from Waterton at Payne Lake, just west of Cardston. Payne Lake is a reservoir and includes two campgrounds and a nice boat launch in the provincial recreation area.

There was a cement boat launch, a dock, and an easy gravel launch right in front of where we parked. There were also pit toilets.

The lake runs northwest to southeast and is about 3.5km long and 1 km wide. We went up the southwest shore.

Mostly the shoreline is trees and open grazing land and there were lots of cows.

The mountains in the distance were super pretty. The water was sometimes clear and sometimes had a bit of algae.

We saw lots of pelicans and there were a couple of small islands. Despite it being Friday afternoon at the height of summer, there was almost no one on the lake once we got out of the south end.

The north shore is more agricultural and really shows off the huge sky.

It was hot (28 degrees) and calm and a very nice paddle. Nothing super notable about the lake, but a very nice paddle. It looks us about 90 minutes to go around and we short-cutted the north bay cause we ran out of water!

As a note to myself, if I was to go back through here, I'd also look into Beaverdam Lake (just east), the Waterton Reservoir (to the north) and also Outpost Lake in Police Outpost Provincial Park, just south of Beazer.

Cameron Lake

In late August, we spent a few days in Waterton Lake National Park doing some volunteer stuff (collecting wheat grass seed for restoration efforts and battling the scourge of burdock). In between, we drove up to Cameron Lake. Waterton has restricted outside boats to control invasive so we rented a pair of kayaks and set off down the lake.

You can launch off the dock or the nearby beach. The lake runs basically north-south and the perimeter is 6km (or maybe a bit more). It took us about 90 minutes with some gawking down at the far end. The far end of the lake is actually in the US.

We went clockwise. Much of the north end of the lake (and the drive in) was burned in 2017. The silvered pine trunks are an interesting contrast to the green undergrowth and were full of purple fireweed (not obvious in photos, but amazing in person--like a mauve mist up though the trees).

The north end of the lake was pretty crowded with boaters. About half way down, we left everyone else behind.

Except this eagle that we followed (or chased) around the lake.

It is hard to overstate how pretty the lake was. Clear water, rocky bottom, majestic peaks, yada, yada. Very reminiscent of Lake Louise minus the zillion tourists. The weather was also exceptional, 20 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze.

The south end was interesting. There are a few islands, some ponds behind the shoreline, amazing waterfalls, a bit of late-season snow high up. Watching the mountainside continue down towards the lake bottom is always cool. There are places to get out down here to stretch your legs but no real place to go.

You can hike a ways down the western shore on a path and there are small beaches here (if you want something more secluded than the main beach).

Parks Canada has done an amazing job of restoring all of the facilities throughout Waterton that were damaged (or destroyed) during the fire. All of the toilets and picnic shelters are new, clean, and accessible. Even the pavement was great.

This was definitely one of the best paddles of the summer. I'd totally do Cameron Lake again. If we'd gone with our own boats we would have spent a lot more time down at the other end just enjoying the views.