Mayatan Lake

In late April, we had our first hot day and so we headed out to Mayatan Lake. The lake was open and deserted. The launch was easy but there was a bit of slime at the entry (had to scrub it off of the boats when we got home) so we made sure to get in dry footed.

There were a lot of birds in the western basin, including loons and coots. There were no weeds this early and the water was quite murky still (usually clears up by summer).

Otherwise, the only thing of note is a new lodge just south of the passage from the western basin into the eastern. The beavers have really done a number on the trees in behind it.

The passage was open and navigable. There was six to eight includes of water all the way through.

The exception was at the very east end (picture below) where the bottom comes up (I suspected a buried log) and there was only 3 inches of water. We bum-scooted over this. I'm not sure what this means for later in the year if there is no rain and the lake level starts to drop.

Lots of birds in the eastern basin and the noise from the frogs was insane.

We had lunch floating in the eastern basin and then paddled back to the launch. 

Overall, this was a lovely morning. Bright sun, 20 degrees, and no bugs!

Lacombe Lake

In late April, I stopped at Lacombe Lake on the way back from Calgary. I use the public boat launch off Township Road 402 in the NE corner of the lake.

The launch was lovely (and empty) with a shallow gravel entry and pretty clean water. There are no bathroom facilities here (I would guess the closest would be in Lacombe or Blackfalds. It was a windy day (from the south) so I padded down the east side of the lake and into the small beaver pond.

Lots of birds here, including loons. No beavers on this trip but I did see a muskrat.

The TransCanada Trail runs down the east side of the lake.

I went back out into the main lake and worked my way to the south end of the lake.

The picture below gives you a pretty good sense of the overall experience. The shore is reeds that give way to aspen and fir forest. There are hills on the east side and a farm on the west side.

The wind really came up for the trip back. I usually paddle about 4 km an hour (very average). The trip back down the lake saw me do as much as 12.6 kph (it was really blowing--fortunately the lake is shallow, so the waves were not too bad).

The lake is probably about 8 or 9km around so it's a two-hour paddle if you do the whole thing. If you wanted a shorter paddle, down the east side and into the small bay is interesting. The southern end is also okay. The north end of the lake is the least interesting and is the part to skip.

Elizabeth Lake

In late April, I stopped in Lacombe to try and get on Elizabeth Lake. I'd previously paddled nearby Barnett Lake and Elizabeth was similar. Access is DIY and I've flagged four options below, none of which are very good. 

A challenge everywhere is that (1) the lake is shallow and you have to pole or bum-scoot through the shallows to get out where you actually float compounded by (2) the lake level has risen and killed trees at the edge, meaning you also need to navigate submerged stumps while bum-scooting. This is not for the faint hearted and likely isn't a good option for inflatables because of the sharp sticks. 

I accessed the lake from the bottom (blue arrow) off the Elizabeth Lake Trail. You can park on Woodland Drive by the Canada Post box (30 meters west of the trail head), carry across the road at he cross walk and then hang a left down the paved trail, which quickly becomes dirt.

The closest access is at the very bottom corner of the lake (above). This was very shallow and stumpy. I followed the trailed another 30 meters (up a rise and then down to the lake again), carefully walked over the hidden logs in the grass, and got in here.

This still sucked and I had to pole out a fair way. Getting back out here also required some acrobatics. 

 

Below is basically what you get: shallow, murky lake with grass, trees and a band of dead trees right at or in the water. It is prettier in the summer with leaves. 

There were a fair number of birds and some muskrat and beaver. The lake is about 4km around and took about an hour.

You might also be able to get in on the east side (pink arrow) down a path. Again not great entry (did not get a photo) but a nice lady I talked to suggested there may be a dock here in the summer. No idea if that was true every year.

At the north end (green arrow), you could probably get in pretty easily between these trees (above). The issue is the long carry across playing field and the stupidly steep hill (you can see the school atop in behind the trees).

Finally, there is a road that abuts the lake (red arrow). You can see the sign for the end of the road in picture below and there are a couple of places you could set a boat into the lake and step down into it. The parking situation here is unclear (gravel road--are the ditches public property? who knows) and the neighbourhood gives off a bit of an uptight vibe.

All told, this was a meh lake and a hassle to get into. 

You can get the same vibe at Barnett Lake about half a km west with an easier entry. Or you can drive maybe 12km south and have a nicer paddle at Lacombe Lake. I probably won't go back here.

Muir Lake

As usual, Muir Lake was the first local lake open, this year in mid-April. Likely that reflects the winter aeration and the consequently thinner ice.

The boat launch gate was still locked (doesn't open until May 1) but the dock was in and 95% of the ice was off of the lake. A quick lift over the rocks and short (200-foot) carry and the kid and I were on our way.

There was a tiny bit of ice around the island, blocking the west-channel. We tried to bust through but it was too thick, so we went around the east side into the southern half.

The county had not yet been out to retrieve the snow fences they put out each year.

The sun came out while we were on the water and it was super nice despite being only 10 degree.

The only animals of note were a pair of camera-shy loons and a bunch of angsty geese.

Overall, a good start to the year and a good shakedown cruise for her. This was her first paddle since she broke her wrist paddle boarding last summer.

It looks like North lake and Little Mere as well as Chickakoo were also open.

North Saskatchewan, Laurier Launch

In mid-April, the ice was mostly off the North Saskatchewan and I put in at the Laurier Park launch for a quick run. The water level was a low summer levels.

I ferried across to the south side and then went upstream for about half an hour. There were some nice ice shelfs in the shade of the bank and small bits of ice (fist sized) floating past.

Not much for birds (a few gulls and ducks) but the robins were singing in the trees.

You can just make out the usual water level on the rock below (about half way down the exposed face). Most of the larger pieces of ice visible in the water were grounded on gravel bars.

I went almost to the Quesnel bridge and then cut across to the sunny north bank for the float back. There were a few larger floaters here and a small cluster of bergs jammed up on the gravel shelf below the bank swallow colony.

All told, an okay paddle for early in the year on the North Saskatchewan. Looking forward to warmer weather and some lakes opening up.

Downstream on the Sturgeon

While waiting for the lakes to met out, I went back to the Sturgeon (launching in Oakmont) and followed the river a few kilometres downstream. I recall reading a newspaper story years ago about the Sturgeon downstream from St. Albert being an endless series of beaver dams and oxbows. 

About 1km from the launch, I hit my first beaver dam (still under construction). It didn't look like much from upstream--just a line on the water.

The river was flowing over top on the left (looking downstream) so I paddled up to it on the right to a get look. The drop was about 12 inches (no big deal) and the channel on the left side looked pretty clear.

It was a quick and easy run over the edge. The problem was the volume and drop meant I couldn't get back up (I'm reasonably strong but the current was stronger!).

Fortunately, there was a good pull out just 30 feet downstream so, when I came back, I just carried around. That might not be as easy where the bank gets higher further out of town.

The rest of the trip downstream was pretty hoo-hum. Basically, multiple kilometres of this shot. I saw a few beavers and another, smaller dam (could paddle back up it). Eventually, the wind kicked up and I turned around.

There were two pair of geese duking it out over this abandoned eagle's nest, which was the most interesting thing I saw. Maybe the river gets more interesting further downstream?

I also picked up my first bit of lost fishing gear of the season, snagged on some reeds.

Looking forward to the lakes opening, hopefully soon!

Back on the Sturgeon

The Sturgeon River opened up in early April and by the 10th, I was back out for the season. The Mission launch downtown was doable but looked gross and hard. Instead, I went over to the DIY launch in Oakmont (at the intersection of Olivier Close and Otter Crescent). You got through the brick arch, follow the brick path until it turns and then down the grassy slope, and across the matted floodplain grass to the water.

The best entry spot this year was immediately downstream from the abandoned beaver lodge (now just a pile of dirt and sticks) behind boat in picture above. The footing was interesting (boggy with hidden logs) but an easy launch and landing.

The water was high with the run off and I went upstream to St. Albert Trail and back (6.75km in 90 minutes). There was a lot of beaver activity in the evening (like maybe 10 beavers and lots of downed trees on the banks).

The only paddling issue was this tiny shelf (shot looking downstream) just up from the launch. It is the base of an old beaver dam and required 30-seconds of moderate paddling to mount (no big deal) but might be tricky in a SUP (if so, you could get out and walk around pretty easy).

There was still some snow in shady areas but the rest was melted out. There were a few early geese, ducks, and waxwings plus I heard a robin.

I saw some wild asparagus (tawny patch behind the horizontal tree branch in the middle of the frame above) and the remains of wild cucumber vines and (inedible) fruit in the trees below.

Mostly it was a lovely paddle, with great reflections and no one else on the river. The late-summer funk that you sometimes get on the Sturgeon was not particularly noticeable, although the water was pretty dark and dank.

Overall, a nice shakedown cruise with a super warm sun on my back while we waited for the local lakes to open up.