JOURNEY #28 - May 10, 2003

Meech Lake: "Yet To Disappoint"

PICTURES

The Conference Centre
Slipping Back Into The Lake From Behind The Island
The View From The Pond Back To The Lake
The View From The Lake To The Pond
Julie In Calm Waters
First Loon Of The Season
Rocky Overhang

TRIP REPORT

With our shoulders still a bit tingly after the intense exertion of last week's outing on the Jock, we decided on a tamer outing to Meech Lake, for our first ever visit in the spring season.

We used the McCloskey boat launch, which aside from being very convenient, also offers free parking in the early season and in the fall. In other words, when the two public beaches on the lake are not in use. The air temperature was perfect, in the area of 20 celcius. The water was cold with a dark green appearance. It was short and t-shirt weather. With calm waters and barely a cloud in the sky, no skirts required.

There were several canoeists and kayakers out today, but the lake was far from crowded. But it will be soon. A couple of people in hip-waders were fishing, and there were a few small groups picnicking on the beaches. There was plenty of wildlife about, including nude sunbathers, much to our surprise. Although Meech Lake is known for this activity, it seemed a bit early in the year.

But there we were, paddling into the bay near the Meech Lake Conference Centre, when what looked something like a representation of Cro-Magnon man emerged from the woods to join his seated buddies, whom at first glance Keenan had assumed to be larger folk sunbathing in Speedos. It turns out the absence of bathing suits was merely concealed by the presence of excess flesh. Julie was therefore quite pleased with her decision to err on the side of caution and head in the opposite direction.

Aside from that little encounter, it was non-humans who provided most of the day's entertainment. Soon after launching and heading northwest parallel to the shoreline we noticed a pair of Cooper's hawks in the hills. We were having trouble trying to identify them, and just as we were expressing the wish that they would come closer, a single hawk obliged by soaring directly overhead and putting on a spectacular demonstration of gliding, coming within 20 or 30 feet directly above at one point. This continued for several minutes. We were starting to wonder if we were being considered as a substantial lunch!

We continued to the northwest end of the lake, at which time we counted seven hawks high in the sky over the hills. Cooper's hawks feed almost exclusively on other birds, and like to hang out near deciduous forests where they chase their prey at high speeds through the trees. They aren't much larger than a crow, allowing for quite a bit of agility to go along with their power.

We were able to paddle right through the small creek past the beaver dams and into the pond which is normally not accessible in summer or fall. It's a strange pond, with almost no vegetation at all on the smooth and soft bottom. At the northwest end of the pond there is a black and white government sign that forbids going any further. It's a bit of an eerie place which was made a bit friendlier by two large turtles perched on a huge log.

We paddled back into the lake and headed north to the middle bay, which is a common spot for sighting loons. We didn't see any here, but there was a sign warning people to stay off the shore, as it is a loon nesting area. We paddled to the right of the nesting area and into the creek/swamp that was easily accessible at this time of year, having the effect of creating a large island. We paddle behind it and slid over a big log into the northernmost bay, where another pair of kayakers had stopped on the rocks for a picnic.

We headed southeast along the northern shoreline and while taking a rest near the large bay in the middle of the lake were surprised by a huge loon that surfaced within 15 feet. After taking a good look at us (Keenan had time to get his camera out and take a picture) he slipped under the water and re-appeared a tremendous distance behind us. It is hard to believe how far they can swim, but common loons are capable of diving as deep as 200 feet!

As we pushed on to the southeast end of the lake, we had our little encounter with the nudists, and then circled back along the south shore and headed back to the landing. A blue heron flew overhead and continued his slow progress the entire lengh of the lake until disappearing into the woods.

Just was we were about to exit the water, a loon popped up behind us and let loose with a classic wailing laugh. A very nice send-off!

We did about 14km in 2.5 hours, which given a fair bit of puttering, is a good pace.