Lawrence Lake Adventure

Day 322: Although I've pretty much given up geocaching, the idea of adding a couple of "paddle caches" to my list of finds gives me an excuse to take the kayak out on a variety of relatively local waters. Because these caches are generally only accessible by boat ("special equipment"), they carry a five-star rating for terrain. Personally, I think that's rather liberal. A 20-mile backpacking trip, scuba dive, helicopter lift or technical rock climb rates no higher. But who am I to argue? I've walked to two paddle caches at low water, earning five stars for nothing more than getting a bit muddy or wet up to the thighs. Today's challenge, however, honestly required a watercraft or the ability to swim. I crossed a mere third of a mile of water, put in on a tiny island, and in less than fifty steps through light brush, had the cache in hand. That done, I was free to spend the rest of the day exploring the lake.

Lawrence Lake is largely surrounded by homes, many of which have a commanding view of Mount Rainier. The lake is approximately 330 acres and consists of a large kidney-shaped section running roughly north-south which connects with a smaller triangular bay to the southwest. The southeastern arm of the lake is shallow and filled with lily pads and cattails, and therefore provided a lure the naturalist could not resist. After making a full circuit of the lake, I decided to prowl among the reeds where only kayaks can go.

The wind had risen and the chop was on the main water, but among the lilies, it was relatively calm. I edged forward, making as little disturbance with the paddles as possible, but still startled dozens of frogs into great arcing leaps, chirping annoyance at me from mid-air. One brave soul stood his ground. When I spotted him, I stopped paddling and let the wind carry me toward his roost until the boat ran aground, but like his companions had done before him, he sprang into the air and came down with a splash as soon as I started to urge the boat out of the mud. Circling among stands of cattails, I found a water lily root on the surface, looking ever so much like a sea monster or scaly water dragon. The real thrill came when I spotted shorebirds. With the sun in my eyes, I couldn't tell what I was photographing. It was only when I got home and could adjust the shadows and pull up the details that I discovered my little friends were Semipalmated Plovers. There was a second species eating mud bugs alongside them, but I did not get a shot from which they could be identified.

I spent almost as much time in the reeds as I had spent paddling three miles on the lake. There was so much to see, from native and non-native water lilies to an odd corkscrewy aquatic which remains a puzzle to me. The swallows dipped and dived, picking insects off the water surface, and an osprey soared overhead. Reluctantly, I headed back to shore, three and a half hours on the water spent, and enjoyably so.