Lake Kapowsin Paddle

 
Day 325: I was really weighing the weather before setting off on a paddle across Lake Kapowsin, but when it seemed to be brightening here at home, I threw the 'yak on the car and headed out with intent to find the geocache on the island. I'm finding my interest in geocaching is a little stronger if it gives me an excuse for my new sport, although I'm not at all excited about "getting my numbers up" with a series of guardrail micros. With over 4000 finds, I'm pretty bored with those. Tempt me with some exercise like a paddle or a hike!

The cache was the real goal today, and the shortest land route to it was from the back side of the island. Kapowsin is a maze of stumps and snags, and navigating between them was further hampered by the darkness of the water and overcast skies. At best, visibility into the water was only a few inches. Once around the south end of the island, I found myself in fairly shallow water in the "inside passage." I put into port at a campsite approximately 200 feet from Ground Zero and simply followed a trail through the salal to reach the spot. There was a tent set up nearby, but I did not see any occupants, and found the cache easily.

My goal accomplished, I then set out to explore the shallow eastern lobe of the lake. Perhaps I was going a bit faster than I should have been, given the opacity of the water, but I suddenly felt a bump and heard a scrape and when forward motion ceased, I realized I'd grounded myself on a submerged stump. I back-paddled and went absolutely nowhere. Strong forward strokes didn't move me an inch ahead. Efforts to turn left or right resulted in spinning 'round and 'round like the propellor on a beanie, my fat bum in the boat the pivot point of futility. I laughed at the predicament I'd got myself in, but another corner of my mind was occupied with the possible permanence of the arrangement. Finally, a series of a dozen or so seated "butt-hops" skootched the 'yak free. Without knowing the depth of the water, the thought of having to get out and push was not a comforting one! But all's well that ends well, and about that time, the wind came up and the sky darkened, so I made for home port, tagging a few more subsurface deadheads with the paddles as I progressed across the lake.