It was hot and humid today but a nice breeze was blowing and it seemed like a good afternoon to go paddling. We loaded up the kayaks and drove over to Pontook Reservoir, about a ten minute drive. It's great to have pristine wilderness so close.
There's not much of a parking area beside this body of water, just a place wide enough on Route 16 to get your vehicle off the pavement. That's the beauty of kayaks, pull off the side of the road, throw them in the water and you're ready to go!
As we paddled out we were facing a stiff west headwind. We stayed close to the shoreline with the thought of maybe breaking the wind, didn't work. Rounding a corner there was a small tributary we pulled into and found some calm water.
I like exploring these little inlets. We were hoping to see some wildlife but in here a moose would certainly have the upper hand...er, upper hoof. The water was only 1 or 2 feet deep and I think a moose would quickly overtake my paddling. We did manage to scare up a duck but that was it for the wildlife.
It was back out into the main body of water and into the wind again. We wanted to reach the further end and maybe find the source that feeds this reservoir. Paddling onward we soon came to a duck blind, this was the only "structure" to be found, there are no camps along the shore of this water.
We were at the upper end and paddling through what looked like small bamboo reeds. It was difficult to see and paddling became a challenge. The effort to find the source was futile and we paddled back out to clear water.
What we thought would be a stiff breeze behind us on our way back had now just about fizzled out. The few wispy gusts of wind that we did get helped push us right into the launch site. The wind was also a welcome relief from the heat and made for a great afternoon of paddling!
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