24 April 2021 New Kayak

 After Yesterdays hiking, we were not feeling too ambitious this morning. The weather was warming up, but there were wind warnings out (Gusts to 60 MPH) for fire danger. We had been eyeing the Recapture Reservoir, just north of Blanding in our trips back and forth to the south. David had purchased a new Kayak back in November and he had not had a chance to take it out yet. So we decided today would be a good day. So we got the kayaks out of the garage and on the Behemoth and checked out our other kayaking gear as well. On the drive south to Blanding, one of the straps holding the kayaks blew off because the wind was blowing so hard. We had to stop and put a another strap on to keep everything in place. We headed for the north access road and drove down to the waters edge. The reservoir was pretty low, but still easy to access the water. We unloaded the kayaks and noticed we had picked the windy side of the lake since the strong winds were blowing out of the south. But the waves did not look too bad. David launched first on his maiden voyage. He paddled about 15 yards out from shore, into the wind, and turned his kayak so he could watch Leslie launch. Just then a big gust of wind with an equally large wave hit him from the side, and over he went. That water was COLD!! There were a couple of fisherman nearby that he could swear were laughing their butts off! So much for the maiden voyage of what was supposed to be a very stable kayak. As he swam the kayak back to shore, the wind was whipping up more and Leslie did not want to try it. Looking across the reservoir to the far side, the water look to be smoother since the ridge was blocking the wind. So we decided, after David dried off, to go and try the south side of the lake. So we loaded up, drove around to the south access point. The water looked much smoother, so we unloaded and got out on the lake. We had a great time paddling along the south shore for a couple of hours and David was very happy with his new kayak.

David in his new Vibe Kayak

Leslie on Recapture Reservoir

Recapture Reservoir with mountains in the background