Paul Lake is one of our best paddling spots.   The ice comes off in mid-spring, then we can paddle from either the Provincial Park or the and launch at the west end for the next 7.5 months.  To paddle the entire lake is a longer route of 12 km, so we usually paddle the east end, the middle section, and the west end on different days.  On this first  day at the lake, we kayaked the east end, a 5.5 km loop.   At the launch in the morning, there was no wind and the morning sun on the lake created an optical illusion.

A glass-like surface created reflections of the clouds on the lake.

The slopes of Harper Mountain reflected in the lake down to Gibraltar Rock.

By the time we reached the end of the lake the winds had come up and the route to the west was into a 10km/h wind.

Paddling into the wind is more work, but anything less than 15 km/h is still reasonable.  Not doing the whole 12 km loop is a good idea when the winds arise.

There were lots of birds on shoreline and on the lake.   Swallows did their acrobatics near the shoreline, loons dove for their lunch, marsh wrens flitted from reed to reed, red-winged blackbirds called out, geese and ducks dabbled on the lake, and the usual suspects, crows, magpies, and gulls patrolled the area.

We will be back to do the middle part of the lake soon.