Spider Lake Paddle - Sept 20, 2022

 14 PGOSA Paddlers enjoyed a leisurely paddle at Spider Lake. The day started off rather chilly but the sunshine soon started warming things up. During the pre-trip meeting Cormack introduced a very special member of the group – Stan Pollard. Stan, along with his wife Daphne, were the founders of our paddling group. Memories were shared of some of the trips that Stan led including a multi-day paddle at Cortes Island. Stan was also a real innovator regarding the kayaking equipment that he used including being one of the first kayakers locally to use Hullavator Kayak Racks. Thanks to Cormack and Janet for bringing their canoe so that Stan was able to enjoy a day on the lake. 

 

We then talked about the season-end survey and activity ideas for next year – including training sessions for rescues and paddling strokes and overnight trips to new areas. 

 

 

The leisurely paddle involving 2 canoes and 10 kayaks started off in a clockwise direction from the Provincial Park.

 

There were very few other kayakers/canoeists and we basically had the lake to ourselves. We were met by many Canada Geese basking in the sun and honking when we came near them.

 

We also watched a family of Raccoons exploring the shoreline of the lake. There were also a couple of Eagles perched on trees high above the lake looking for their next meal.

 

It was interesting to drift and view the many lilly pads close to shore.

 

At times we had to navigate around the many deadheads and submerged branches. 

 

We spent just under two hours exploring the lake 

 

before returning to the Picnic Area for lunch. Many stories were shared about this year’s paddling trips, upcoming trips (paddling and otherwise) and plans that people have for the winter.

 

After Lunch we loaded our kayaks onto our vehicles, said our goodbyes and some of us enjoyed ice cream treats at the Coombs Market.

This was a great way to bring an end to another successful PGOSA Paddlers’ season.

Report submitted by Jim

Photos contributed by Elaine, Lil, Cormack and Jim