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Lake Willoughby
Every year about this time I get together with my old friend DOM for a day on the water. Last year we headed out to Islands near North Hero on Lake Champlain. This year we chose Lake Willoughby north of West Burke, VT. Although the paddling season is far from over, this tends to mark the end of the official summer season for both of us.
The trip starts pretty much the same each year. DOM shows up at my house around 8 a.m. I will have the boat(s) loaded and all of the essential supplies packed. By default we always take my boat(s) because, well let's say, it is just easier this way. For the same reason I usually drive. Hopefully he brought his wallet today so he can buy lunch.
So we are on the road, first stop, Dunkin Donuts, from there onto East Burke to the Village Store for lunch. If you have not been there you need to stop in. I would describe it as the Newbury Village Store, north. From here we finally head towards the lake, albeit we think we are in West Burke and end up going the wrong way. No problem, we quickly figure out our mistake and back-track to the proper route. After a scenic rural drive we arrive at the south end of the lake.
Lake Willoughby was formed by glaciers, long and narrow, about 300 feet deep, and approximately 5 miles in length running in a north/south direction. The shore line is rocky with cedar and yellow birch running right down to the water's edge. The southerly end is basically undeveloped and surrounded by a state forest preserve. We launch at a natural sand beach which extends all the way across this end of the lake. Generally in a lake like this, the prevailing wind runs north to south so we chose to start on the south end. My thinking was to paddle against the wind in the morning and have it at our backs on the return trip in the afternoon. As we head out, there is literally no one on the water that we can see. We paddle the canoe out over the sandy shallows and head across to the west shoreline to get away from the main road which runs, literally on the east side of the lake. There is no other place to put it unless they ran it behind the mountain that is the shoreline. This would have been a good idea as the traffic tends to take away from the atmosphere. Not only is the east shoreline the side of a mountain, so is the west. It is a beautiful sight. Rock slides run right down into the water and above them are bare rock cliffs running straight up for hundreds of feet.
Shortly after we move away from shore and approach the cliffs the water deepens drastically. Aqua blue in color one might think they were in the Caribbean. As we head north up the lake, the wind picks up from the south and the swells begin to grow into small whitecaps. This is great for forward progress as we surf the waves. Unfortunately we both know how hard we will work on the return trip this afternoon, so much for thinking ahead. Paddling along at a brisk pace to maintain control of the canoe, our conversation does the same. In fact, it starts the minute DOM gets into the car and will continue all day. This is actually the best part of the day. Good conversation with a great friend. As we move along there is nothing to see but woods, water, and rock cliffs. Several miles up we begin to see some development on the west side. Shortly before we get to it we come across a young buck at water's edge. Seemingly undisturbed by our passing he went about his business of getting a drink.
As the mountain shoreline tapers off, summer homes and camps of all sizes and styles crop up. On this side of the lake anyway it is a rather eclectic mix of structures ranging from traditional camps to multimillion dollar homes. About halfway down the lake there is a nice, large sand beach on the west shoreline, unfortunately private. At this point the lake is at its widest, approximately 1 mile. Past this the varied mix of camps/homes continues as the lake narrows down again and we approach the northern end. The wind has died down so we make a dash across to the east shoreline. DOM is slacking off a bit so I mentioned it might be nice to get across the open water ASAP so we do not get caught in the wind when it picks up. As if on cue, it did and on cue so did DOM. Shortly thereafter we pulled into a public boat launch for a quick break.
Back into the boat, neither of us was thrilled at the prospect of paddling against the wind as well as having to look at the road all the way back. The plan was to stay on the east side down past the camps and then head across again when the shoreline steepened and the road came back into view. To our surprise the wind had basically died down to nothing. The camps, well they actually were quite nice and tended more towards what one would consider a camp and blended in nicely with the surrounding shoreline. When time came to cross the lake the wind picked up, however it had totally changed direction and now was blowing from north to south, a great break for us. With the wind at our backs we quickly surfed over to the west shore again and began looking for a lunch spot.
I do not know about DOM but I was hungry and anxious to stop and eat. DOM just could not seem to find just the right spot for the task though. Finally shortly before we came back to the south end a spot tickled his fancy and we pulled in for lunch. Lunch was great and after a few pictures we were back in the canoe headed for home. Did I mention that we saw no boats on the water this morning? Well that has sure changed. The lake was now alive with numerous canoes and kayaks as well as a few power boats. The wind was stronger now than it has been all day so we stayed on the west shore planning to paddle to the lake's end and then cut over to the take out on the other side. As we approached the shallow sandy beach it was quite crowded with boats and people. The first person we came across was swimming with her dog. Something seemed out of place but neither of us could nail it down. Since both of us have failing eyesight it took a minute but almost simultaneously we figured it out. She was buck naked!! Well, this is interesting. DOM and I looked at each other and chuckled, guess we won't see her in the SI swim suit issue anytime soon. As more people came into focus the views and consensus were the same. It appears that we had stumbled across a nude beach. "Ah, this is Vermont isn't it". Politely we paddled away and headed to the car. This was the only time during the day we were not conversing constantly. However it was short lived. Not that we were out of items to discuss, we now had a whole new area to analyze. Conversation was lively on the way home. Thanks for a great day DOM. Until next time HAPPY PADDLING!!!
Have a question? I'm happy to answer it - just email me at hpcanoes@gmail.com
hpcanoes@gmail.com
603.667.5112
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