I took advantage of perfect weather yesterday to take the kayak out for a paddle. The water was up, muddy and full of debris from the rain we’ve had for the past several days. I saw a lot of bass boats buzzing around like angry hornets as I paddled upstream on Lake Loudon toward the entrance to Prater Flats.
Once I was in the flats, I headed up Gallagher Creek past International Harbor Marina, where I came to the spot where I bashed in the bottom of my kayak last summer. The accompanying photo is a Google Earth view of the area. It must have been taken during winter pool because you can see the water is down and most of the boulders are visibile. That wasn’t the case on an early morning last fall when I tried to plow through there. For a water-level view of what I saw yesterday, click here.
After going as far up Gallagher Creek as I dared, I turned back, looping out around an island in the flats and crossing the main channel, passing Saltpeter Bluff and heading back into the cove. It took almost exactly two hours and I covered 9.3 miles.
