Up The Gorge

Louise and I didn't have a lot of time to paddle today, and a breeze was forecast to come up early in the afternoon, so we rolled the kayaks down the hill for a quickie for in our home waters in The Gorge.


We'd barely paddled a hundred meters before we passed a heron looking for some fishy breakfast.

It was a bumper day for herons. We couldn't swing a kayak paddle without hitting a heron. Not that we'd want to do that.
A few minutes later we spotted another one fishing. No, he was not fishing for ducks.
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We paddled under the Craigflower Bridge (named this despite the fact that it's Admirals Road). Long-time readers will recall that the 80 year-old bridge was slated for demolition and replacement this summer, but the project has been delayed until next year due to environmental concerns about a native species of oyster.


Oh, yes, there was a heron.


After a few futile looks earlier in the year, we finally spotted the local nesting swans. Unfortunately, no baby swans survived this year.




And there were more herons.



Today was the first time Louise used the Columbia Sportswear Powerdrain shoes she won at the 2012 MEC Paddlefest a couple of weeks ago.

The water drains out of the shoes. Above, Louise has put her foot in the water while launching, while below she's lifted her foot out of the water and the water is draining out.

Louise says her feet seemed drier than in her neoprene boots and they were very comfortable to walk in. She liked the fact that her feet weren't wet for the duration of the paddle. And that sounds good to me -- gonna have to get my own pair!

Trip Length: 6.88 km
YTD: 84.03 km
More pictures are here.