Top 10 paddles of 2011 - #9

The first few paddle strokes

On April 23 Clyde, Dean and I did a paddle from Dildo South along the shores of Spread Eagle Bay and back. It was the first day with the promise of warmer weather to come.

Here are a few more pictures not in, or slightly different, from the original post in the spring.

Bright sunny day

We had paddled throughout the winter months and fully enjoyed paddling in cold weather but the warmer weather was welcomed after months of cold.

Longshoremen

In Spread Eagle Bay we paddled along the shore and in spots we paddled by summer homes waiting to be occupied again. While it was warming up, we wore neoprene mitts because the water was still pretty cold.

Fine campsite

We stopped for a break and to check out this fine campsite for a possible future kayak camping trip.

I see a good spot

Back in the boats and moving along we spotted another possible campsite so Clyde got out to scramble up the hill to check it out.

Mamateek

On our way back we crossed the mouth of Spread Eagle Bay directly to Dildo Island where we had lunch. The wind picked up directly behind us as we crossed so when we landed on the island we looked for a sheltered place to sit. The island is an archaeological site as it was occupied by the native Beothuk Indians.

We found a small clearing occupied by a replica of a Beothuk Indian shelter called a mamateek. Sheltered from the wind we had our lunch before returning to the put-in.

It was a beautiful day that encouraged us with warmer weather to come and that's why its on my list of favourite paddles for the year.