Paddling Cottonwood Meadows Lake

Lakeview, Oregon is the county seat of Lake County.  Lake County is aptly named because, despite the fact that the landscape around Lakeview seems arid - nearby Goose Lake has recently often been nothing more than a dry lakebed, and this year, even with heavier rains, is nothing more than a shallow, milky, sterile alkali lake - the nearby mountains are dotted with beautiful mountain lakes and, due to the surrounding mountains, those lakes are full and fertile.

The National Forest ranger we checked in with when we arrived in Lakeview suggested we try Cottonwood Meadow Lake for a kayak.  It was about a 45 minute drive from our campground.  As we drove into the mountains, a state trooper who does double duty as a forest ranger stopped to see if we needed any help, and told us that the lake only had maybe seven campsites occupied, and two other boats enjoying the water.  Since this is Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, it sounded like we were going to be lucky.  And indeed we were; the lake sits prettily among snow-capped mountains:

While we met the other boaters, they quickly disappeared to another part of the lake, and we had this part to ourselves.  We started out on our paddle:

The shoreline of the lake is fringed with grasses and similar estuarial plants, especially where four different streams brought clear winter snowmelt into the lake:

The outlet of the lake is Cottonwood Creek, which itself empties into Cottonwood Reservoir, which supplies water to the valley below.  At the outlet, a rustic wooden footbridge crossed the stream to a hillside still patched with snow:

We took our time exploring the shoreline.  Some coves of the lake were very calm, giving reflections of paddlers, trees and nearby mountains alike:

There was still snow on the surrounding mountains:

Since the lake is in a national forest, fallen trees around the lake generally rested where they fell, although forest rangers do apparently cut fallen timber in order to keep the shoreline clear.  It was hard to tell how many decades ago this giant met his fate, but his roots remain an impressive monument to his regal past:

We were warned that, while it is very pretty, Cottonwood Meadow Lake might not have as much wildlife as some nearby lakes, such as Dog Lake, but what lured us here was the likelihood that it would not be crowded.

As it turned out, we spotted lots of wildlife.  Kathy spied a bald eagle and eventually tracked it to its nest at the top of one of the tallest fir trees at the lake. We also were astounded to find SEVEN pelicans hanging out on a tree trunk in the middle of the lake and lazily fishing between naps and birdy conversations:

Yet, the big bonus of the day was a pair of nesting sandhill cranes.  We accidentally disturbed one as we started around the lake, and he flew off to the other shore before we could catch a photo.  David decided he was going to stalk the crane and get a good portrait of him.  When we paddled back around the lake, we saw him in the weeds, trying to hide from us.  David paddled toward him and he started calling.  There was another crane that called in response!  The two kept exchanging cries, and, soon, the second crane started moving out of a nearby copse, joined the first, and they continued their cries, moving away from the copse.  Eventually, one of the cranes started spreading its wings in an aggressive posture.  We inferred that the pair had a nest in the grove of trees and were trying to lure us away from it.  We decided not to bother them further, but before we paddled away, David caught this shot of the two birds:

Two lazy paddles around the lake, with a lunch in the middle, and we were ready to pack up our kayaks and start the drive home.  This wasn't a long paddle, nor really a strenuous one, but it was one of the prettiest lakes we've visited and it was such a pleasure to just move quietly across the water and enjoy the wildlife that inhabited it.  We'll mark this visit on our list of favorite outdoor memories.