It's been a couple months, but we finally have shorts weather! To celebrate the anticipated 80 degrees on Wednesday, May 2, 2018, we decided to paddle Arrowhead Mountain Lake.
While searching for a place to paddle, we came across a notation on Trails.com from Quiet Water New Hampshire and Vermont: Canoe & Kayak Guide. Arrowhead Mountain Lake Preview: Bald eagles nest here, and you may see osprey. Conifer-clad hillsides of the surrounding northern boreal forest harbor many moose, which often can be seen.
We didn't see any moose, but we did see windmills!
Arrowhead Mountain Lake was formed by damming the Lamoille River near Milton, VT. Legend has it that early French settlers named the river "La Mouette" meaning "The Seagull". However, a cartographer subsequently forgot to cross the t's, which led people to begin calling it "La Moulle." Over time, this became "Lamoille." As we started our paddle, we did see several pairs of seagulls.
Just after launching, we stopped to admire an old railroad trestle.
Arrowhead Mountain Lake is very shallow. At it's deepest, it is only 20 feet. In the marshy areas, our kayaks just barely scraped through.
The numerous islands make a safe place for the Canada Geese to nest. We passed several nests where the moms did their best to stay down out of sight. You have to look closely to see this goose lying prone on her nest with her head out flat. She watched us very carefully to determine if we were a threat. Obviously, she didn't leave her nest because she had eggs to protect.
We spotted at least four goose nests with geese lying on top. All were prone and protecting their nests the same way. If we had made it a project, we certainly could have found 20 or 30 nests around the lake.
The steep banks make it a challenge for homeowners to launch their kayaks.
One of the homeowners erected an osprey pole. It appears that a pair of ospreys have begun building a nest.
Large areas of the lake are covered in floating, anchored grass mats and islands.
In addition to fishing, Arrowhead Mountain Lake is used for duck hunting. We came across a number of abandoned duck blinds.
Bass fishing is also very popular. Just pull up a chair and cast your lure!
With the warm weather came strong southerly winds. We had hoped to paddle into the wind and then have it at our backs on the return trip. We didn't count on the waves and white caps, which made it a major challenge to stay on course. We paddled nearly as hard to stabilize our kayaks in the wind and waves, as we would have if we were paddling into the wind!
We ducked into a sheltered bay and explored the neighborhood.
These folks have a serious party boat (not to mention the Adirondack dock chairs)!
With the wind at our back, we had a speedy trip back to the boat launch. Time to take one last look at the Vermont countryside.
Tomorrow, we head up into Canada. We had a great time getting to know Vermont. We'll be enjoying our stash of maple syrup for months to come!
Glad to hear it has finally warmed up for you.
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