Kayak Shadow Mtn. LakeAug 30, 2011
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| Jack Frost visited our campsite this morning and left chinks of ice on our kayaks. I could see my breath as I busied myself readying our gear for today's kayak journey. It was a short drive to Shadow Mountain Lake in downtown Grand Lake. Lake Granby is a natural lake on the Colorado River and is quite large. Shadow Mountain Lake is a holding reservoir created by a dam in 1944-1946. Water is pumped up from Lake Granby and serves the surrounding area. There is a tunnel in Lake Grandby that diverts water to the east slopes of the Rockies and is Denver's main source of water. We kayaked the circumference of Shadow Lake in about an 8 mile journey. The launch was nippy at 39 degrees and we followed the shoreline of the Forest Service boundary. Much of the area in this part of the lake is protected. One cannot land on the shore because the area is a nesting and habitat area for osprey,eagles,and many other birds. We must have counted at least two dozen osprey in the area. I also spotted a golden eagle. Numerous geese were in groups scattered about the lake. We also spotted a solo white pelican-seemed out of place! We warmed as the sun finally made its appearance in the cloud covered sky. The views were beautiful and restful as the surrounding mountains towered above us. Sadly many of the fir trees have been devastated by the beetle outbreak. We celebrated our workout with lunch at M&T on the outside patio. We had sandwiches and salads. Bill and Barb had shredded duck salads. We were just able to beat the wind and rain which soon followed our meal. |
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