Waldo Lake-Part 1

"History of Waldo Lake"
Charilie Tufti, a Molalla Indian, is the legendary person to have discovered Waldo Lake. The area was probably home to Klamath, Calapooya, and Molalla Native American peoples. Settlers first explored the area in the 1800's, and found it great for hunting, camping, fur trapping, and fishing. Sheep grazing was also suitable, and sheep 'driveways' remain to this day and are now known as the Irish-Taylor Road. Judge John Breckenridge Waldo is the Lake's namesake, and was renamed from "Pengra Lake". The original North Waldo and Taylor Burn Forest Camps were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1939. The 37,162-acre Waldo Lake Wilderness was established in 1984.
Next week: "Geology of Waldo Lake"

The View

I am still thinking of our paddling to campout on Lake Shasta. In particular, a morning hike following the slope on a neglected path that meandered past mystery storage tanks, and mystery pipes plunging into the ground. The path dissappeared into a growing wave of blackberry vines that bordered the uphill stream. Nevertheless, there were places to look out over the lake and drink in the morning view. One such view looked over a part of the lake with several promontory's overlapping, as well as the background hills, and rills. The sky was hazy, with scattered undefined clouds, and a jet cloud streak or two. A light breeze or boat disturbed the lake in the distance and the overall effect was antedeluvian, or just plain ancient.
Photos and a memory, and the feeling of peace- just some of the things available by kayak.

Flowers at Shasta Lake

Here's a little extra from our trip to Shasta Lake:
One of my smaller interests is the identification of wildflowers. In the book "Pacific Northwest Wildflowers" -AFalcon Guide, the purple flowers we were calling 'wild lilac' is more commonly known as 'Blue Blossom'. I'll skip the scientific name, but the final comment is, "In California this species may resemble a small tree growing to 25' in height with a 5-12" thick trunk. Also called California Lilac." Now we know!

Shasta Lake

The day to post a note slid by as I relaxed after packing my last two recently purchased dry bags. I had been packing bit by bit after or before going to work all week, and finally felt I could relax. The final packing item was to see where everything fit in the kayak and finally, after shoving this bag here and squishing that bag there, I was satisfied with only one mystery remaining: Will she float or wail with overload agony?
Now, for the REST of the story:
LAKE SHASTA CAMPOUT
As I sit here contemplating the next thought, I am re-living the sensation of bobbing on the waves created by passing speed boats on Lake Shasta. The Last twenty-four hours seems packed with more experience than just the marking of time could tell. In a nutshell, we tested kayak packing, camping equipment, and exchanged information on our individual items of interest. Everyone, it seemed, had something that they learned this trip which they planned to put to use on the Waldo Lake trip. We had good laughing times, too, and pictures that will tell you about what...
It was a good weekend, and successful as well as educational. Mary and I are interested in creating a journal for others to write some of thier perspectives of their experiences and we'll see what we can do to make that happen. A good way to start is to simply write a comment. Pleae do!

Happy Mother's Day!

This has been a busy week, and the usual Thursday entry was left at home in favor of an overnight campout at Lava Beds to test the temperature rating of my Marmot sleeping bag and the ease of set-up of the Eureka! tent. Both, I am happy to report, turned out favorably in the decidedly frigid temperatures. During the day which warmed up...some... my daughter and I hiked a few caves in temps that were probably warmer than outside. Meanwhile, several others paddled the Sprague with spray skirts and neoprene gloves on water levels reported to be a little higher than usual, making the flow on the swift side. Thursday evening, we met and compared stories, and made final departure notes for our Shasta Lake camp/paddle. We are all eager, I would say, to see how this middle ground between camping and backpacking works out. A little more than a backpack, but much less than a family tent and camp kitchen--the size and weight capacity of the kayak and packing skills will be factors of deciding what can or can't go. The issue of keeping things water resistant and retrievable once packed in the kayak, are also on my list of final preparations. It will be nice to get away, and hopefully the weather will co-operate!
Be sure and check out Mary's sailing video link located down in 'Fun Stuff'. She makes it look fun and easy!