Payson Lakes: Finding Places of Connection and Wholeness

Paddling Payson Lakes in the Fall

If you read my previous post Close Call to Catastrophe then you know how hard it was for my friend Des and I to even make it up to the lake that afternoon safely with our kayaks.

But WE MADE IT!

And it was worth every bit of effort.

 

What Payson Lakes is like...

When we pulled into the parking lot near the lake, the late afternoon sun was heavy in the west casting long purple shadows. When I've been there in the summer it was busy with lots of people. Now in October we were the sole visitors except for a couple or two walking along the distant path that circles the lake. By now most of the yellow quaking aspen leaves had fallen. The bare branches contrasted with the thick green pines that surrounded the lake. We were amazed at how low the water level was, leaving a long walk on rocky beach to the shoreline.

If you'd like to know more about Payson Lakes, follow this link.

Carrying kayaks: alone is do-able, with a friend it's easy!

On my first solo kayak trip I didn't have racks on my Jetta yet so I lugged my kayak in and out of the back of my Sequoia. This worked fine for just one kayak. On this trip with Des I had the racks and J cradles on the Jetta for the first time to accomodate 2 kayaks. Loading and unlaoding with a friend was super slick! Thanks Des! We made a good team.

Paddling.net has this great article about how to load, lift, and carry your kayak.

This is what the author, Anna Levesque says about a two-person carry:

"One alternative, which also works with shorter boats, is a two-person carry. For this carry, you and a friend each grab one of the toggle or grab-loop hand-holds at the bow and stern of the boat. Be sure to bend your knees and communicate well with each other to synchronize the lifting and putting down, which will not only make everything go more smoothly but will also prevent back injuries!"

Des and I tried carrying the kayaks like this and it worked great! We looked like pros.

Now, getting into our boats was another story! There was nothing graceful about our entries, but the gut laugh we shared at our efforts was worth looking rediculous :)

Impressions from on the lake...

The way the sunlight glittered on the water was so beautiful!

 

The camraderie and conversation with a good friend was so satisfying!

 

The total, enveloping silence was SOUL satisfying!

The reflections on the water were mesmerizing.

As the sun slipped into the horizon I felt all my stress lift off my shoulders and my heart felt lightened. I felt I could breathe easier.

I felt immense gratitutde to God for His creation and the beauty with which He crafted our world. The color, the glittering light rippling on the water, the images cast upon the surface of the lake in a surreal upside-down reflection, the bald eagle lighting from the top of a tall pine, the vastness of the blue sky above us. My heart swelled with THANKSGIVING!

There was a time when Des paddled silently to her own space on the lake while I pulled out my watercolors and painted, dipping my paint brush in the water outside my kayak. I'm not so happy with the painting itself, but looking at it reminds me of the joy I felt studying those trees, that shoreline, and the chaos of colors swimming in the water.

As evening came the deep shadows fell across the lake and we knew it was time to head home. Bummer. We both could have stayed for another hour or more. It was just lovely.

 

There are some places where we feel really connected to God, connected to our true self, connected to our world in a way that makes us feel whole. That's how I feel when I'm in a kayak. No, it's not the kayak itself at all. It's being in God's great natural world. Right in the middle of it. Surrounded by it. Seeing it from a new view. Enveloped in it. Feeling it with all my senses.

 

Where are your places that make you feel connected and whole? What is it about those places that stir you so?

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Next post I'll tell you about my terrific time at Utah Lake where the Provo Rover pours into the lake, and some lessons I learned about bottoming out in the mud. Yep - I was STUCK!

Until next time,

LaRayne

 

 

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