We lucked out today, as fall starts to work its way to us, the crew and I headed out to Lake Rico to enjoy a relaxing day out on the water. The temperature was in the mid 70's and the cool breeze kept us from sweating bullets as we didn't have much shade available with the mid-day sun directly above.
It was Desmond, Jess, Emma, and TJ that came along for the run, and company is always great when out on the kayak. We had to put in at the far end of the pond today, rather than our usually spot a little closer to the dam. The parking lot was full there, but there was enough room at the end lot for us to both fit in, with easy access down to the lake. It's a little steep and dusty over here, so be a little cautious if your carrying your kayak yourself down to the water.
We made our normal first stop at the beach on the north end of the main part of the lake. The water was cool and clear, and the boys were swimming for quite a while. The fish would come over curiously checking out what was going on. They would swim close and scatter as the boys moved around in the shallows. This beach has the largest sandy area in the water out of any of the beaches around the lake. The sand is soft, and clean, and on this beach free of debris and under growth like much of the other beaches. Once the boys worked off some of their energy, we herded them back to the kayaks to move on to our next stop.
Cutting across the large part of the lake here was nice today. Though there was some wind picking up as we crossed the lake, it wasn’t quick enough to push us around while paddling to the other end. We made our way to the opposite end of the lake where there’s a little inlet that Desmond and I have used for a break spot several times, but when we got closer, we noticed the entrance to the inlet, which is normally only a few inches deep, was barely covering the sand with the low water levels. So rather than trying to get over the sand bar, we crossed the lake towards the Little Bearhole section of the lake. We stayed on the north shore of this section, and made our way through some wetlands where bushes surrounded us as we paddled through the overgrown channels covered in underwater plant life. It was a little bit of a maze here, but we made our way out to a little water way which creates an island, but is blocked by a log dam built for walkers to cross. We stayed here in the shade for a bit to cool off before heading south in this section.
We made our way south to line up with the runway for the
airport that straddles the lake. Small planes had been taking off all day, and as we sat we had some great low fliers going right over our heads. Nearly every 5 minutes someone was taking off, and for several occasions multiple planes took off, flying right over us as we paddles back to the next stop, yet another beach for cooling down.
This next beach, on the south side of the large section of the lake, has loads of paths dotted around the woods surrounding the beach. The trails of Massasoit State Park surround the pond, and they are extensive. The boys had lots of spots they could explore, and took Jess and I out for several adventures through the woods. Also, there was a huge school of fish at this beach hanging out by the kayaks checking on what all the commotion was about. I grabbed the GoPro, and dropped the camera underwater to get some great shots. After a few minutes of leaving it underwater, the fish came right over to see what it was, and once they felt comfortable, they all started to come to the camera. I put a clip of this in the video.
From here we paddled east to King Pond, but the water was thick with growth, which made it real tough to paddle. We sat here for a bit, and Emma and TJ were able to get face to face with a small and brave painted turtle that was sitting on a log sticking out from the water. Emma was able to get some shots of it, and it hung out with them for quite a while before jumping back in to the lake.
Now it was time for us to paddle north, back to the parking area on the opposite end of the lake. It’s a good 15+ minute paddle from here to the opposite end, though we were in no hurry as we glided across. The narrow channel through the cat tails was soon upon us as we paddled up to the shore by the cars. Once again, just as it always is, Lake Rico is a wonderful place to spend a day, and the kids really enjoy the run.
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