First Moonlight Paddle

Various paddling groups in the area organize full moon trips at night. They inspired me to monitor the weather to do the same on our own lake. It seemed like a really good idea to try this on water we knew instead of water we didn't. After throwing in a late night long drive to some other place, the local option became a no-brainer.

Saturday, after church, looked best for us. We made it down to the access ramp around 8:30pm while there was still light. And we were out on open water before it started getting really dark. Armed with our nifty Petzl headlamps, we were night boating compliant. Errrr, not armed; headed, actually. These LED-based doodads are on a headband. Ours have several brightness levels and a flash mode. So, we're sure to catch anyone's attention, except for the bass boaters hellbent on getting to their next fishing hole. There were mostly pontoon boaters enjoying the night just as we were. We saw our next door neighbors on the water before it got completely dark.

We wore our long-sleeved summer weight shirts to try them out and reduce surface area for mosquitos. I brought bug spray but, surprisingly enough, didn't need it. The only thing that attracted bugs were the headlamps when in a cove. The temperatures were pleasantly cool so the long sleeves were perfect.

We headed up the cove to Kathleen's parent's house. She called them on the cell phone when we were coming around to their view of the water. I just know Bill was muttering "blankety-blank kids" then hollering "you look great, kid!" We continued on up their cove. It was near the end of this one where a pontoon boat nearly snuck up right behind us.

The moon was pretty. However, not having nearby objects on the horizon, it looked small the whole time. The lake surface had mesmerizing undulations. I think these are the longer wavelength waves, caused by boat wakes that reflect off the shores. Not being able to see them coming, we would just sit in the water and experience them going past us.

We puttered about for 3 hours total, not getting back to the ramp until 11:30pm. A very pleasant night out on the water. We'll be doing this again soon.