Smoke in my Eyes

 

Just another smoke clogged August in Oregon.

I tried to get away one last time to Waldo.   Took off unexpectedly.  

It was smokey when I got there, but I hoped for the best.  I got a site but nowhere near the lake.  This meant a lot more work to go kayaking.  I couldn't just walk to the lakeshore to take a quick paddle.   I'd have to load it back in the car and drive to the day use boat launch, and then take it back out and load it into the car to go back to the campground.

Since I sleep in the back of my car, meant unloading my bedding arrangement before loading the kayak, then unloading the kayak again when I returned, and putting the bedding back in for the night.

The campsite I got was small and shady but at first I had no neighbors.  That soon changed, when a camp trailer, complete with generator, moved in next to me.  But they were gone the next day.   But then on the other side of me, to which I had no privacy, a big pickup with camp trailer, then a second car with kids and two large dogs rarely on leash at the campsite took up residence.  I didn't like this.  Zero privacy between the two campsites.  They probably didn't like it either.  

So I decided this wasn't really very enjoyable.   Packed up and came home.

I was there a couple nights.  I went kayaking too, even though I couldn't even see the other side of the lake due to heavy smoke.  I had to wear a mask to paddle, one I still had, for some reason, in a corner of my car glove compartment, from covid days.  I could have used some goggle sunglasses.  The smoke made my eyes burn.

The smoke is from the Emigrant wildfire burning, as the crow flies, maybe ten to 15 miles south of Waldo.  South of highway 58, south of Odell lake, and even south of highway 21.  But still, that smoke can travel a long way.

 Regardless of the smoke, I made a long trip clear down to the north end of Waldo Lake by kayak yesterday.  Now that's a long paddle!  I dillydallied on the way, exploring the shoreline all the way.  I ran into a sailboat moored out just behind a small outcropping of land.  They had camp set up on that outcropping.  It was a perfect set up.   When they saw my cat material mask, one of the two ladies gasped and said that's just like masks she had made and sold during covid.  It may have been one she made.  Someone had given it to me.  They showed me their marine gps of Waldo, so I could determine how far it might be to the north end.  

Here's sort of a map of my trip, from the boat ramp, sound end, up the east side, first to Islet, then on to North Waldo.  Waldo is 5.75 miles or so long, so did my miles, up and back.  I find it hard to draw on the app markup, so it is only a general line of my trip.  I hugged the very uneven in and out shoreline most of the way there.  On the way back, however, I paddled quite a distance offshore, to cut the distance.

 My trip took hours.  I saw both now closed campgrounds.  First Islet and then North Waldo. They closed after the 2022 fires, I think, that also scorched most of Waldo's west shore.Now the only open campground at Waldo Lake is Shadow Bay.  I talk to myself when out kayaking sometimes.  I told myself what great places now to camp and get some privacy during the busy season at the north end burned out campgrounds.  It's true  It takes awhile to paddle down that far, but it could be worth it.

Burned area, including a picnic table close to Islet camp ground

Coming up on the burn zone on the northeast end of Waldo

Boat ramp and dock at Islet campground

Out of order photo, but this is coming into view of North Waldo campground (also closed) and its boat ramp.

Islet campground dike weather station?  Not sure.

Warning sign at Islet. 

Boat ramp harbor at Islet

Buildings still stand at the closed North Waldo campground.

Both campgrounds gave me the feel of ghost towns.   There were still buildings, benches, even picnic tables, roads, parking lots, but no signs of human life.  Chipmunks and Ground squirrels scampered about.   I had a short lunch break on Islet at a picnic table overlooking Waldo, which was not a very pleasant view, with all the smoke.   The boat ramp there is shielded from wind and chop by a dike.  At its very end, a metal pole held what appeared to be a weather station.   I hoped it had no camera, like the ODOT tripcheck road cams do.

A little Golden Mantle Ground Squirrel I named Seedy kept me company.  I was a curiosity to him.  I told him So Long when I finally left.

Back out in my kayak a kayaker passed me headed south. She was way out beyond me.  Had one of those fancy kayaks with kind of a rudder thing at the back.  Anyhow, I then proceeded on to North Waldo, which I could see from Islet.  I explored around North Waldo for maybe an hour then suddenly checked the time and realized I might be lucky, with the state of the lake, having deteriorated into large swell and chop, to get back before dark.   Now the boredom would set in, of a long paddle.  I would not follow the shoreline, as this would drastically increase the distance to travel and also cause me delays because I can't help exploring and investigating.   

It took me awhile, I'll just say.  I talked to myself and encouraged myself mainly due to the tediousness of paddling.  I had to be alert to the large swells too.   I'm not a kayaker because I want to prove anything, like endurance or speed.  Ha!   But, like in hiking, a lot of people don't stop and smell the roses so to speak when kayaking and seem to want to impress with how fast they can get somewhere.

I tried not to peek at the west side.  I'd peeked once already and saw that after paddling what seemed long enough I wasn't even near even with Rhododendron Island, on the west side.  Which meant I still had a very long way to go.

I watched the sailboat glide with the wind down the west side, to almost the north end, before turning back.   I thought they'd head into Rhododendron Island bay, but instead, they tacked back Across to the east side, took the sails down up at the point.  I knew they were going to electric motor it into that bay and back to their little safe harbor and camp.     Ok then, not to much farther to sailboat point.

Actually it was a ways further.   Finally finally I achieved Connection Point, formerly known as First Point.   Here I dallied because I don't call it Connection Point for no reason.  Cell reception there.   I returned texts and messages and had just finished and headed out again, towards Shadow Point, when I hear voices behind me.  Here come three kayakers.  I recognize the one way out in front of her two friends.  She yells at me "hey are you the one I saw down towards the north end."   "Yes," I said, although that was a long time before and I was headed north and she south.  "Well you're paddling wrong," she says.  what the fuck?   She's yelling across open water at a stranger whom she knows has just paddled for hours, to critique her paddling?  I nearly snorted in laughter.   I quickly eyed her two friends, lagging some distance behind her.  Lucky them, I thought.

I felt like yelling back, over the water, "Hey, fuck you!"   But I didn't.   She's paddling a rather fancy boat compared to my sit on top tub.  I was proud of making it clear up to the north end and back and on a sit on top, no less.  Exploring the entire shoreline along the way, meeting Seedy too, was a high point, much higher point than meeting know-it-all miss.

They pulled to a beach on the north side of Shadow Point while I slugged it out to pass the campground and go on up and around Boat Launch point and down to the boat ramp to load my kayak into the car and head back to the campground.

Having thrown stuff together quite quickly to head off, I didn't take along a lot of food, outside of some bars I got at Wheeler Dealer, six for $.99, some fruit and the coffee that remained in a jar of instant I keep in my camp tote.  I was now starving.   I didn't get back til 6:30 p.m. from my kayak trip.  I was wet the entire time on the sit on top, from the swell breaking over it, so I had to get out of the wet shorts and into dry clothes and socks, to warm up.   

I changed fast, once back at camp, eyed the busy camp next to me, with the dogs, and took off again, this time to Crescent.  Crescent is a wide spot in the road town about ten miles east.  Once there, I found a very lively bar that served chicken and also sandwiches and ordered.   I was entertained just watching everybody else and the wait staff.   Outside, when I left, I saw all these incredibly elaborate and fancy off road vehicles.  I figured they must be having an event this weekend nearby.  I almost asked if I could take a photo of one.  It was really unique.  

I slept the night and came home today.  Yeah the trip was a bit of a bust but oh well, better than sitting around doing nothing.   It's cloudy here.  When I drove home the smoke was gone just west of Oakridge and the sun was out and I thought "awesome", I can enjoy the rest of the weekend in the sun at home (minus smoke) but once driving north, the sun vanished and it was all cloudy.

Here is my best friend from the trip---Scar.  He even invited him or herself into my car.  We were buddies.