I wrote a Stump Lake post in 2020, but it’s worth another
posting from this year’s beautiful fall paddle. Stump Lake’s shoreline is mostly
private but the lake is not much developed due to the wetlands and all those
stumps in the water. The lake was created/flooded in the past by a small hydro
dam (High Falls).
 |
| Stump Lake and track (12.8 km) |
I had more time on this year’s paddle and it was a
beautiful calm day! I paddled pretty much the whole perimeter of the lake in a
clockwise direction (12 km). The shoreline gets quieter and more interesting once
you reach the wetlands in the NW area. The lake in this area is filled with stumps
and vegetation (i.e. cattails, etc.). Some of the wetlands and islands in this NW
area are crown land. It was in the north corner of this western shore that I
noticed that I was being checked out. A small group (3) of River Otters were swimming
around and poking their heads above the water. After a few minutes, they got bored with me
(or my kayak) and moved on.
 |
| North American River Otters |
The north shore heading towards Thompson’s Bay is rockier
and involves paddling through a narrow channel to reach the NE bay. On the
north shore, I did check the small channel & bay that had to be dammed to keep
Stump Lake’s water level at a sufficiently high level. Once in Thompson’s Bay,
I went over to the SE corner of the bay to check out a small wetland.
|
 | | Calm and beautiful scenery |
|
 | | The NW wetland/stump area |
|
On the way out of Thompson’s Bay, I made a stop in the
narrows for my lunch. After lunch, I continued my zig-zag perimeter paddle around more bays and islands. On the last paddling stretch towards the boat ramp, I got a
bit of extra exercise due to a stronger SW breeze.
I didn’t expect to
see an abundance of wildlife in late October. The River Otters were the
highlights, but I also spotted a Bald Eagle – who was nice enough to perch for
a few photos.
|
|
 | | Bald Eagle |
|
 |
| Crown Land map |
05 May 2023, kayak paddle on the main area of Stump Lake (i.e. not the back bays).
ReplyDeleteStump Lake is one of my favourite lakes to paddle in Lanark County. This was my first springtime visit to the lake. With the higher water level, it was nice to explore more of the marshes and creek areas. The nature sighting highlights were a couple of very large Snapping Turtles and a Red-shouldered Hawk. iNaturalist link to 05May2023:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-05-05&place_id=any&user_id=denisag2&verifiable=any