As winter approaches cold and windy conditions limit the number of times we can paddle on the lakes and rivers, so if an opportunity arises, I load up the kayak and head out.   In late October, the day was still quite cool and my time was limited so I chose to paddle on Inks Lake.   A paddle of the shoreline, including the channels is 2.5 km so I usually go around twice.

Some blue sky here and there, a variety of clouds, and intermittent sun with little wind provided the right light for a scenic paddle.

Grassland hills reflected in the lake’s surface.   When it is like that it is nice to float before resuming the paddling stroke.

There were lots of ducks (Barrow’s golden eyes and mallards) in the back bays, hidden from roads.   The final section was a paddle down the shoreline towards the sun, breaking through layers of clouds.   I keep the outings short since the cold air and colder water has a chilling effect.   The lakeshore was very muddy making it awkward to launch and land.    Good paddling boots helped to protect my feet from the cold, muddy water, but i was happy to rig the boat and change my shoes.

This was Day 63 of paddling in 2020.    I hope to find a handful of days yet before putting away the kayak for another year.