Kayaking Lake Diablo

We were on our last full day inside North Cascades National Park, and our plan was to go kayaking on the most beautiful turquoise green lake in the park--Lake Diablo. 

But we woke up to winds and unusually high temperatures. An extreme heat advisory started in the Pacific Northwest, and it was scheduled to continue for the next four days. This was about the same time that the midwest was finally getting relief from the 100+ degree heat they suffered through last week. So we stayed at the campground to make some plans for our path east towards home. We were trying to find a route to get us back into cool weather AND out of the smoke that was engulfing much of the map. That was a hard path to find in August! We had been so lucky to get to enjoy a cool smokeless path on the pre-determined westerly route that we reserved months ago. We've been blessed!

About noon we decided to drive to Lake Diablo just to see the white caps on the water. We were amazed to find it as smooth as glass!

So we aired up the kayak, and were on the water by 12:30. It was divine to be sitting in the middle of all that clear turquoise water surrounded by the grand mountains of the North Cascades!

We assumed we would have to stay in the protected arm of the lake close to the dock near South Colonial Creek Campground. But the water was still glassy when we got to the end of the arm and approached the boat passage notch.

We glided right through that notch and onto the main part of Lake Diablo. This was definitely the calmest we had seen this lake since we arrived at North Cascades National Park. After a windy morning, our timing couldn't have been better.

When you can take a picture with the surrounding mountains mirrored in the still water on a lake this big, you have certainly been blessed!

We paddled close to the tall rock walls that surrounded the lake. With temperatures in the 90s, and not a cloud in the sky, we were glad for the shade of the tall rock walls.

This part of the lake had inlets that provided unique camping opportunities. The dock at the end of this cove was the entrance to a campground that was only available to tenters that could paddle themselves and all their gear.

It was hard to take a picture that showed how tall the rock walls around us were. If you look closely, you can see a kayaker near the rocks to give a little sense of scale to the grandeur.

Those rock walls were covered with lichens and ferns that looked like velvet in a multitude of shades of green.

Mark was obviously happy to be the rudder man on this epic kayak trip today!

Lake Diablo was a long and narrow waterway that snaked its way between the mountains towards Ross Lake. We were paddling up the arm that would eventually come to an end at the tall dam that we hiked across yesterday. 

Along this arm of the lake were numbered signs that mapped our progress on the lake. At sign #10, Mark got out of the boat to stretch his legs.

That gave him the chance to take unusual pictures of Denisa alone in the kayak.

It was a little difficult to maneuver that long kayak from the front. But Denisa did manage to turn around and pick him up at #10.

While we paddled for miles, we only saw a hand-full of other kayakers on this big lake. We caught a picture of one of them in the sunlight beside another rock wall.

The only motorized boat allowed on Lake Diablo was the Diablo Ferry. It runs a route across the lake twice each day.

For a $10 ticket, it would take passengers across the lake for a scenic ride. Hikers also use the ferry to complete a one-way hike on the Diablo Lake Trail. It also transports tourists staying at the Ross Resort. After the ferry ride, resort guests would have to meet the portage crew to get their luggage and themselves to the very remote resort.

When we turned around at navigational sign #10, we had a little breeze to help push us back towards home. On the way back, we stopped off at a little island in the middle of the lake.

Mark took pictures of Denisa on Diablo Island . . .

while she took pictures of him kayaking solo.

The bald North Cascade Mountains were peeking over the tree-covered smaller mountains closest to the lake.

While it was 90 degrees and sunny, it was easy to cool off by putting a foot or a hand in the water. This lake was fed by snow melt from those tall mountains. We found that our foot would go numb in just seconds of touching the water. There were warning signs at the boat launch docks about the cold water temperature. If your boat capsized, you would turn into an ice cube in a hurry. Floating on top of water that cold was like sitting on an air-conditioner.

Even though we had been paddling for hours, we weren't ready to go home. So we paddled right past our launch point, and went down another arm of the lake.

We found these interesting ducks as the water got shallower. We guessed that these bright-eyed birds were youngsters.

They looked wide-eyed when compared to the calmer brown-eyed ducks that were perhaps more mature?

We paddled until the water was too shallow and the current from the river pouring into the lake got too swift to paddle against.

It was only then that we acknowledged we were at the end of the route and it was time to turn around and head back. For a day that started out hot and windy with few good outdoor alternatives, we certainly found a perfect kayak trip!

Back at the trailer, our batteries were less than 60%--the lowest we have seen so far. We also discovered that the solar panels weren't producing any amps even when the sun hit them. Mark had to reset the system. When that didn't work, he even turned off the battery switch and disconnected the battery. That lost our battery percentage history, but he finally got the solar panels to start charging again. We have enjoyed the flexibility of having solar power on this trip so much, but today our system had a little hiccup.