First Paddle of the Year! As I normally do on Fridays, I teleworked all morning. However, I was also watching the forecast - my weather app said 70s were expected for most of the afternoon but heavy rain was coming by evening. Figuring I'd miss my chance to enjoy the conditions if I waited until the end of the workday, I loaded "Tequila Sunrise" on top of my car (1300) and drove south (on I-89, NH-11, Otterville Road and Little Sunapee Road) until I found the boat launch for Little Lake Sunapee on the edge of New London. It didn't take long to get my kayak in the water and I was soon off on a new paddling adventure (1330)! Following the coastline (counterclockwise direction), I spent the next two hours paddling. The name of this body of water is only appropriate if you compare it with the nearby Lake Sunapee - otherwise, I'd have called it “Big” because the circumference was at least four miles. Actually, it seemed like there TWO lakes because there was a huge peninsula in the middle that could only be transited by a narrow (and shallow) channel. In other words, the lake looked deceptively little and I would never have guessed there was so much paddling available if I just used my eyes at the boat launch... Along the way, I got rained on (only sprinkles), talked with a pair of loons, was startled repeatedly by fish that were trolling along the surface, scared a painted turtle (into the water) and did the same for multiple pairs of Common Mergansers (out of the water). It felt good to be out in my kayak - fortunately, the sun wasn't too bright (preserving my pale, Winter skin). I passed countless fish camps, private swimming beaches and, on the western end of the lake, very fancy summer homes. At times, I could see the tops of Mount Kearsarge and Mount Sunapee (still has snow!). This may be the earliest I've ever gotten out on a lake/pond since I moved to the Northeast and it seemed like June weather. Later (1530), while I was loading the kayak back on my car, a local resident walked down from her nearby house to talk to me. She said I was the first person she'd seen paddling on the lake this year and asked me lots of questions about my car top J-hooks, Tequila Sunrise and the animals I'd seen. This was the kind of friendly conversation I'm going to miss when I depart New Hampshire... By 1600, I was on my way home and I arrived at my condo by 1630. Long after I was home and had resumed teleworking (to get the rest of my 8 hours), I kept thinking about my paddle - what a great day on the water!
