Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 last post

The ladies joined us and we headed over to the far shore



Found a nice little inlet to explore





The end of the inlet. Nice.



Coming back out




Clear water



Not a reflection, you can see to the bottom




Morning- leaving our island.



Peaceful paddling




Coming up on Ross Lake Resort to order our shuttle truck



Back to Diablo Canyon



Pool water in the canyon




A relaxing way to end the trip



If you'd just like to look at big photos without all the writing, go here

The end

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 7

We setup camp, and just as we were finishing lunch the rain came. When I say rain, I mean monsoon. Fortunately we saw it coming and were prepared, all cozy in the tents. One thing I really enjoy is reading a book while rain is falling hard outside and I drifted off to sleep listening to this fine sound.

A couple hours later the rain stopped, we peeked out and were presented with a fine evening for another cruise. Jenny and Jennifer claimed to be too comfy to get out, so my sweet sweet wife and I had the lake to ourselves.



For most of this trip, the water was just unreal. I found myself thinking about a wakeboard. If only they made quiet towboats.




We couldn't keep it to ourselves, so we headed back to our island to roust the womens.


If you look closely, you can see our other canoe on the island on right, birds still hanging out to the left of the smaller island

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 6

The girls got tired of waiting around on photos and cruised on ahead



The sweet sweet wife was stuck with me though. You marry a photographer and you just gotta put up with it





She does have her limits, this is her secret code that it's time to move on.




Moving on



The ladies headed for land to the sounds of rushing water. Pulled into a cove and hiked a bit



This was the only time we ran into mosquitos the entire trip and they weren't bad but we didn't want to have to spray on deet or cover up, so I took a couple pics and we headed back to the water




Ominous looking clouds started rolling in so we booked it back to the camp, packed up gear and headed for our second nights stop- Cougar Island.

This was previously my favorite spot to camp as it is a small sland(about 200 yards long 100 yards wide?) There are only 2 sites on the island but we always get it to ourselves.. The south side gets the weather, the north side has a nice calm little pool even when the weather gets crazy. It also has a little sister island to the east that it's fun to swim or boat to.

Arrival at Cougar Island. If you look closely you can see a flock of birds hanging out on the sister island.

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 5

I'm a big fan of glassy water in the morning(or anytime really) At the risk of sounding fruity, there's something almost magical about gliding through flatwater in the wilderness, taking in the sounds of silence and sharing those moments with friends. Even better when the water is so clear you can see to the bottom as you move over the water. I had all the glass I could want the next morning and I rousted people out for an early morning glide.

The campsite is just behind the girls and canoes. I'm out on the tip of Roland Point here.



Turned around and looking South here. When it gets windy, it blows all the driftwood/water debris to this side of the island.



Then we were off






For some reason the hill in the center strikes my sweet sweet wife as funny, she still giggles every time she sees it.



One thing I can watch for hours is the "paddle art" on smooth water.

Drips



Whirlpools

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 4

Off the shuttle truck and back on the water, crossed Ross Lake for lunch at Ross Lake Resort.

Parked



As you can see in the above photo, the wind did pick up a little here. Not enough to make things unpleasant, but enough that the camera got put away until we reached our first campsite.

Before this trip, my favorite spot on the river to camp has been Cougar Island. Admittedly, we've only stayed at 5 of the 25 or so sites, but it had everything going for it. It was booked our first night, and the rangers recommended Roland Point. They even went so far as to say it was better.

We arrived and agreed. You are surrounded on 3 sides by water, with one of the sides in a protected lagoon that stays calm even when the wind whips up the opposite shore. It has a giant bear bin that you can store all your gear in, instead of having to hang it from trees, a nice fire pit, toilet and great campfire seating. It has an open point for sunbathing(which the ladies partook of) and a calm pool for swimming(which my sweet sweet wife and I took advantage of) It has flat ground for the tents and no neighbors(1 party but 3 tent site) There is also a nice little hike up a stream that feeds into it that features some waterfalls.

Enough talking - here's the proof.

Arrival at Roland Point. Pulling into the protected side.



A couple shots of the scene, then I gave the camera a break for the rest of the day. Events not recorded included swimming, lying in the sun,eating massive amounts of great food prepared by my sweet sweet wife, reading books, chatting, being woken up from a nice nap by 3 screaming ladies about a camp stove that somehow got out of control and almost grenaded the entire campsite, and other general camp-type fun

Diablo/Ross Lake Canoe trip. July2010 Part 3

Motoring on







Diablo Lake is about a 4 mile paddle trip to the dam, the first 2 of them being in "open" water and the last 2 going up a steep walled canyon. If you are interested in doing this trip, you want to get up this canyon before 10 if possible, most definitely before noon. It is normally calm in the mornings, but afternoons winds have a tendency to pick up and a relaxing trip up the canyon can become quite a battle.



All kinds of interesting nooks and crannies on this leg of the journey.



Good times



I build up the canoe a bit in the middle, so that my sweet sweet wife can kick back when she wants to. This is only allowed when flatwater conditions exist, which was almost this entire trip.




As you get closer to Ross Dam, the water coloring starts to change a little bit.



The end of Diablo. There is a phone on the second dock so you can call the shuttle truck to get you. It used to come right down to the water, but there was a landslide this past winter that wiped out the old spot. Now you have to cart your canoe and gear up a steep hill for about 100 yards. You do get a little exercise here.



Coming in for landing



Loaded up for the mile or so ride up to Ross Lake