On Trail With Nibi Mocs

The 5:00 alarm was just too early — I’d been up way too late blogging the night before. I nestled down in the covers, John Shaw’s mantra running through my head… “Don’t be late for work!”. Well, John, this nature photographer was going to be late this morning. Finally managing to roll out of bed, I had a quick breakfast and got my gear down to the beach. No mist, no clouds, still quite a breeze and a chop on the lake. It was shortly after 6 when I pushed my canoe from shore. Later than I’d planned but I was still the only person in sight.

Several loons dotted the surface of the lake, most staying top-side, only occasionally diving. A couple let me get within photographic range, one even sitting up on tail, flapping wings.

While another bobbed in the water close by.

After taking several photos, I left the loons in peace and cruised the shoreline of the narrow lake. I saw several deer, including this spike buck.

Irises growing on shore were beautifully reflected in the lake, among the lily pads.

An old, photogenic boat was pulled up in the weeds.

I also spotted more herons including this one who was more interested in fishing than in what I was doing.

I missed the lunge for the fish. But caught the ruffled feathers after he shook the water off.

So-so pose, great background.

Nicer, more active pose, not so good background.

Another loon popped up very close to my canoe — with the sun behind him though! I moved the canoe around to get better lighting but he was further away

A couple of views of the resort from the lake.

It’s mid-day now so the lighting’s not very good (and the wind is stronger). I’m going to nap for awhile. I’ll be doing more shooting towards evening, when the light is better. Sure hope the wind dies then too.

I’d really intended to go back to the cliffs the evening of the first day. Too tired from my paddle with the group kept me from doing so. Besides, we had cloud cover for most of the evening in any case. So, instead, I went back the next morning, a little earlier than the previous day… and alone.

Skies were a lot clearer but there was a little more chop on the water. Not bad chop but it would increase while I was out. This cliff should look familiar:

Since I was by myself, I was more free to spend time exploring and composing shots… no where near as hurried as I’d been the day before.

The downside was that I had no other kayaks to “place” in the foreground of my shots.

I did a little experimentation while in one of the caves.

Due to the time of day, most of the points were in the shade. There were a couple of exceptions though.

Even though I got back to the landing on Meyer’s Beach much later than when we’d put in the day before, I encountered no other kayaks while on the water. I’d had the whole sea cave area to myself. I would have liked to stay longer but, it was time to return the kayak and begin the drive home.

On Thursday morning, I hooked up with a kayak tour group from Trek & Trail Outfitters. Destination; the sea caves along the mainland near Meyer’s Beach. The 10 of us, including 2 guides, were shuttled out to Meyer’s Beach, had some quick instruction, and then started getting our boats ready.

About an half-hour later, we were at the cliffs.

The cliffs were awesome!

This is the first tunnel we spotted.

A large crevasse lured us to explore its dank, dark depths.

The colors, patterns and shapes were fantastic.

Someone mentioned that it was like being at Arches National Park, only with water. I had to agree. It was definitely fun paddling through the arches…

…to find out what was on the other side.

Threading the needle… Scott, one of our guides, pulls himself through a particularly narrow arch.

We stopped on a sand beach for lunch. There was definitely more than enough to go around!

Lots of smiles to go around too, on the way back.

Did I mention the fantastic scenery?

That’s all, for now, from day 1. I’ll try to have the photos from day 2 (my solo trip) ready soon. Eventually, I also plan to have a slideshow on my site that will include more photos.

Horse Lake at Dawn August 8, 2007

It was a gorgeous morning!

Nikon D70 with Tokina 12-24mm lens.

Horse Lake August 8, 2007

View from our campsite.

Nikon D70 with Tokina 12-24mm lens.