Kayak Camping at Waldo Lake

 

Waldo Lake looking West

Who: Renee, Kandace, and me

What: Kayak Packing

When: August 27th - 29th 2021

Where: Waldo Lake, Oregon

Our first adventure, kayak packing, took us to Waldo Lake. What an adventure it was. I did a lot of investigative planning, as I have never kayak-packed before. To be honest, any water adventure is fairly new to me. Before going out, I did some homework on the lake itself, the winds, what to expect, weather, and gear. One of my sources was the Canoe and Kayak routes of NW Oregon by Philip N Jones.

Packed Kayak

Packing up three kayaks turned into a lesson in its own right, but we did it and got down there safely. Arriving a little later than planned, we hit the water trail, putting in at the Shadow Bay boat ramp. We paddled North on the East side of the lake for about a mile and a half and made camp on the south side of the peninsula, just north of the Shadow Bay Campground.

Some small catamarans in a bay on the east side

Beautiful water

The sailboats were amazing, and of course we made friends

Some of us were a little bit hungover Saturday morning, making for a slow morning getting out on the water. According to my reading, typically the wind moves North throughout the morning, and about mid-afternoon the wind will switch to a southern direction. Unfortunately, with our late start and an early wind change, we got caught in an early switch. We had to cross the lake much earlier than was planned, and let me tell you, that was a challenge. Things were pretty easy about halfway across the lake, then it felt like we were paddling backwards and not making any headway for the second half of the lake. But we didn't give up. We fought hard and made it to the West side of the Lake. After a much-needed break on shore, we decided to slowly take our time and explore the West side of the lake, and it was worth every bit of it. The Islands on the west side were so gorgeous, and the water was stunning.

Islands on the West Side

We continued south along the west shore looking for a good campsite, and we were not disappointed. Though our views started off great, as the evening came, the wind shifted again and brought in some smoke from a nearby wildfire just south of Waldo Lake.

Wildfire smoke coming in

After an amazing night of laughter, fun and girl time we hit the water trail again and headed back to the boat ramp. We caught view of the Khlovdahl tunnel on the way, and chatted with a few other boaters. 

Good Morning Renee

Sunday morning views

Klovdahl Bay

This was an amazing adventure with much learned. We brought a lot of gear as we experimented with what type of gear we liked. I brought a tent and a hammock so each of the girls could have a different experience deciding which one they liked best. We brought too much alcohol, which made our boats sink more than I would've liked. We found amazing camping spots, and we got to experience the backcountry and dispersed camping where we weren't around anyone else; that was priceless. The lake was beyond our expectations in beauty, size, and experience. I can't wait to do it again.