Lake St Clair

What was to be a gentle paddle up the lake turned out to be a little more epic than expected.

Dan and I were taking our children; Michael (13 years old) and Ben (2 years old). We were well prepared, and had both paddled a lot with children. Michael had his own boat (which we towed from time-to-time) and Ben sat in between Dan’s legs in my sit-on expedition kayak. It was pretty cold, and there was snow on all the higher peaks around us. The days were very short too.

On the first day, we travelled well up the lake in fine conditions. But on the latter half of the second day the wind picked up and as the waves grew, they began to wash into the dry-bag Ben was sitting in to keep him warm! We ended up splitting up so Dan could go ashore and dry Ben. Meanwhile, Michael capsized mid-lake and I too had to do a deep-water rescue then find a place to pull up ourselves. So we were split up, cold, and in uncomfortable conditions. But we dried up, got back on the move, and eventually met up not far from the boat ramp. It was good to be back together again, and even better to arrive back on shore at the car!

After getting changed and packed, we went to the local Visitor’s Centre for a well earned hot drink.

View in a larger map