Given the record rainfall recently, the nearby canoe access remains feasible, as an entry point for early morning paddles. We arrived at the parking area at 0615; there was nary a place to be had! Apparently, the first weekend without rain in over 2 months had brought out large groups of kayak and canoe campers, who had headed out the previous day. We saw at least 8 campsites in use (these are not maintained campsites), but we were the only canoe on the water ( we saw one other boat, a sculler gliding oh-so smoothly!)

This access requires about 200 yards of travel through narrow channel; the banks are lined with grass and trees, just brimming with birds of all types, multiple herons and their nests, frogs and jumping fish. This proved to be quite a distraction for Edgar today… he was repeatedly turning around, to see and smell all the sights. Not being a “bad dog”, just a very wiggly one. We decided we need a bit more practice at the sit-stay maneuver; we also need to keep the “religious collar” (you know, the one that makes a believer out of him) on him in the boat as a reminder; he knows when it is on him, and just seems to mind better.

Once we hit the broad water, things were a bit more sedate!

We had a lovely paddle early on the 4th, before the crowds and (most of)  the powerboats arrived on the lake. The water level is quite high ( as can be seen in the photo). but the water was calm, and there was not as much flotsam as we have seen other times.

(Normal shoreline level is where the arrow is)

The dogs had  a great time; it has been very hot and stormy lately, so our hiking and canoeing trips have been a bit curtailed.

And now for the rant…as we approached shore to take out the canoe, we saw a large dog running loose, tearing back and forth across the area, running up to other folks onshore, chasing a car at the parking area, and basically, looking to be having a great, (but completely uncontrolled) time. Once the dog appeared to be settled by his owners, along with their other dog, we landed the boat as far away from them as possible. Now, this is not a designated dog beach or dog park; it is a state park, that allows folks, and dogs, to use it before it opens each morning. Normally, dogs are not allowed, except at the boat launch, for loading and unloading boats only. Our dogs, always on leash, were being led away from the  boat; suddenly, the active dog came barreling at us from 100 yards away, warp 9, followed shortly by their dog #2.  Our dogs get along with other dogs, participate in agility and obedience groups, and hike and snowshoe with other dogs…but they are skittish around unfamiliar dogs that suddenly, or excitedly approach them.  We also have trained out dogs to behave at the boat launch, where there may be other kayakers, canoeists, jet-skis, SUPs, etc….The owners could not get their dogs to recall, and they were saying the ANNOYING  ” But they’re friendly” .  We were accused of being at fault. Somehow, we managed to keep our mouths shut, and not say what we really felt like saying…I know that others feel the same frustration, and I found a great blog author, that sums up our sentiments; check it out!

http://smartdog.typepad.com/smart_dog/2013/05/protect-yourself-and-your-dog-from-an-off-leash-dog.html#comment-6a00e54fae153788330191041d8766970c

Yeah, feel better now!

We headed out early to a quiet lake…saw quite few loons and ducks. There are many marked nesting areas, so it won’t be long before we see the baby loons!  We stopped for breakfast at a day use pull-out, and Griff slipped at he dis-embarked the canoe. The foam pad slipped again as he jumped back into the canoe; apparently we had the perfect combination of amount of water, temperature, and location of the foam pad needed to cause this sliding. We plan on getting some bathtub non-slip strips to put in the base of the canoe, under the pads, to keep them more stable.

We also selected the campsite for our next canoe camping adventure, and made the reservation….this is remote canoe camping, so we’ll have to see how much gear we can safely bring along this year, now having two dogs in the boat.

Waiting at the breakfast site….

We headed out to the local state park access, courtesy of our freebie day pass from our town library. This newest Vt. state park is often crowded on weekends, and we usually come before it opens, to get in a paddle before the jet-skis and powerboats arrive. Today, we got out a bit late,but were the first customers in the park at 10. The overcast skies and forecast for rain apparently kept the crowds away, and we had a lovely paddle. We saw our first loon of the year; the dogs were interested, but the loon was silent, so we still don’t know how Edgar will react to that haunting cry.

After a few roller coaster rides over the wake from a single ski-boat, we headed in to try the dogs in  a different orientation. Gryph got to return to his familiar position, in the stern compartment in front of his Mom.  Edgar’s Dad took the bow, and for the first time, Edgar had to ride behind his Dad. This worked out just great!

When we hike ( which is often), Edgar likes to be in the lead. He seemed quite happy to be in front of Gryphon, and maybe this is related to his desire to be the lead dog! He had no trouble seeing around his Dad, and seemed quite relaxed.

Today Edgar decided he wants to be able to freely jump over the thwarts…when he did it alone, it was not too bad, but when he jumped, Griff decided to turn around and see what was happening…tippy-canoe, and puppies, too! But we maintained our position , and no one got wet. Next time, we’re going to a put-in with a longer shoreline, so we can do more practice at having the dogs in different spots in the canoe—changing bow/stern positions, and more practice on sit and stay!

So on this day, predicted to be extremely hot and muggy, we get up bright and early, and head to the nearby canoe access. This particular access had very low water levels all last summer, so it was nice to take advantage of the recent heavy rains,,,the water level was  quite suitable, and hopefully will stay so. This access is only 3 miles from our home.

We were paddling by 0630; the dogs did very well. Edgar actually spent much of the time in his own stern compartment. When he got a bit wiggly, he went back into the stern compartment with his dad, We had to negotiate a bit of floating debris, left over from the recent storms. Thankfully, Edgar did not decide that all those sticks passing by on the water were just waiting for him to pounce!

We paddled for 45 minutes, to a spot where we could land the canoe, and have a wonderful early morning muffin and coffee stop. We love our JetBoil stove! The dogs got to run around a bit, but no swimming on this stop. We have actually hiked to this spot from a trail system located adjacent to the reservoir.

We passed a few fisherman on our way back to the canoe access. The dog were attentive, and well behaved; they showed off nicely!

Next trip, we may try Edgar in the bow compartment, behind his dad…we’ll see how that goes.

Well, we had a successful first venture onto the water.

Edgar acclimated quite well to camping , and seemed to enjoy sleeping in a lean-to, and hanging around the campfire ( photos are on the PHOTOS page). As usual, he was up bright and early, so we headed off to the water, while tendrils of fog rose from the surface, towards the bluebird, cloudless sky.  The water was actually a quite bearable  temperature, and we had the lake to ourselves.

Edgar sat in the stern compartment…we decide to have him within a firm grasp for this first paddle…when he has shown us he can remain seated, and quiet in the boat, we’ll move him forward so he can have his own compartment. This will, of course, place him right next to Gryphon. While they ride very nicely side by side in the car, we don’t want any rough-housing in the canoe!

Based on Edgar’s marvelous performance today, it won’t be long before he can move up in the canoe. He was alert, interested in , but not trying to chase, shore birds…though he did not rest his head on the gunwales as Griff does, he did rest his head on his Dad’s lap, and begin to doze.   It was a great inaugural cruise!

So, tomorrow is our first camping/canoeing trip…not too far from home, not too challenging, but it definitely will be interesting to see how Edgar reacts to  1. Camping, and 2. Being in the canoe on the water.  Gryph immediately recognized that all the gear being brought up and packed  meant something fun was going to happen; he is an experienced paddler and camper. Edgar…well. we’ll see!

Gryphon demonstrated for Edgar…then we practiced “in the boat”, and “out of the boat”…Edgar did quite well, considering this was also his first time wearing a PFD!