Skies were somewhat threatening as we arrived at the Marsh Lake boat ramp, with bouts of rain and even some lightning in the distance. But as so often happens, the weather cleared before we even had our water craft prepped and it turned into a beautiful evening.
Starting at Marsh Lake, it took a bit of perseverance to make it into Little Otter, as the lily pads and weeds were close to choking off the passage, but make it we did, through the tunnels and all. Then we continued on through Little Otter, into Big Otter, and through the passage into Snow. Here we lost most of our gang, as only Mike, Dan, and I continued on to the swim area in Lake James. But our efforts were rewarded with a refreshing swim and fellowship before returning. With daylight fading I pushed it a little harder on the return trip (since I failed to bring my light), arriving back at the Marsh Boat ramp in the evening twilight. Mike arrived with me, but Dan took a little longer and arrived after it was dark. Amazingly the bugs were not a problem, and some of our crew witnessed sand hill cranes in one of the passages. Steve, John, Steve’s grandson, and Clint headed out earlier, but Andy and Linette waited to make sure Dan, Mike, and I arrived back safely.
Alas – no cookies this evening. It appears Keith and Louise needed to supply other needy people in Michigan. Many thanks to Mike for setting up this paddle!
