A more animated lake
Post date: Aug 12, 2012 9:42:27 PM
You may remember from our visit to the Clark Lakes on our last trip that we weren't impressed with the grassy shoreline and bug potential along Lower Clark Lake below Agnew Pass. One half of the lake was full of grass, and the rest of the shoreline was often grassy as well. We even decided to look elsewhere for a campsite at first.
Happily, Lower Clark lake turned out to be a great place to camp. And as the day wound down, the wildlife came out to play. We first heard the yip of a coyote, our first of the trip. And as M sat by the lake she enjoyed the family of ducks that was paddled on the far shore--a mother and five almost grown up ducklings. The mom chased them about a bit, then finally let them explore the far shore as we watched from our campsite above the lake.
Two deer came quietly out of the forest and snacked their way down to the lake, nibbling on the grass as they traveled. The lone hiker that we could see was oblivious to their presence as they ate their fill and then slowly slipped back into the forest.
Overhead, an osprey soared over the lake, looking for a fish dinner. After a few minutes, he flew higher up the slope, hoping to find something more appetizing at the Upper Clark Lake. As we watched him, we took notice of the dragonflies that were dashing about, gobbling up the tiny midges that were hatching over our side of the lake.
A few bats came out, flying overhead, competing with the dragonflies for bugs.
And then we noticed a smaller family of ducks--a mother and two duckings--making their way from the grass on our side of the lake to visit their colleagues on the far side. They paddled across quietly, then began jabbering and diving to the bottom with the others.
The sun hit the horizon and shadows lengthened across the lake. The five ducklings in the first family were now swimming down to the end of the lake, and as we watched they started to come back along the shore on our side. Although we sat motionless, they knew we were there. As they came within about fifteen feet of where we were seated, they changed course to go a bit further out into the lake, giving us just enough of a wider berth.
Once past us they paddled along and into the grass to our right, and we could hear them making noises for some time afterwards, settling in for the night.
The sun went down, and the full moon rose over the lake.
For a campsite we had tried to avoid, it was a perfect way to end the day.