Cave Lake

This paddle happened sometime in July of 2014, so I'm a little bit late in posting it. A friend invited us up to stay at his folks' place on Cave Lake in the Coeur d'alene river system for a weekend. It was short notice but we decided to go because we could be pretty self-contained and not be too much of a bother. The house would be pretty full that weekend so it seemed like a good idea to bring our own bed. 

Here are two pictures showing our caravan completely loaded with kayaks, bikes (in the van) and bed and kitchen towed behind. It's a lot of junk for just two people. But not too large a footprint. I will say that the trailer is a helluva lot better than a tent. And much easier. And the kitchen, all set up and ready to cook. Way better than a tent. 

Here's a map of our route of paddle starting about noon and done around 4. Good sunburn territory in July. I'd say it was a 4 mile paddle, but that's just a guess. I was hoping to find an outlet from the lake on the SW end but no luck. We had to portage across the CDA bike trail, which at that point is a clamber up 12 feet of a 45 deg incline, through bushes, and then down the other side and through 50 yards of reeds. It was quite a chore, but the funniest part was popping out of the bushes in full paddling regalia with kayaks while stunned bikers were passing. Funny. 

I have no pictures of kayaking because we did want to risk cameras on this trip. This picture is from a previous paddling trip on Lake Chatcolet. Too bad. The cave of Cave Lake is awesome -- family sized. Plus we had an awesome swim in the middle of the lake out in deep water. Lots of wet entry and exit practice. 

That night there were huge lightning storms over Spokane. Nan caught a flash here.

Next morning dawned bright and clear so Nan and I headed out on the CDA trail for a 14 mile ride toward Cataldo and back. Lots to do in the beautiful area. 

A view of one of the lakes from the trail. 

Nan thought the scenery reminded her of SE Asia. 

Sorry I have no pictures of our camp setup in their side yard under the apple tree. Very pleasant and cooking in the kitchen was only 2 steps away. Excellent company and lots of family fun playing a 12-hand card game with 12 decks around a wonderful swayback farm table.