Portage Lake

The plan was so perfect; after leaving Hope and on our way to Whittier we would stop in for a quick paddle through Portage Lake to view Portage Glacier up close and personal like.  When we got to the lake, we sought out a launch location from the visitor’s center staff who sent us down the road to a pullout. That location turned out to include a 1/4 mile hike, through human feces and trash,  just to access the water… no thanks.

We ended up launching from the visitor’s center parking lot and started towards the glacier. A head-wind had picked up and it was cold to boot. Each time a paddle was lifted out of the water we lost nearly the same amount of ground gained from the previous stroke. We were getting no where fast. Struggling, we made it roughly 1 mile before the call was made to abort the attempt.

Kerri turned back, giving me the OK to make the attempt solo since my kayak is more suited to the waves. I paddled hard and fast but within a minute’s time two waves had crashed right into my lap. Yes, I could have made it, but only soaking wet and miserable. I too turned back to shore with Kerri, our first aborted paddle.