Breaking the ice: Glenmore Reservoir

The gentle lapping of water against the receding ice, hundreds of wild birds screeching all around us. A steam train hoots in the distance. Snowy mountains on the skyline; fish break the water ahead of my kayak, and a muskrat sits on a rotten log off my bow. So glad I moved to the Rockies and bought a kayak to paddle in the mountain lakes.

The distant sound of a tannoy playing music from a Wild West dancehall, a distant rumble of traffic. Ah, yes - open my eyes and this is central Calgary....

May 3rd and still we have no break-up on the lakes. It's been quite a hard winter, and fresh snow is still blanketing the nearby foothills frequently. We took our kayaks to Glenmore Reservoir, about 10 minutes' drive from our house. The ice hadn't cleared, but at least we could get out onto some water at last.


We followed another paddler out to the ice shelf and then through it, as he battered a path to the western side of the reservoir. Paddling in ice was a new and novel experience. Breaking through is fun so long as the boat stays level. Once you're past the blockage, the bow wave from your boat trails a swishing sound behind you as it lifts the ice. Peaceful.

Lou had a good play with her new camera and got some great shots of birds in flight.

My underwater camera got its first dunking too - here's a half-submerged shot of the shore ice.





A few more shots of paddling that day have been posted here.