The Pemaquid Paddlers did indeed show up at Clary Lake this morning; I stopped by the boat launch a little before 9 am to watch them gear up and take off. There were 14 kayaks in all, all different, several of which were tandem boats with 2 people in them. The weather was COLD and blustery with a strong north wind blowing down the length of the lake. A number of the paddlers were wearing shorts; it was NOT a time or place for shorts as far as I was concerned!

I talked to a number of the paddlers; some of them had been to Clary Lake before and many were aware of the water level crisis taking place. One had been partway down the channel earlier this summer and they were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to navigate the channel all the way to the dam because of low water and thick weeds. They were right: the paddlers turned back after reaching the end of the lake and didn’t even venture into the channel at all.

I’ve added a half dozen or so pictures of the Pemaquid Paddlers to the new Fall 2013 Photo Album.