At the end of March some of the lower elevation lakes became ice-free.    Some of the larger valley-bottom lakes had been clear for a few weeks, but large lakes and strong winds are not a good combination in cool temperatures, so I paddled on the river instead.     On a cool (2º ) morning there was a steady breeze our of the east, but I launched my kayak and paddled around the lakeshore.    Jacko Lake is filled by Peterson Creek, but it hasn’t warmed up enough on Chuwhels Mountain to melt all the snow so the creek still has a low flow.  Jacko Lake had a shallow and muddy launch area and some of the bays were too shallow even for a kayak.

I kept an eye on the depth of the water and paddled once around the shoreline.

There were many ducks on the lake (mostly Barrow’s goldeneyes), but also geese, swans, and smaller ducks.   Killdeer flitted along the shoreline as I glided by.   A coyote ran over a grassy hill on the west side.

I will be rotating my kayaking destinations to the other lakes of the area, but I will return to paddle Jacko Lake in late spring when the lake has been recharged.     The road is bumpy, but it can be driven by most vehicles.     There is lots of parking, but in prime time, this is a popular fishing spot.     I spoke to one older fisherman on this day and he explained his motto was “Fish, fish, fish, then die.”   I may adopt that one for myself to “Hike, paddle, snowshoe, expire, compost.”