Prologue --- The first chance on our eastern trip for me to paddle
my kayak was on western North Carolina's Lake Lure, not far from
Asheville. I was anxious to put my 17' touring kayak into some lake,
any lake.
Well, paddle I did, hitting the water before 8:00 AM. The
lake was as smooth as glass. Shortly after starting out I came
upon 10 to 15 golden eagles near the shore. They were feeding
upon the outcasts of a small dredging operation. A hydraulic
pump system aboard a moored barge spewed lake bottom mud and
sands through a big pipe onto the shore. The output apparently
contained fish and other things the eagles found irresistible.
It was fascinating to watch those huge birds.
Farther along the lake shores I encountered a variety of mallard
ducks, a few white geese and other waterfowl which I could
not identify. I even saw a great blue heron. A few fish
jumped to create splashes and widening wave ringlets. The lake
bottom must have decaying leaves because frequently I
encountered bubbles of gas rising up from the depths. The
water is so murky that seeing below the surface was
impossible. A variety of debris floated on the calm waters.
Lake Lure is not a clean body of water.
The shoreline is quite heavily developed with summer
homes crowding every available space. Some are brand new and
others have obviously been there for years. About a third of
the places have boathouses, many topped with sundecks. Many of
those have pontoon boats, outboard motor driven, and others
have water-ski boats. Many places had canoes as well. Mine was
the only kayak.
Some of the newer houses were very luxurious. I'd guess that
a couple were in the million dollar category. Many were very
modest cabins, poorly constructed and badly maintained. There
is quite a mixture. The wild vine-like growth called Kudzu has
spread over many buildings. Even one beached sailboat was
heavily covered. That was a surprise to see.