We returned to Maligne Lake to rent a tandem kayak. One of the assistants asked if we had kayaked before and we nodded (though only one time for either Hans or I). We followed the assistant onto the dock, strapped in our Personal Floatation Devices, lunch and camera in our drybag, and paddles in hand. After helping us get into the boat and put on our spray skirts he pushed us away from the dock with an enthusiastic kick and waved us goodbye before dashing back into the boat house to help other customers.
Our first attempts at paddling would work for a few strokes but then the back end of the boat would begin to drift to one side inexplicably, causing us to go in wide circles. We clumsily found a bit of shore to land on and switched seats, I was now sitting the back, thinking that Hans’ stronger strokes were causing an imbalance in kayaking power. It was no use and in fact made the problem worse. It was around this time that I looked at the back of the boat and saw what the assistant had neglected to mention: a rudder, flipped up on top of the back of our boat. I flipped it down into the water and began searching for pedals to steer with but my legs were not long enough to reach. We landed and switched positions again, but in order for Hans to have his feet on the rudder pedals his legs had to be scrunched uncomfortably. But now we were paddling straight! With gusto we began our assault on the 28-kilometer-long lake to see how far we could get.
Along the way we took in the beautiful blue water that sparkled in the sunlight and refreshingly cold air. We saw a few loons a ways off, who dived for fish as the frequent tour boats dashed out to Spirit Island, the geological half-way point of the lake that was also a popular spot to see glaciers from. We enjoyed a quiet lunch in our boat as we bobbed along the shore. I was very nervous each time I took the camera out of the drybag but was excited to be able to use it on our little excursion. I was able to stay fairly dry, but alas, Hans had just got back in the boat after obeying the call of nature and was trying to attach his spray skirt when the wake from a tour boat dumped a good amount of water into his lap.We dried off four hours later when we returned the boat and decided to hike the Opal Hills trail. It was rated as a moderate hike, however having expended a lot of energy on paddling in the morning I had a difficult time. We decided not to complete the loop that took you in back of the hills and instead walked up another trail that went above the tree line and offered stunning views of almost the entire lake and much of the mountain ridges that rose up steeply on either side.
Back in town we bought a few souvenirs for the families and celebrated our day of adventure with a filling dinner and a couple of pints each.