Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Guernsey State Park: Paddling the Guernsey Reservoir

 It's been a rainy spring thus far in western Nebraska. This morning was forecast to be the nicer of my two days off this week and so we took advantage by getting the canoe out for her maiden voyage of 2023 and her first voyage on Wyoming waters. I had done my research and purchased our Wyoming Aquatic Invasive Species sticker last month, so after a quick stop to have the boat inspected at the Lingle Port of Entry, we made the drive into Guernsey State Park.

We put in at the first boat ramp we encountered. 




From there it was a short paddle under the towering cliffs of Bremmer Point. 


We continued to paddle through the main channel, headed west. The views and weather were spectacular. 



There was no wind at the start of our paddle and so the lake surface was like glass. 

Wesaw lots of birds on the water, mostly grebes and mergansers. 


We passed under the "Castle" and turned around at the point where the reservoir enters the canyon with great views out to Laramie Peak. 


On the way back we paddled close to limestone cliffs that were home to many swallows and their nests.


We took a short side trip into a narrow side canyon 


and then started to make our way back to the boat ramp. 


We stopped at an unoccupied, lakeside campsite where I rested and Sierra went for a dip in the cold waters of the dammed North Platte River.




After a bit of relaxing, we made the short paddle back to the boat ramp 


in a pretty brisk head wind. I think we got off the water just in time. It was a great first paddle in the Cowboy State. I hope to paddle further west into Fremont Canyon at some point soon. 

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