27April2010 - On the water before sunrise, I rounded this lake's last bend and headed across the "big body" of Fort Peck Lake. At this western end of the "big body" it is not yet extremely far across - so this is the appropriate place to cross back to the left bank. Heading NE toward an horizon hill I noticed a breeze and benign swells starting. By about halfway across I abandon the horizon point and paddled straight toward the left shore. The wind and swells were increasing steadily and small whitecaps were displaying themselves. It took 430 paddle strokes to get to the shelter of the shore and a protective bay, and by the time I got there I needed that protection. My landfall was on the peninsula bearing the navigation marker "F", something I noticed while hopping cove to cove eastward. Then, suddenly the SE wind stopped and I paddled point to point across the next bay, putting me 25 miles from the dam. At this time the wind came back even stronger so I found a nice wind-sheltered spot, built a fire, sterilized drinking water, cooked two toastights, cooked some chicken flavored noodles, bathed, shaved and changed clothes. At about 5PM the wind speed slowed a bit but rain clouds were gathering, so I concluded I would need to invert the canoe and prepare to spend the night here. This was done near the shore in an area with wind, but in a shallow drainage coulee. Once the canoe was inverted and I got under, it was wonderfully calm and comfortable. During the night it did rain.
Today I travelled only 7 miles. I ended the day very rested and happy that only one more decent weather day would be needed to get to the end of this lake. My opinion of flat water has gone down during this week. I see flat water as similar to a task in which the focus is on completion ... and a river is similar to a stroll down a shaded lane with your wife.