OVER THE BOW: LAKE NATOMA

The world of life, of spontaneity, the world of dawn and sunset and starlight, the world of soil and sunshine, of meadow and woodland, of hickory and oak and maple and hemlock and pineland forests, of wildlife dwelling around us, of the river and its wellbeing--all of this [is] the integral community in which we live. --- Thomas Berry

I often tell people paddling with me that after we push off onto the water of Lake Natoma we will be experiencing a different world even though we are in the heart of a densely populated urban area. Kayaking through the sloughs never ceases to amaze them of how they can escape into a backyard of nature just minutes from the buzz of city traffic.

The narrow and popular 5-mile lake, part of the California State Parks' Folsom SRA located just east of Sacramento is a haven for wildlife viewing. On just about any day, paddlers can get a close-up view of black-tailed deer, river otters, egrets, herons, hawks, pelicans, beavers and pond turtles. A convocation of eagles just in the past couple of years has taken to nesting on the lake's high banks offering a treat to anyone just to see them soar.

It's no secret that kayaks are an amazing way to view wildlife in their natural habitat. Recently, paddling through the lake's sloughs across from the Negro Bar access it was easy to imagine I was on safari. The early spring season guaranteed me quiet solitude through the trails of slough channels and ponds. I moved along in stealth-like silent around each bend and cranny. Down low just inches off the water if I would see anything it would be almost eye to eye.

"Don’t just look for animals on the water," wrote photographer and paddler Galen Leeds in his blog in 2011, "Look on the immediate shore, but also a little distance onto land. Some of my best wildlife images of raccoons, deer, bobcat, elk, and coyotes all came about while I was kayaking. They don’t necessarily watch the water for dangers and might not notice you if you stay quiet and fairly still. If they do notice you, you are such a different creature from the person that is walking and stomping around, that they generally aren’t as frightened, and can be more curious as to what you may be."

It was late in the afternoon. The warm sunlight had just broken through a thin layer of clouds as I paddled through the narrow ponds and dredge pilings of the lake. I rounded a bend into a large lagoon surrounded by tall horsetail, blackberry bushes with a lone grassy rise overlooking the water when I saw the top of its head and ears. I couldn't believe my luck. It was a bobcat.

Bobcats are one of the four native wildcats to North America. About twice the size of the average house cat, they can be distinguished based on its long legs, large paws and a distinctive black-tipped tail that appears to be “bobbed” or cut off. A stealthy and solitary crepuscular hunter, they primarily prey on rabbits, birds, small game and rodents during dawn and dusk hours.

Although bobcats prefer to inhabit environments with a dense vegetative cover or steep rocky terrain, they are highly adaptable to both wild and urban landscapes. Due to the ever-expanding human population and the destruction of their habitat, their numbers are steadily decreasing each year as reported by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

I pulled my camera out of my PFD while I silently glided closer to where the cat is sitting. It was partially hidden by the knoll and I couldn’t get a clear shot. Quietly and slowly I paddled one stroke. The momentum of the stroke pushed me carefully toward the animal.

As I moved ever closer, the sunbathing wildcat awoke from its solar nap and sat up in a proud posture focusing its attention on me and my moving kayak. Its distinguished jowl-like ruffs on its cheeks and black spotted coat glistened in the sunlight, while its large ears with slight tufts of hair at the tips stood upright giving the wildcat a magnificent regal appearance. Its eyes were gleaming without blinking as it stared back at me with such a powerful look as if the creature was looking deep into my soul.

My 12th paddle day of the year must be my lucky day. You can read about last year's Paddle Day 12 encounter with a bobcat at Lake Clementine in Outside Adventure to the Max.

In Native American mythology, the bobcat is an important character in many of their legends. Rarely seen, these cats took on a mystical quality and possessing great spiritual energy. Because of their elusiveness bobcat alongside the coyote, in their stories are symbolized as the fog and the wind. Mysterious creatures difficult to both see and catch.

I held my breath and my body tighten with pumping adrenaline as gazed upon the big cat through my viewfinder and over my camera willing the moment to last a bit longer. But I was getting too close, the bobcat whole body was now attuned to my presence. As I'm stalking it, it soon was stalking me with its body is low to the ground and hind legs coiled and ready to pounce.

The faceoff ended as quickly as it began. The big cats' predatory gaze at me and my orange kayak faded as it decides, I'm more of a potential threat than I am prey. It quickly vanishes into the safety of the underbrush, while I turn my kayak around and paddle away happily in absolute gratitude for experiencing this lasting wilderness effect in my own backyard.

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, we would love to see it. Submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com

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THE LEGEND OF TWO PADDLES

Albert Bierstadt, Indians Spear Fishing

                        

It was a day on the river I would like to forget. Mostly due to the result of some nameless rapid and its churning eddy. It happened so fast. The river went one way and I went the other. Spilling out of my boat like cereal into a bowl. Submerged and floating, I reached for the bow only to have it slip away out of grasp. In disbelief, I watched as it quickly ran away through the boulders constricting the river.

"Isn't a little early in the day for you to be quitting?" called a voice from the side of the river. " It was the grizzled old Storyteller who I always seem to find along the river.

"I lost my boat," I told him gasping as I swam to the shore.

"I can see that," he sighed, "Looks like your afoot now. Sit down for a spell and catch your breath before we go after your boat."

I sat down looking glum. Embarrassed about the swim, but just too tired to start the hike down river.

"Cheer up," chuckled the Storyteller, "You're not the first and I'm sure you won't be the last to walk out of these mountains.

"They called him "He Who Wanders or Wandering Spirit," he began, "He would walk everywhere exploring the mountains, canyons and rivers. It's said he heard the song of the tree fairies. These fun-loving forest creatures would only appear to humans when they wanted to be seen. They would sing and laugh, and when He Who Wanders got to close to their music they would call him from a different direction. It was said, they would often take the form of a rabbit or deer and lead him to the river only to suddenly disappeared, with no apparent hiding place.

Because of this, He Who Wanders had a habit of disappearing for days and weeks at a time before turning up unexpectedly, hence his name."

George Catlin, Leopard Hunting in Brazil

The Storyteller looked at the river and then the path narrow path alongside it.
"It was probably a path like this, He Who Wanders was walking when he came upon the bobcat on fire," the Storyteller speculated, "You see after a raccoon was treed by the wildcat and knowing it had no escape. Legend says, the old coon or maybe it was a rabbit, somehow convinced the bobcat to build a fire. As the fire grew, the wind scattered the burning embers onto the poor cat setting it ablaze and screaming with pain."

"His crying tore at He Who Wander's heart," exclaimed the Storyteller, "Seeing the bobcat's struggle he quickly gathered up the animal and tossed it into the river saving its life. The soaking wet cat emerged from the river his fur singed with dark brown and black spots. His raccoon meal had escaped, but he was grateful to be alive. Ever since I'll his kind have been covered with spots."

"Thank you, He Who Wanders, you saved me from certain death," the Bobcat gasped, " the Storyteller continued, "We are now and forever allies," the Bobcat told him, "But I'm a creature of the forest and my place is here. I will offer this guidance. Go forward with courage, follow the river and discover your heart and spirit. When you need me, I'll be near."

The Storyteller then paused, straightened his hat, while studying the river.

"The great cat then disappeared into the evening fog," the Storyteller went on, "Leaving He Who Wanders alone on the river's path. Now let's go find your boat."

While we started down the river trail the Storyteller resumed his story.
"He Who Wanders followed this same trail all the way to the ocean. When he got there he was amazed by the sight of the great water," speculated the Storyteller, "But over the rumblings of the waves, he heard a cry for help. A young female killer whale was beached and dying in the sand."

"Her crying tore at He Who Wander's heart." conceited the Storyteller, "Stranded near the waterline he knew had to get the orca back to into deeper waters and could not wait for the tide. By then it would be too late."

"He comforted the sea creature by covering it with wet blankets and then fashioned a shovel to dig a trench behind the mammal then made a towing harness dried seaweed," the Storyteller divulged, "And began pulling with all his might"

"The Blackfish screamed in pain and told He Who Wanders it was no use she was just too heavy," confessed The Storyteller, "She was right, He Who Wanders could not make her budge an inch."

Baleen Whale Mask

"Then out the sky came the raven," the Storyteller, interjected, "He brought special mushrooms from a place in the forest where the moonbeams fell just right. He told He Who Wanders if he ate them it would grant him Superman strength to carry the whale back to the sea."

"As the raven flew off, He Who Wanders, quickly devoured the charmed mushrooms," guessed the Storyteller, "Giving him the strength of ten men. He grabbed the tow line and with ease pulled the orca back into the surf."

"Thank you, He Who Wanders, you saved me from certain death," the Killer Whale said with " the Storyteller continued, "We are now and forever soul mates," the ocra told him, "But I'm a creature of the sea and my place is here. I will offer this guidance. Go forward with courage, follow the ocean and discover your heart and spirit. When you need me, I'll be near."

The Storyteller then paused, straightened his hat, while studying the foam of the whitewater waves of the river.

"The great orca then disappeared into the sea" the Storyteller went on, "Leaving He Who Wanders alone on the beach path. Hey, I think I see your boat."

We started down the rocky trail where we could see my bobbing kayak in quiet eddy along the river as the Storyteller picked up his tale.

"He went north following the migrating seals and whales by day and the Northern Lights by night. The lights then were thought to the spirits of the animals: the seals, salmon, deer and the great polar bear," told the Storyteller, "After crossing over into a land of snow and glaciers he heard the whimpering of a tiny shivering polar bear abandon on the ice."

"His crying tore at He Who Wander's heart." pleaded the Storyteller, "Without his help, the little cub would surely die. He comforted the bear by covering it with warm blankets and took it to a nearby village. Where he found a woman who had no sons to care for her. She adopted the young bear cub and it quickly grew and became the villages' best fisherman providing fish daily to all."

"He Who Wanders found a home there too," emphasized the Storyteller, "He became fascinated by the villager's use of their- kayaks. Constructed with whalebone-skeleton frame and animal skins stretched over its hull, the boat had a covered deck with only a small opening on top. Unlike the canoe, they used a double-bladed paddle."

William Bradford Arctic Invaders

"Life in this cold climate was extremely difficult. Those who kayaked knew a single miscalculation could lead to death in freezing water," the Storyteller declared, "It took, He Who Wanders several seasons before mastering kayaking learning all its strokes and rolls."

"But the day came when He Who Wanders needed to wander again," reminded the Storyteller. "And as he was about embarked, the now giant Polar Bear came to him and said, "Thank you, He Who Wanders, you saved me from certain death. We are now and forever brothers, But I'm a creature of the arctic and my place is here. I will offer this guidance. Go forward with courage, follow all the world's waters and discover your heart and spirit. When you need me, I'll be near."

The Storyteller then paused, straightened his hat again, while studying my half submerged kayak floating against the shore.

"The great white bear then disappeared back to the village" the Storyteller went on, "Leaving He Who Wanders alone in his kayak. Look it's your boat safe and sound."

I grabbed the boat with relief and pulled it on to the rocks tipping it over spilling out all the water from its hull back into the river.

"So what happened?" I asked while climbing back into the boat, "Did he ever get home?"

"Like you, I think he found his way back to the water. There were more challenges, of course," replied the Storyteller, "On the third night out, while camping on a beach he heard the howl of wolves. Surrounded by the pack showing glaring teeth, He Who Wanders had little hope for survival. But a giant roar came over the ice and snow. It was his brother the polar bear driving all the wolves away."

"You have discovered your heart and spirit. I will always be with you, like the stars at night and the sun in each dawn," the polar bear proclaimed to him before vanishing into the snow," reassured the Storyteller.

"Twenty-one days later a sudden storm-tossed his kayak around violently just off the coast. He Who Wanders was about to crash on the rocks when a blackfin popped out of the ocean foam. It was his soul-mate, the killer whale. She put his kayak on her back and safely and brought him safely to a protected hidden cove."

"You have discovered your heart and spirit. I will always with you, like the waves in the sea and the ripples of the world's great rivers," the killer whale declared to him before breaching away under the sea," expressed the Storyteller.

William de la Montagne Cary

"Two months later, He Who Wanders was paddling upstream," the Storyteller, concluded, "He was tired and hungry having not eaten in several days when he saw a flash of the spotted coat. It was his friend the bobcat who had caught some game. Seeing He Who Wanders was hungry, he dropped along the side of the river and then saying to him."

"With your new boat and paddle, the river people will celebrate your return and welcome you to a place at the council fire. They will forever tell stories of your paddling journeys honoring your courage and speed, your strength. You have discovered your heart and spirit. From now on you will be known to the world as Two Paddles."

I felt the current of the river give my boat a gentle tug. And just like that, I drifted away from the Storyteller and the bank of the river. Turning down river, I thought of the opening lines of Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.

Should you ask me, whence these stories?
Whence these legends and traditions,
With the odors of the forest
With the dew and damp of meadows,
With the curling smoke of wigwams,
With the rushing of great rivers.

When I glanced over my shoulder one last time and over the rumble of the rapids saw the Storyteller waving goodbye and calling out, "Go forward with courage, follow all the world's waters and discover your heart and spirit. When you need me, I'll be near."

OVER THE BOW: UPPER LAKE CLEMENTINE

The life of the wood, meadow, and lake go on without us. Flowers bloom, set seed and die back; squirrels hide nuts in the fall and scold all year long; bobcats track the snowy lake in winter; deer browse the willow shoots in spring. Humans are but intruders who have presumed the right to be observers, and who, out of observation, find understanding.  -- Ann Zwinger

There are two factors that are relied on when getting images of wildlife. The first is patience. Getting up close to wild animals with an elusive nature proves to be challenging. You can’t ask them to look this way or stand where the light is better. Be prepared to wait and watch for that perfect moment. As a consequence, the longer you spend watching them the more you to know about them.

“You have to be really patient,” National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore told PBS, “ Most shoots I’m covered with bugs. Most of the time it's physically miserable, and if you weren’t wound tight like me to get good pictures, why in the world would you ever do something like this? I don’t think you could stand it!”
Over last decade Sartore focus has been a project he calls the Photo Ark, the world’s largest collection of animal studio portraits. His goal is simple: to get the public to care and save species from extinction.

"That’s what the Photo Ark really is about,” Sartore said about the series. “It's hoped that people will fall in love with these things, want to learn about what happened to the species, what they can do to save it and then realize that it ties directly back into their own lives. I think we should show good stewardship to all species, great and small. Clearly, the best course of action is to protect entire ecosystems so that individual species don’t get into trouble in the first place."

I don't claim to be a wildlife photographer. Sometimes it's just luck. Getting up close to skittish wild animals in nature can be both challenging and immensely frustrating, especially when relying on waterproof point and shoot camera. However being able to glide silently through the water in a kayak I'm able to observe and shoot images from without disrupting them in their natural habitat. Sometimes I find the animal is just as curious about me as I am them.

That was the case while on a recent paddling trip on Lake Clementine. The lake is a four-mile-long and narrow waterway in Northern California's Auburn State Recreation Area, fed by the North Fork American River. It was formed in 1939 when the Army Corps of Engineers built the dam to prevent gold mining debris from flowing downstream.

Paddling around the bend near the upper portion of the lake, I happened upon a bobcat on the high back eyeing a pair of geese in the water below. As I came closer, its attention drifted towards me and my boat.

Seldom seen, these elusive and nocturnal wildcats roam throughout much of North America and adapt well to such diverse habitats. Stealthy solitary hunters, they survive on diet of rabbits and ground squirrels by using their long legs, large paws to pounce on their prey. Named for its tail, which appears to be cut or “bobbed.”

An important character in Native American folklore claims the bobcat doesn't show itself without reason. Traditional stories say the sighting of a bobcat is very powerful medicine. The bobcat plays a very negative role in the legends of some tribes. It is considered bad luck to see a one. He is greedy, selfish, and disregards social rules, while others believe dreaming about strong and agile animal would grant them special powers and superior hunting skills. Often parabled opposite of the coyote, the bobcat is associated with the fog because of its hidden and secretive nature while the coyote represents natural forces the wind.

Interpretations of bobcats sightings vary. For many that are not tuned in spiritually, seeing the animal is a thing of chance. Of course, I don't think that.  When I'm out on the water the mysterious properties nature and theology always immerses me. So maybe it wasn't luck, the bobcat was not a coincidence but a lesson received in silence.

It's a sign to reflect and regain our energy. As a solitary creature, the bobcat inherently knows this and is trying to tell us to break away and take time for ourselves. To seek quiet moments to ask ourselves some meaningful questions and think about what matters most. In our noisy lives filled with people, things and media, we all need an escape and chance to seek our own solitude.

After a while, the bobcat's patience with our face to face encounter fades. It decides to move to higher ground and into the shelter of the Ponderosa pine looking back over its shoulder from time to time, watching me before disappearing like the fog into the cover of the hills

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, we would love to see it. Submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com