OVER THE BOW: LAKE NATOMA

The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are. — Lynn Culbreath Noel

I have started off my paddling year on Lake Natoma many times in the past several years. Most recently, with the faith-based group Bayside Adventure Sports for this past weekend's annual Polar Bear Paddle. It was our sixth annual, it what has become a New Year's Day tradition.
It makes sense that Lake Natoma would kick off my so-called paddling calendar year. Located just blocks away from home, it is an easy jump to the lake.
As part of California's state park system, the lake has become more and more popular as the post-Covid pandemic paddling crazes continue to draw more folks to the water.
No doubt about it Lake Natoma is a paddler's favorite, with its nearly five miles of easy flat water nestled between Folsom Reservoir and Nimbus Dam, before flowing once again as American River toward its confluence with the Sacramento River some 20 miles away through the heart of the Sacramento urban area. The lake has three access points. One at each end of the lake and one in the middle.
On hot summer days, the accesses are oftentimes crowded with folks trying to escape the heat, but in January, they're left to only a few hardy ones.

Yep, I have started off my paddling calendar year here many times before, always shirking off the idea, it's just too cold to paddle in the winter.
Come on, folks! I tell them we live in California, where winter is only in the mountains. Back in my Minnesota paddling days, we locked our boats away dreaming of the day the ice would crack. I couldn't even consider taking a boat out, since all the rivers and lakes were frozen over. There I had to wait till spring. Which in January was a long way away.
I had been living in North Dakota a long time and never dreamed of paddling my newly discovered outlet in the winter. As canoe legend Bill Mason, said about those incurably hooked on paddling in the Northern tier, "You must also face the fact that every fall about freeze-up time you go through a withdrawal period as you watch the lakes and rivers icing over one by one. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing can help a little to ease the pain, but they won’t guarantee a complete cure."

In 2013, I was in a long-distance relationship with Debbie, who, along with her beautiful brown eyes and smile, kept tempting me to come to visit California with pictures of the American River and Lake Natoma. She knew my weakness. How could I turn down such an offer in the middle of North Dakota winter?
In her quest to ensure I would have an enjoyable time; she scheduled several trips and activities. Two Sacramento Kings basketball games, a trip to Coloma to see the South Fork, and a drive up to Lake Tahoe. But before we could do any of that, we had to paddle on Lake Natoma.
Like tourists, we rented a tandem sit on top from Sacramento Aquatic Center on a chilly morning and set off across the lake.

 
"The water is clear and flat," I wrote in my paddling journal, "We're right above the dam over the American River. We have the lake pretty much to ourselves. Debbie sits in the back to steer. I told her the guy in front is the power as we move across the lake with ease."

We went on to discover the sloughs and back ponds that I still enjoy visiting today on the lake.

Since moving to California, I have paddled across Lake Natoma, now more times than I can count with groups, classes, solo, and countless more times with Debbie.
So, as I kick off my paddling year, I remember a quote by suspense novelist Karen Katchur, "The water. The lake. It flows through our veins, and there’s nothing we can do about it… It’s like venom.”

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, submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com
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OVER THE BOW: LAKE NATOMA

 A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.  ---Crazy Horse

It was an unseasonably warm fall day last month when my wife Debbie and I were paddling on Lake Natoma. On the north shore, we came along the pair of bald eagles sitting in the trees above. I reveled with exhilaration as I watched them loom over the lake, taking in the sights and sounds of everything below them. Then lifting their wings, one after another, they took to the sky, passing overhead on a low flyover to my elation.

"You certainly get excited about seeing eagles," Debbie said, "Didn't you see a lot back in Minnesota?"

I thought about that while floating along as I watched the eagles disappear from sight. During most of my life, I went without seeing bald eagles anywhere. The bald eagle population crashed in the 1950s and 1960s through the use of DDT pesticides. It was determined that DDT and its residues were poisoning bald eagles, causing eggshell thinning that resulting in many failed nesting attempts for the raptors. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the bald eagle was listed as an endangered species. According to the American Bird Conservancy, in 1963, when the species was at its lowest ebb, there were only an estimated 417 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states.

But with improved environmental stewardship and federal protection, our national bird has made rebounded across the United States. This includes the growing population in California. According to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, bald eagles can be found in 41 of the state's 58 counties, mostly at lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and some rangelands and coastal wetlands.
 

So yes, with the magnificent bird's comeback, it has allowed more people to get a glimpse of one more often so, it might not be considered unusual like before. But it still does not take away my excitement of seeing one. To Native Americans, the bald eagle serves as a messenger between humans and the Creator. While in the Judeo-Christian faith, the eagle soaring to many offers a theological perspective of restoration, reliance, and hope. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

I think to see one a majestic raptor usually relates to good vibes of positivity and excitement for just about anyone. Like John Denver, sang in his hit song Rocky Mountain "I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly," we all become a bit richer when we see these creatures.

A few days later, I was a leading group of paddlers across the Northern California lake when I caught a glimpse of the whitetail and the white head of one of the bald eagles. A pair of bald eagles have successfully nested along the bluffs of Lake Natoma since 2017.
Their nesting site is a popular area to viewing from a kayak where boaters can see the bird sitting high above. But that night, I had the good fortune to observe the bird near the water level. It was perch in a low hanging tree along the bank.

As I slowly tried to creep forward in the water, I witnessed a double treat of nature. A beaver swam below the fallen tree. While the eagle might not have been concerned about my presence, but the highly territorial beaver was. The beaver slapped its tail against the water with a loud smack and splash. It was a warning to other beavers, but also to the eagle about my proximity to them both.
It took the flight back to its lofty roost on the bluff, flying over my small group of thrilled paddlers.
I paddled away just a richer for the experience of having nature in my own backyard.

The Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma, a volunteer group that works in conjunction with State Parks to educate visitors about the eagle and their nesting site. If you would like to learn more about the eagles, check out their brochure New Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma Bald Eagle brochure.

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