On a warm June morning I drove to Stake Lake to paddle and hike.   I got onto the water early and paddled twice around the lake, once in each direction.    Then I loaded and secured the boat, put on some hiking shoes and followed trails around the lake for a third time.   This has become a favorite outing in the last few years, one I will do again, but the hiking route is varied each time.    On other days I have paddled a nearby lake (Lodgepole Lake, McConnell Lake, or Walloper), then I made the short drive to Stake Lake for the hike.

When I arrived at the lake there were two fishing boats on the lake, but with an early start, I launched the kayak right away.

While paddling the lake I spotted a nesting loon, dabbling ducks, robins near the shoreline, an eagle in the trees, and fishing jumping for insects.

Twice around the lake took 56 minutes.    Loading the kayak, securing it and changing to hiking gear took about 15 minutes.    I hiked the Cartwheel Trail in a 2.6 km counter-clockwise loop.

The 2 hours of doing Stake Lake thrice was a rewarding paddle-and-hike day.