My younger son and I went out on the Hobie kayaks for the first time this season. We explored a lake in northeast Georgia that we’ve never visited before: Yonah Lake. We accessed the lake at Georgia Power Company’s campground, Tugaloo Park. The lake is more like a very wide river winding its way between the hills near Tallulah Gorge. The mountain laurel around the shoreline is still in bloom and quite beautiful. There is at least one brook that feeds into the lake in a great little shady cove that we could reach with our yaks. We also saw a guy skiing on a device that looked like a ski on top of an underwater blade. He was obviously training, performing some pretty impressive flips on the wakes. We will definitely come back to this spot again, perhaps to fish.
There are still plenty of outdoor places in America you can visit that are protected enough to offer a glimpse at how the landscape on this continent may have appeared to early native inhabitants and explorers. A prime example are some of the national parks. I think the National Park Service is one of the best government programs of all, and I wish our federal leaders would find some other areas to cut funding and leave this division alone. We have some incredible treasures around the country, several of which I have visited. I have never been disappointed.
One of the best parks to visit to experience what I am describing is Yosemite National Park in the High Sierra region of California. First protected in 1864, Yosemite is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. There are so many places in this park where you can stand, and for as far as the eye can see, there is no sign of civilization. The vistas are absolutely breathtaking, including perhaps the most photographed view of all from just beyond the tunnel on Wawona Road, where the valley opens up and welcomes you to what many people refer to as God’s Cathedral. Indeed, the scene is like a place of worship on a monumental scale, and for those who have any appreciation at all for the beauty of the natural world, it invokes a sense of reverence and awe.
Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View on Wawona Road
My wife and I joined up with a good friend of ours there in July, 2013, staying several nights in a cabin and spending our days hiking along the valley floor and up to one of the high spots overlooking the valley. Yosemite is another one of those places that reminds me just how small I am and how magnificent this planet is. John Muir, the famous naturalist who helped draw up the proposed boundaries of the park in 1889, described Yosemite as being “full of God’s thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of beginnings abounding in first lessons of life, mountain building, eternal, invincible, unbreakable order; with sermons in stone, storms, trees, flowers, and animals brimful with humanity.”
When I tell people that my wife and I like to take our kayaks out and do a little peddling, they usually want to correct me by saying, “You mean paddling, right?” Actually, with our kayaks we can do both. We discovered about three years ago the Hobie line of kayaks equipped with foot-driven flippers called the Mirage Drive. These kayaks are larger and heavier than the standard sit-on-top crafts, and they are definitely pricier. However, if you enjoy getting out on large water — deep rivers and canals, lakes, and even the ocean — then peddling has such an advantage over paddling, especially for speed, distance, and longevity. You can still use a paddle to propel the kayak if you prefer, and at times you need to, such as in tight spots and shallow water or for docking. If you’re really athletic or feel the need for a total-body workout, you can do both. But, in open water using just the Mirage hyper-drive paddles, the Hobie will cruise at about 5 mph with little more effort that riding a bicycle. In a three-hour excursion you can cover quite a bit of water. The length and width of the Hobie kayaks make them more stable than standard models, so you can stay dry during most if not all of your trip, especially if you enter and exit the craft from a dock ladder. The only major disadvantage is transporting the Hobies. They can be strapped to the top of a car, but getting them up there is almost impossible without two people or a very complicated lift system. We use a pickup truck with a bed extender — works like a charm. I have seen some of the most beautiful sunrises and mystical horizons while riding my kayak. I’m always looking forward to the next trip.
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