Squam Lake Camping trip report, Sept 25-27, 2020

[Dan Foster]

This year's Squam Lake camping trip featured some of the most pleasant weather and paddling conditions that we've ever seen there. Daytime temps were in the high 70s, overnight lows in the high 50s, and the wind was most notably absent. Fall foliage was still a bit muted along the Squam Ridge that forms the northern backdrop for our paddles, but the maples and cranberries in the wetland coves we visited were ablaze.

This was the year for paddling in shorts and t-shirts, for lunchtime swims and sunbathing on sun-warmed rocky ledges, for sunsets tinged with a hint of wildfire smoke, for sunset paddles and pre-dawn paddles, for close encounters with loons, and socially-distanced encounters with other looney types.

[prudenceb]

Nice!  Glad for you all.  Swimming sounds particularly nice.

 

 

[eneumeier]

Dan got up for pre-dawn nav practice and dawn paddles. I just snapped this dawn photo. Absolutely glorious trip. I met a friend for lunch Sunday at Walter's Basin. Highly recommend it. We sat at a hightop outside, well away from others. Two kayakers we kept running into were at another table. (Lookska and Epic boats, both from Arlington).

 

[Dan Foster]

Romaine's sunset paddle:

 

A preview of 2021's "A road less paddled by" trip, for those of you who want to make a true multi-sport weekend of it: