Once again we are in the middle of an El Nino winter in Northern California. With temperatures reaching near 60 degrees on the north shore of Lake Tahoe it is no wonder we are seeing record numbers of kayaks and stand up paddle boards out on the Lake this winter. With little or no wind on the Lake during the past few weeks the paddle boards and kayaks are getting wet and being paddled out of Kings Beach and Sand Harbor. We are also talking to people out of Zephyr Cove and South Lake Tahoe where they are paddling kayaks and paddle boards as well. One reason we know this is because we have customers up from the south shore this week purchasing paddleboards with the intention of paddling all winter as well as in the spring and summer.

I paddled a few times this week and had the privilege of paddling with John and Brenda for an amazing day on Lake Tahoe. John and Brenda live on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and they squeeze in lots of paddling year round. Brenda competes on a recreational level and has some major paddling skills. She recently completed the Tahoe Fall Classic 22.9 miler and has even finished first in her class. John is no couch potato either. John has been on surf boards for many decades and more recently took to paddling sup. When you see him paddling you can see that paddle boarding came easy to him. He spent most of his life on Kauai raising his family and surfing but from now on, according to him “will always” reside in Tahoe.

We started our paddle in Kings Beach and paddled a mix of closed deck kayaks and stand-up paddle boards along the shore past Brockway Hot Springs to Bucks Beach where we stopped to soak up some much needed winter sun among the giant boulders, it felt like 70 degrees on the beach! We ran into a half dozen other kayakers headed around the point, they were all on sit on top kayaks. John pointed out some bands of crystal outcrops that I had never seen before, I pointed out the thousand pound mother of all crystals to him which he had never seen. It is likely that Crystal Bay was named after these rocks. Meanwhile Brenda found a very comfortable stretch of warm sand and was napping, even though she missed “all the excitement” seemed very content to take a siesta in the warm sun. We were a little pressed for time so we cut the paddle short and extended our beach time, which seemed like a priority, at the time.

Marty and Walt Washington of PT Outdoors paddled their Hobie SUP boards south out of Sand Harbor on the same day and Walt was quoted as saying that the paddling was like “paddling a flying carpet over the boulders”. These boulders are visible for as much as 70 feet below Lake Tahoe’s surface. Lake Tahoe gets so calm that people sometimes experience vertigo from looking down from their paddle boards; sometimes it is hard to judge where the water surface is especially when the water is so clear and calm. Walt also mentioned that he found some large cat tracks in the snow on one of the State Park beaches. Wow, just imagine catching a glimpse of that “cool cat” walking down the beach, not Walt “the cool cat”, but the furry four legged kind.

Needless to say Lake Tahoe water is very cold this time of year and you would not want to fall into the lake without the proper clothing. Some winter paddlers are wearing booties, gloves and three to five mil neoprene farmer johns or pants combined with a comfortable “fast” wicking base layer on top. This combination might be good for experienced paddlers who know their limits but to guarantee your survival in extremely cold water consider a complete dry suit with skull cap and gloves. This combination is obviously not aerodynamic for racing or distance paddling on a sup but great if you for any reason find yourself swimming. The one general rule for winter/spring paddling is to “dress for the water temperature” Protect your chest from the cold water, at minimum wear an appropriate base layer under a dry top. Besides protecting your heart from cold shock wearing dry suits makes it possible to cool down by getting into the water if you overheat. Always check the weather forecast before taking your SUP or kayak out on Lake Tahoe and paddle with a buddy and a cell phone/radio.

Be prepared out there because the weather can change fast on Lake Tahoe. In fact the weather on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe is changing back to winter as I write. So I think I will wax up some tele skis and go find some steep and deep powder a.s.a.p. Who knows maybe in a few days I will mix it up and strap some x-c skis to my kayak so I can paddle out to Walt’s “cat beach” on the next glassy day, so much to do, so much to see, so lets go!