 |
|
|
Lake Perez at Night
Lake Perez at night
There are lots of things people like to do after dark but canoeing isn't usually one of them. Until they try it. Canoeing on Lake Perez, at night, is a wonderful adventure. This 72-acre lake is nestled in the Stone Valley Recreation Area which is managed by Penn State. It is only a 20-minute drive from downtown State College but feels much more remote. We arrived at dusk, a few minutes after sunset, on a clear evening. The lake appeared calm, the evening was quiet and a full moon would be rising within the hour. We pushed off shore in our canoe not knowing what to expect, but excited by the simple adventure of discovery. Lake Perez, at dusk, is very much alive. Within the first few minutes on the water we were buzzed by bats, investigated by beavers, descended upon by ducks and honked at by geese. The bats were everywhere. Erratic flight patterns sent them every direction as they followed internal radar screens across the lake's surface. They appeared to be out of control, diving and darting about, but they never crash landed into the lake or into us. I will admit to ducking a few times, probably needlessly, but it's a natural reaction when bats are coming toward you at crazy angles. Our attention soon turned to several beavers that had taken an interest in us. Like little Loch Ness creatures, the beavers broke the water with their heads, backs and occasionally tails. They swam through the water gracefully, silently and very quickly. One fellow would circle our canoe, diving underwater and suddenly reappearing on the other side of the boat. From time to time one would smack the surface of the water with a powerful tail slap. The noise seemed incredibly loud amid the silence of dusk. There must be hundreds of ducks at Stone Valley and this night we had a large group of Canadian geese as well. The ducks began to congregate in the middle of the lake for a group meeting. They playfully flew about in groups of two or three, or five and six, and came in for synchronized group landings near our boat. We would drift towards them and they would quietly paddle away en masse. When we got up to speed and actually surprised them, they would scold us with a chorus of muffled quacks, reprimanding us for being inconsiderate humans and crashing the party. The Canadian geese were much more vocal as darkness set in across the lake. We found them, by accident, sheltered in a small cove. The alert geese guards sent out a warning when our canoe drifted too close, honking and shrieking the way big geese do, which startled us as much as we did them. With apologies to all we back paddled away from shore but the geese decided to relocate to a quieter cove. Soon total darkness enveloped Lake Perez and the bats disappeared, the ducks settled down and the beavers kept their tails to themselves. Silence brought a calm to the lake surface. We settled down and watched the stars come out. The Milky Way stretched across the night sky and we drifted aimlessly in the darkness. Blinking red lights of airplanes drew straight lines through the connect-the-dots puzzle of constellations above. The night sky is not all black, but rather a mix of dark blues and deep purples. The moonrise was preceded by a light blue sky with twinges of yellow. This night promised a full moon, and we were anticipating a grand event. We were not let down. As the sky lightened, the moon crested the ridge and burst through the dense pine trees that surround the lake. It was brighter and appeared closer than we had expected. The moonlight shimmered on the lake surface and sent a path of reflected light right to us. The added light let us see the mass of ducks silhouetted around us. The moon's color changed as it rose, blending from a bright white to a softer yellow. With it came a chill in the air, as if the moonlight cast a cold spell across the lake. That was our signal to paddle in and call it a night. If we had warmer clothing we may have stayed longer, but that lesson will be remembered when we return. Boats and their necessary accessories like paddles quickly match the water temperature. I would have liked the warmth of gloves and a hat. If you have your own boat, you can launch at Stone Valley anytime. You'll need to get a permit and have life jackets on board. Dress warmly, as the night air brings a sharp drop in temperature. Light gloves, a warm hat and a few extra layers of clothing will keep you comfortable. Flashlights or headlamps will help you investigate strange critter noises. Directions
|
|
