{"id":23743,"date":"2020-10-13T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=23743"},"modified":"2021-10-14T09:37:01","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T16:37:01","slug":"lake-tugalo-french-toast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2020\/10\/13\/lake-tugalo-french-toast\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Tugalo French Toast"},"content":{"rendered":"

I lift my feet and fall back, submersing myself in the waist-deep water. The temperature is shocking but tolerable. Forest and sky swim and shimmer above me, melting and melding into one another.<\/p>\n

My muscles contract, then relax, as I float back up to the surface. I stand and wipe the water from my eyes, just in time to hear a high-pitched shriek followed by schoolgirl giggles. My wife is doing the same maneuver in the creek behind me. Only the creek where she takes a dip has not mixed with the tempered waters of the lake. A warm breeze blows into the cove, wicking the droplets off my skin. I relish my coolness, knowing that I will be hot again when we leave this shaded inlet and paddle across the open water.<\/p>\n

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My wife and I are canoe camping for a couple of days on a nearby lake. Technically, the lake is a small reservoir formed from the damming of a river, but despite being influenced by humans, most of the area around it is wilderness. There are no houses along its shores and only a few access points. And the lake\u2019s horsepower restrictions keep the motorboat traffic to a few fishermen. Thus, it\u2019s an ideal spot for flatwater canoes and recreational kayakers.<\/p>\n

But just because we are camping does not mean we are roughing it. Being on a lake means weight is not as much of a consideration as our typical canoe camping trip. We don\u2019t have to worry about dragging over low water gravel bars or making tight turns around rocks. Our chairs are comfy, our sleeping pads are thick, our food is fun.<\/p>\n

Like a lot of outdoor enthusiasts this spring, my wife and I are reconnecting with the wilderness that is in our own backyard. Our house is only six miles from the boat ramp, but as we explore the coves and streams feeding this lake, home seems far away.<\/p>\n