5 June 2015
Lake #36 Piedmont
Lake, Belmont, Harrison, and Guernsey Counties
Eastern Ohio Piedmont Lake is located between Cambridge and
Cadiz approximately 10 miles north of Interstate 70 off State Route 800. The
majority of Piedmont Lake is located within Belmont County; the dam is located
in Harrison County and the marina is located in Guernsey County. The Muskingum
Watershed Conservancy District manages the entire lake.
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| Tranquil Evening on Piedmont Lake |
horsepower limit.
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| Piedmont Lake Marina |
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| If I Owned a Motorized Boat it Would be a Pontoon Boat |
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| Marina Boat Ramp |
When you are at Piedmont Lake you feel like you are miles
from civilization. The lake is surrounded by forest. There is a special tranquility here and an
abundance of wild life. On the day of my paddle, I had a bald eagle fly ten
feet over my head, saw two deer come down to the lake to drink, saw a sneezing
mule/donkey (I am still trying to figure that one out), and watched great blue
herons hunting their dinner. I only saw one other boat out the entire time I
was there.
When I put in, there were dark storm clouds to the west and
the sound of thunder in the distance. I decided to go ahead and paddle until
the storm got closer. I got lucky and the storm went around the lake. I headed
southeast from the boat ramp, paddling toward the marshland at the end of the
lake. On my way there I had a bald eagle fly right over my head. It was the
closest I have been to one and it was amazing. After flying to the other side
of the lake, he flew back and landed in a tree close to me. I sat there for
quite some time just watching him and enjoying the moment. There were beautiful
flowers growing along the water’s edge here so I decided it was a good spot for
my baby duck’s picture. I decided to name her Caitlyn in honor of Bruce
Jenner’s recent transformation (something about the glasses reminded me of
her). I remember watching Bruce win the gold medal in 1976 at the Summer
Olympics, setting a new world record in the decathlon.
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| Storm to the West |
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| Thunder in the Distance But No Lightning |
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| Looks Much Better to the Southeast |
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| Bald Eagle Hidden in the Leaves |
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| Beautiful Flowers Along the South Shore |
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| Baby Duck Caitlyn |
I then paddled south into a small cove of the lake. I saw
something there that I had never seen before. It looked as if the bottom
of the lake was molting. Chunks of tan bark like pieces were floating to the
surface. It was very cool and creepy at the same time. I have since learned that the eastern part of the lake receives run off from reclaimed coal mining land. The water draining from the reclaimed watershed contains aluminum and is highly acidic. The chemical changes Ph when it enters the lake and oxidizes becoming a sulfate. Over the years, the aluminum sulfate forms on the bottom of the lake. I don't really know what happens to make it start flaking off and rising to the surface. Mike Greenly with the Ohio Division of Wildlife District Four tried to explain it to me but I kind of zoned out at that point. The important thing is that it isn't toxic unless you decide to drink all the water in the cove. Heading out of the cove, there is a beautiful tree at the corner. This
looks like it would be the perfect spot for a picnic. It was in the evening
before dinner so I didn’t get to take advantage of it. Kayakers could easily
take out and put in here.
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| Southeast Cove |
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| At First I Thought This Was Tree Bark |
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| Lake Molting |
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| Creepy and Cool |
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| Great Spot for a Picnic |
Shortly after turning the corner, I saw two deer come down
to the lake to drink. Unfortunately, I startled them before I could get good
pictures. As I was paddling to where I last saw the deer, I started hearing
strange sneezing sounds. When I got closer, I saw that it was a mule/donkey (I
am not sure which one). There wasn’t a person with it, kind of strange.
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| Drinking at the Water's Edge |
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| The Second Deer Ran Away Too Fast for a Picture |
I continued paddling southeast and came upon a field of American Water Lotus. It had started to rain by this time and drops were floating on their
tops. I love the way the rain droplets bead on their surface. I think the leaves would make a great material for raincoats.
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| Heading Southeast Toward Marshland |
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| Field of American Water Lotus |
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| I Think I Should Get a Patent for Making Raincoats Out of These |
Since I had paddled along the south shore when heading to the marshland, I decided to paddle back to the boat ramp along the north shore. The north shore had several
cool rock formations. The rain started to come down hard so I stopped
focusing on the scenery, put away my phone/camera, and paid more attention to paddling. I loved how serene this lake was and all the wildlife I got to see. I will be going back.
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| Heading Northwest Back To Boat Ramp |
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| Some of the Many Rocks Along the North Shore |
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| The Rocks Were Like Art Sculptures |
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| The End to a Serene Paddle |
After packing up, I stopped at Hog Heaven in New Philadelphia (1290 West High
Avenue, 330-308-8040) for dinner. I had never been here before but was told that they had good ribs. I am a sucker for ribs. Their ribs were not the best I have had but they were pretty good. The fried zucchini appetizer was excellent. They had a menu item that I was too chicken to try; it was called Prehistoric Hog Eggs. If you have had them, I would be really curious to learn what you thought about them.
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| In Search of Ribs |
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| I Ate at the New Philadelphia Location |
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Prehistoric Hog Eggs, Never Seen That Before
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May all your roads end in water,
Mama Duck Mona
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