03-24-05 Lake Buchanan Falls

Trip of the Week

03-24-05 .............. Buchanan Falls

3 Days at Lake Buchanan - March 24-26, 2005

HASK (Houston Area Sea Kayakers) was having an Easter weekend paddle at Lake Buchanan northwest of Austin, Tx. A pretty good weather forecast and the chance of really big flows over the falls due to the wet winter was enough to get Ken Johnson and I to join them. Ken and I arrived early Thurs. at the Canyon of the Eagles Park (LCRA park) and took an afternoon paddle south past Garrett Island to the island (actually a cutoff portion of a penninsula) about 3.5 Nm from the park. That night Robert, Steve, Sandy, and I did a full moon paddle out to the Falls Creek Falls (1st falls). Mirror flat water, a cloudless sky, and a full moon made for some spectacular views. Falls Creek was flowing faster than I had ever seen it. In fact we heard the falls almost a mile away even though we could not see it at all.

Friday more people arrived and we repeated the paddle Ken and I had taken past Garrett Island, but this time with a nice lunch stop on the island. Friday evening just as we were getting into our tents the western skyline was filled with lightning. We retreated to the lodge due to a weather forecast for 60mph winds, large hail, and "tornados appearing without warning". Luckily we got to enjoy a musical performance for the 2 hours it took the storm to go by. Saturday morning was a series of heavy rain showers mixed with frightening air to ground lightning that we watched from the porch of the park store. In the afternoon we got a break in the weather and made a quick dash up to Falls Creek. Just as we got back, the rain started again and lasted through the night. We had a great (although crowded) group dinner under one tarp at the campground. Sunday morning the wind was blowing 29 mph so we decided to forget paddling and use the time to dry out our gear before packing for the trip home.

The first group of pictures (with blue sky) are a composite of the 2 trips south from the park past Garrett Island. The second group (with the dark skies) are from our Saturday paddle out to Falls Creek. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures on the full moon paddle.

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Click on any picture for a larger view

Ken at the launch area near the park store

A beautiful day, a nice grassy launch site, and plenty of parking

Ken launching his Meridian SK

Recent flooding has washed up lots of wood onto the shore even down here on the lake

Ken with Beehive Bluff in background

Named for it's shape I am told it is actually part of an extinct volcano

Prickly Pear Cactus was fruiting

Brown and green were the overwhelming colors on the islands so this bit of red really caught the eye

Park cabins on the bluff have great lake views

Our campground was on a small slough just to the right of this bluff. Park store is to the left.

The first glimpse of Falls Creek Cove

The falls are hidden back in the shallow cove

The bare, brown, bell shaped areas on the far shore mark the location of Falls Creek Cove

Getting close to Falls Creek Cove

From the west shoreline the falls are hidden until you are almost even with the cove

The Texas version of a Sea Stack ?

It is not up to Pacific Coast standards but it is an interesting formation at the coves mouth

Ken up close to the falls

You can get an idea of the height of the falls with the kayak as a reference

Trip leader Robert paddling behind the falls

At first I was not going to try it, but after Robert I had a go at it too.

The Park Store and kayak rental area

Relax and dry off on porch after a paddle

There are several nice restrooms, a snack bar, and a picnic area in addition to the main store.

The north side of Garrett Island

It is only a 2 Nm paddle south from the park to this island.

Landing for lunch on Garrett Island

The northwest end of the island has a small but nice beach with an open area for lunch.

The south side of the cut-off penninsula

The north side has 2 great beach areas. It is about 1.5 Nm south of Garrett Island.

The group heading back north to the park

Air temp was in the 80's but water temp was in the low 60's

The view west across the lake from the park store

Tanner Point on far right has primitive campsites

We were hoping this was the last line of thunderstorms that would be passing through

The group paddling by the town of Tow

There is a winery with a bed and breakfast at Tow

Tow is the end of the road on the west side of Lake Buchanan and is about 2 Nm south of the falls.

Finally we get to see Falls Creek Falls

This is more water than I ever saw coming over the falls.

Four main tongues of water and several tiny ones

In the past there has been one large one on the right and only one small one on the left

Up close and personal with the falls

Because of the lip you can actually paddle behind the falls.

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