March 20 Ice Breaker Paddle
 

It's time to get the boats out of hibernation and back into the water. Sunday, March 20th will be our first official trip of the year. I have driven by Bessemer Lake hundreds of times and now I think it's time to actually check it out. The lake is just across the PA line in Lawrence County on route 317. There is no street address, GPS 40.97644607, 80.50390986244656. There is a brown sign on the north side of the road marking the entrance. Arrive around 11 am. The goal is to get everyone in the water by noon. There is a nice concrete ramp to launch the boats. Let's hope the weather cooperates and we have a nice day to wake up our paddling skills in anticipation of a great 2022 paddling season. I hope to see you there. If you have any questions call/text me @ 330 402 0707.

Jim

Jessica and myself will be there.
Possibly a k9 who is captain of her canoe ( in her mind)

I plan to be there too. Looks like good weather for this paddle.

Interstate 680 South to

St Rt 224 -Go East towards Poland/ Pennsylvania

Look for St Rt 170

Take St Rt 170 South-(Right turn)

Follow St Rt 170 and Pass Poland High school and Chemical Bank.

Look for St Rt 630 (Calla Rd)

Turn Left of St Rt 630 (Calla Rd)

Follow in to PA
The Road for the Launch is just inside the PA line about 3 miles.

The Road will be on the Left with a PA Fish & Boat Commission Sign at the Drive

Turn Left and follow to the Launch

Ice Breaker
 

Planning to be there. Please make the wind subside at bit!:23:

It was great to meet you all today! It turned out to be a much nicer paddle than I would have guessed based on the weather when I left the house this morning. Would have been nicer still with a bit of the sunshine and blue skies we have now over Akron. I’m guessing it’s just as nice at the lake by now, or will be very soon. C’est la vi. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

~Chris

When I woke up Sunday morning the weather was very unpleasant. That made me wonder if anyone would show up for the Ice Breaker. Loading my kayak in a cold drizzle I was thinking, "If this wasn't my event I would most likely skip it". Luckily we have some real diehard paddlers in our group. We had 2 canoes and 7 kayaks in total. The weather improved as we explored Bessemer Lake. The area is very scenic and remote. It was a good location to wake up our slumbering paddling skills. The highlight was paddling down the outlet to the lake and discovering a large beaver dam that was responsible for the high water level in the lake.

Jim

Nice trip Jim! Thanks

Paddle Review
 

Ice Breaker review

A big thank you to Jim for leading his first trip with the club. For 7 out of the 9 paddlers this was our first time on Bessemer Lake. We had 7 kayaks and 2 canoes.

Bessemer lake is a smaller lake but really worth the trip as many of us made several laps around that really feels very remote and very scenic with little island and rocky cliffs.

There was a really cool channel that ended with a perfectly squared beaver dam that made the channel.

Great Paddle, thanks again Jim for the Ice Breaker trip

Mike