Columbia Lake into Paulinskill River

Today was a PERFECT weather day for paddling.  The weather was clear, crisp and calm.  I had been wanting to paddle Columbia Lake and today I decided it was my destination of choice.  I'm really glad I did. First of all, I was alone at the lake which is always a big plus. When you first put in at the launch, the water is covered in lily pads with only a narrow channel to paddle into the lake.  We haven't had any rain so the water was really shallow, even in the lake.  My first impression, other than the Route 80 noise, was the beautiful flowers that seemed to be everywhere.  I paddled to the backside of the lake and then upstream into the Paulinskill.  As all of the trip, it was beautiful the entire way upstream.  It was scratchy at some points and hard to paddle up, but there was enough water for me to float down afterwards.  I just had to make sure to pick the right channels.  This is a place I will come back to.  Here are some pictures
Columbia Lake in Pictures
Here is the route I took
Map of Columbia Lake Route