One of my favorite new things to do in the summer is paddle board!!  When we first got ours, about a year or two ago, I could barely actually stand up on it … LOL.  Fortunately, I’ve gotten much better at it, which was needed for this paddle day near Telluride.  Going out from the put-in location towards the mountain we barely had to paddle.  The current was so strong we basically just drifted along.  Of course, that means on the way back you will be paddling against the current.  Add a bit of a head wind and I was thankful I’ve finally gotten some sea legs on these things.  One note about SUPing in Colorado.  The wind typically picks up in the afternoons so it’s best to try to paddle in the mornings or early afternoon.  (I would at least always recommend checking the weather forecast for lightening and / or wind when doing anything in Colorado in the summers.)  This day wasn’t too bad but we did have some afternoon headwinds causing some decent wave action – to add to the fun.

Paddling here was such a spontaneous find, we were driving from Durango to Telluride the day before when we spotted this lake from the road and saw people paddling on it.  The color of the water in some places was turquoise green.  Upon arrival at Telluride Mountain, we made a bee line straight for a place where we could rent SUPs.  Everything turned out so perfectly.  The store was a block from our hotel and they would bring the boards down to the lake and pick them back up for us.  Done.  We were booked for the next day.

This was such a beautiful place to paddle.  The views were jaw dropping.  My husband Todd (fellow Life Buser), his sister Cinda and fellow Life Buser too, her husband, and I all had such a great time we hung out here forever.  We brought beers in an insulated rafting bag, strapped the bag to a board, and enjoyed the cold brews at the far end of the lake where there’s a little beach; while we just lounged on our boards in the shallow tide.

I love spontaneous finds like this so much.  It’s what the Life Bus is all about.  The lake we were on is Trout Lake.  The rental shop was Mountain Adventure Equipment on Telluride Mountain, not in town.  They provided excellent service and the SOL boards they rent were great, very stable.

Just as an FYI – The boards we have are from a Steamboat Springs brand called Hala, our boards are the Hala Hoss model (Carbon).  We love them too.  They have a carbon component to their construction which makes for some great stability.  I just love the name as well 🙂

Happy paddling and adventuring

Lexi