Author: treve

When I'm not creating architectural photos for clients (see my primary website at www.treve.com), I like to travel, hike, kayak and enjoy other artistic and cultural pursuits. I'm also concerned about environmental and social issues and issues of faith.

Kayaking Adventure in Monterey Bay

In January our kayaking club, BASK, makes an annual pilgrimage to Monterey for a weekend of paddling. This year on Saturday, January 11, we congregated at Del Monte Beach just north of the Monterey Bay Kayaks for a safety talk and to organize into pods. There were about 30 of us. We broke up into three pods, the “long pod” that had a goal of paddling out to the buoy off of Point Pinos, a “fast pod” that intended to go as far as Lovers Point, and a “slow pod” that would follow the same route as the “fast pod.”

We opted to join the fast pod. We were on the water shortly after 10:00. There was a little bit of wave action getting off the beach. I felt like I got a bucket of water thrown in my face as I punched through a wave.

Once on the water we paddled out past the harbor, along the shore, and past the Monterey Bay Aquarium, keeping a distance from the white water surging around rocks. We saw what must have been hundreds of sea otters.

Off of Lovers Point Beach we stopped briefly to observe the surf, noting that conditions were not conducive to landing for lunch. We continued paddling out past Point Pinos. As we left the protection of the bay we started to feel the swell. These 8– to 10-foot waves would roll under us as we paddled. It felt like we were paddling up and down hills. Up one side and down the other, or as one paddler suggested, an elevator ride up and down. After getting a sense of ocean paddling, we turned around and headed back.

Track of the Monterey Bay paddle.

We stopped for a few minutes to break out our emergency snacks since we wouldn’t be landing on the beach for lunch. One paddler who felt more confident in the conditions ventured closer to shore and managed to surf a few of the waves. Then it was back to our launch point. You can see the track of our paddle above.

I had hoped to have a smooth landing, but my timing was off, and a wave caught me. As my boat broached, turning parallel to the waves, I was able to brace on the wave and side-surf into the beach without getting dumped. We were back on the beach at 1:00 having logged 7.4 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

New Year Paddle Adventure in Oakland

What better way is there to start the new year than paddling? One of our local outfitters, California Canoe and Kayak (CCK), has a tradition of hosting a New Year’s Day paddle followed by a potluck lunch where they provide a huge pot of Turkey Chili. I signed up to reserve a boat since renting would save me loading and unloading. We launched from the CCK dock at Jack London Square.

Kieth, the owner of CCK, put me in a P&H Virgo LV. I’ve been admiring this boat for some time so today I get to give it a spin. The folks at CCK were quite well organized. Boats were already on the dock with names on them when I arrived at 9:30. Actually, the boat that had my name on it was not the boat I paddled. I swapped with another paddler who didn’t fit in the Virgo.

Shortly after 10:00 we were on the water. We had three pods of paddlers, an ambitious group heading for Treasure Island, a less ambitious group headed to Tidewater Boating Center, and an easy group headed for Coast Guard Island. Paddling on the Oakland Estuary is always an interesting experience. I opted for the paddle to Tidewater. As we made our way up the Estuary our first encounter was with several rowing shells. We hugged the shore to let them pass. Heading into Brooklyn Basin, we were serenaded by a DJ playing music and calling out dance steps to a bevy of dancers on the wharf. All the drawbridges (Park Street, Fruitvale and High Street) gave us a show as several fleets of sailboats hailed them to give way.

We arrived at Tidewater Boating Center about 11:30, and after a short break we were back in our boats. One of my challenges on this paddle was wondering if I could climb in and out of my boat at the dock, since I’m still a bit stiff following knee replacement surgery. I’m happy to report that I managed just fine. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Last Paddle for the Year

At 9:50 nine of us had our boats on the beach ready to launch. After a short safety talk and a radio check we were on the water at 10:00. Our plan was to paddle out across the shipping channel and then head north towards Red Rock and then on to Point Molate. We would be riding the end of the flood with slack water about 11:00. Alan was appointed our navigator, having set some waypoint on his GPS to help us stay clear of the shipping channels. The instructions were to “follow Alan.”

That said, it seemed like Alan was following the rest of the pod. I seemed to be lagging behind preoccupied with poking at my cameras. I’m using an iPhone 14 in a dive case and my trusty Olympus TG-5, trying to figure out which arrangement I like better. More on that later.

We paddled out to Bouy #6 marking the starboard side of the Richmond shipping channel and turned north towards Red Rock, rounding another Bouy #6 marking the Southampton Shoal Channel. We crossed a couple of eddie lines with some confused water, paddling into a light wind and riding over the wake of a couple of ferries.

From Red Rock we made our way to Point Molate Park landing on the beach at 11:45. With the high tide we didn’t have much beach so we took pains to get our boats well above the waterline. During lunch Evelyn asked for photographic proof that we were enjoying a delicious persimmon bread with bourbon a friend of hers had provided. After lunch we were anxious to get back on the water, since it was a chilly day, despite the sun.

Our return course took us past Castro Rocks where we gave some space to the harbor seals sunning themselves on the rocks. We then paddled past the Chevron wharf and back to our launch site. We were back on the beach at 1:45 having logged 8.4 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Winter Road Trip to Bishop: Memories and Challenges

We missed the Bishop contingent of our family over Thanksgiving since they were hunkered down with Covid. This prompted us to clear our calendars to make the trek over the mountains for a visit. Since the camper had been sitting idle in the driveway for three months, it was no surprise that the battery was dead. A quick trip to the local auto parts store and we were ready to roll. We decided we’d break the drive up over two days.

We like to take our time. It was 10:30 am when we rolled out of the driveway. Highway 89 was open, so we drove over Echo Summit on Highway 50 and then took 89 over Luther Pass and down through Markleeville. It was 5:30 pm when we parked the rig for the night on National Forest land near Mono Lake. It was dark, but we found a spot to camp without much trouble. Four-wheel drive is recommended here since there is soft sand. This is dispersed camping, boondocking if you like. No services. We cooked dinner, turned the heater on and hunkered down for the night. It was 18 degrees when I stepped out of the camper at 7 am the next morning. I wandered around with my camera, fascinated by the stark beauty of our location.

We arrived in Bishop at 10:30 am with plenty of time to get settled before the evening Winter Tradition program at granddaughter Annabelle’s school.

Holiday activities also included a visit the Laws Railroad Museum, where we rode the train and sang Christmas carols with Santa. Daughter-in-law Serena got to show off a quilt project that she participated in.

On December 15 it was time to head home. A winter storm had dumped snow on the mountains, leaving the roads icy. We started our return journey by heading north on 395, but the ice on the roads was intimidating even with four-wheel drive and snow tires.

We turned around and headed south, arriving back in Bishop about noon where we rendezvoused with family for lunch at the Pupfish Cafe. This is one of our favorite local restaurants, noted for their Belgian waffles. From there we continued south going over Walker Pass. We found a gorgeous little campground, Sandy Flat Camp, on the Kern River and spent the night there. We were the only campers in the campground. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Osteoarthritis and Knee Replacement: My Personal Story

After several years of hobbling around with a bum knee the time has come to “upgrade.” Here’s a MRI image of my knee. You can see the femur and the tibia with a thin white line between. The surgeon referred to this as “bone on bone,” Osteoarthritis.

So, on August 29, Joann drove me to the surgery center. We arrived at 5:30 in the morning. As I was contemplating the surgery, I started to wonder what if they don’t have the right parts? As they were wheeling me into position in the operating room I asked the surgeon’s assistant. She pointed to a cart stacked with dozens of boxes. No need to worry. Turns out my new artificial knee is a Zimmer Persona size 6 on the femur and size D on the tibia.

At 3:30 in the afternoon I was climbing up the front steps to my house. You can see a photo of me on crutches on my front porch. Soon, as part of the recovery process, I was circulating ice water around my knee.

Here’s an image I lifted from a website that shows what the parts look like, and an x-ray image that shows the new knee joint.

On December 7 I managed to join friends for a three mile walk around Point Pinole, proof that I’m on the mend. Here’s a photo of me with our dog Carson. It may be a few more months before I’m where I’d like to be, but progress is encouraging.

The recovery process involves physical therapy sessions twice a week, lots of exercises to get my range of motion back and to build strength. One of my challenges is that after years of walking with an affected gate, muscles in my hip have atrophied.

Exploring the Beauty of Point Reyes by Kayak

Our adventure today starts at Miller Boat Launch. Nine of us were on the water at 10:30. Here’s a photo of Steve and Joann carrying my red Dagger Stratos down the boat ramp. Since I’m still a little gimpy following knee surgery I’m happy to have help. Once we were on the water, we paddled south across Tomales Bay, and then followed the shore along the Point Reyes Peninsula.

We encountered thousands of birds flying past us, most of them cormorants. We paddled past Tomales Beach and Marshall Beach and poked into a little inlet with a cabin, trying to recall the history of this location. Then with ample water from a high tide, we explored a little marsh at Long Cove Beach.

For lunch we found a little beach just south of Fruit Tree Beach. After lunch we paddled north back across the bay and followed the coast back to our launch site.

We were back on the beach at 2:00 having paddled a little over eight miles. It’s always an adventure to paddle on Tomales Bay, one of my favorite places to paddle.

Thanksgiving 2024

Plans change. Our original plan was to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house, but with part of the family hunkered down in Bishop with Covid, we opted for “Plan B,” to take the turkey and fixings to Aunt Sue’s place in San Jose, arriving Wednesday afternoon, with time to get a jump on preparing the food. I’ve become an advocate for spatchcocking and brining the turkey. Here you see the spatchcocked turkey in a pot with brine ready to go into the refrigerator to sit overnight.

You can also see Aunt Sue attacking a squash with hammer and knife, and Joann getting the resulting squash pieces ready to go in the oven. Not shown here is the cranberry relish which is a tradition for us, raw cranberries, an orange and sugar, all thrown into a blender. We much prefer this raw recipe to cooked cranberries. The challenge here though was finding a working blender. I threw all the ingredients in Sue’s blender, hit the switch and nothing happened. I then grabbed her immersion blender, hit the switch, and nothing happened. I dumped the goods into her food processor, hit the switch and the motor whirred but the blades didn’t turn. Broken. A text message to my daughter Amy resulted in a blender that finally got the job done.

The 14 pound turkey went into the oven at 10:00. At 11:15 it came out looking quite delicious and juicy.

There we six of us for dinner. Amy brought a homemade apple pie. Yum! And while the turkey was in the oven, we entertained ourselves with a board game, Top Dog.

While we missed the Bishop contingent of our family, we had a festive time with enough leftovers to keep us going for a couple more days.

After the Storm

Yesterday at 3:25 PM an email appeared in my inbox with the subject “Late notification: Paddle tomorrow…” Outside my window a heavy rain was pounding the house, and I was not of a mind to go outside. The weather prediction was for the weather to clear up, and looking at my calendar, paddling looked like a possibility. I decided to wait until morning to see if the weather, and my body, still in recovery from knee surgery were up for paddling.

I awoke to clearing clouds and a rainbow. I put my boat on top of the car and headed to Ferry Point. Part of my motivation was the possibility of some photo opportunities paddling on calm waters with blue sky and dramatic clouds. At 10:30 seven of us launched our boats and paddled out to the end of the breakwater and then made a turn to the south to paddle around Brooks Island.

At noon we landed at Barbara and Jay Vincent Park in Richmond where we broke out our lunches. After lunch we were back in the boats at 12:45 to continue our circumnavigation, staying close to the Richmond shore.

We were back at our launch site at 1:40, having logged a little over six miles on a glorious paddle. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Back in the Boat

My last paddling venture was on August 24. I wrote about that in a previous post. On August 29 I underwent surgery for a knee replacement. Today marks my first time back in the boat, 77 days post-surgery. Joining my BASK paddling buddies, nine of us assembled on the beach at Eckley Pier and launched at 10:30.

Given the hiatus, I was anxious about getting to the launch with all of my gear, my ability to get in and out of the boat, and my stamina for the paddle. We managed to launch without missing any piece of gear, although my wife and I picked up the wrong paddles. We were both thinking something wasn’t quite right until I noticed I was using her paddle. My paddle is a little longer and has a little bigger shaft. Amazing how much this affected our sense of well-being.

My knee is still a bit stiff, but by sitting on the back deck and sliding into the cockpit I was able to get into the boat comfortably. From the beach we paddled towards the middle of Carquinez Strait to pick up the current. As we passed Benicia Shoals, we were riding a 2.5 knot current. Making quick time, we landed at the Martinez Marina boat ramp at 11:30.

Once we had all the boats off the boat ramp, we broke out our lunches. It seems to be a tradition in this group to share chocolate, and today there was no shortage: Ghirardelli, Baby Ruth, chocolate-covered caramel and more!

After lunch it was time to move the boats back down the boat ramp and onto the water. Our plan was to stay close to shore and eddy hop as needed until the current changed. It seems the current was with us on the return, so we made good time.

We didn’t get very far on the return leg before my camera battery died. (Note to self: change the battery during the lunch stop.) With the dramatic clouds and lighting, I didn’t want to miss the photo opportunities, so I made a quick dash to the little beach at Port Costa and changed the battery.

Staying close to shore gave us the opportunity to play in the pilings. Those of us that didn’t mind risking scratches on our boats made our way through the pilings, while a few with composite boats decided to stay outside and avoid the risk.

We were back at the beach at Eckley Pier at 2:05, having logged close to nine miles. After sitting in the boat for an hour, I found that I could hardly stand; my knee had stiffened up from sitting. With the help of friends, I got out of the boat, and we got the boats off the beach and back on the top of the car. I don’t quite have the range of motion I’d like to have to get in and out of the kayak easily, but that will come with time. It was great to be back on the water paddling with good friends. Here’s the track of our course.

More photos available in an online gallery.

Redwoods in the Bay Area: Visiting Muir Woods

Peter, my Cornish “cousin” spent a couple of day with us on his recent visit. I mentioned Peter in a previous post. One of Peter’s requests while visiting was to see redwoods. What better place to see redwoods in the Bay Area than Muir Woods National Monument? This can be a very busy location, and you must book parking ahead of time to ensure you can access the park if you are driving. There is also a shuttle run by Marin Transit.

Here you can see Peter and me standing in front of a grove of trees. Looking up these trees are truly awe inspiring, raising their limbs high above the forest floor. The tallest tree in the park is 786 years old give or take a few years, standing at over 250 feet. This tree sprouted at about the time of the last Crusades. Redwood trees can live as long as 2500 years and grow up to 380 feet tall. The oldest tree in the park is at least 1,200 years old.

We walked the main trail along the east side of the creek as far as the Fourth Bridge, which was out of service and being repaired. We then backtracked and crossed the creek at the Third Bridge, returning on the west side of the creek. I was pleased to be able to walk the 2.5 miles given my recent knee surgery. The fact that the trail is quite flat was a welcome benefit given my gimpy knee.