Tag: kayaking

Rock Creek

Our granddaughter’s fifth birthday was reason enough to join family at Rock Creek. So here we are at the East Fork Campground on Rock Creek in the Eastern Sierra, our granddaughter, her parents and two sets of grandparents.

We spent two nights here at 9000 feet of elevation, a cool retreat from the heat of the Owens Valley. For breakfast we fired up the Dutch Oven and cooked up a mushroom and brie breakfast strata, one of our favorite breakfast recipes. The hot coals provided heat to warm hands on the chilly morning. With two days to explore, our adventures included hiking around part of Rock Creek Lake and also paddling on the lake.

The trails were linked with wildflowers including Sulphur buckwheat, paintbrush, Lupine, and penstemon and a host of other flowers.

Between us we had three boats, two canoes and one kayak. We even managed to get our dog Carson into a canoe and were pleased to discover that he was a mellow pooch in the boat.

It’s such a lovely experience to paddle a boat on a quiet High Sierra Lake. It’s not a big lake. I logged 1.4 miles paddling around the perimeter. A peaceful and relaxing paddle. At one point we poked our boats up into the creek that feeds the lake and got a sense of white-water paddling. We were here mid-week arriving on Wednesday and leaving on Friday and we were surprised at how many people were here. This is a popular place for fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities. I would imagine the weekend would find the campgrounds full and parking for fishing and hiking scarce.

Ice Cream Paddle

The Lopez Island BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) trip is a biennial event, with the exception of a break during the Covid pandemic. We spent a week camping at Spencer Spit Campground and over the course of the week we did a number of day paddles. One of the traditions is to paddle over to Blakely Island for ice cream. So today is our ice cream paddle. There were 11 of us on the beach at Spencer Spit ready to launch at 9 am. We had clear skies and no wind, a marvelous start for the day. We paddled out to Frost Island and then set a course for Bald Bluff with the intention of minimizing our time crossing the ferry route.

We kept a keen eye out for ferry traffic as well as other boating traffic as we made our crossing. Once we were across, we paddled just far enough offshore to stay out of any eddies and to take advantage of the current.

We landed on the beach at the Blakely Marina at 10:30, too early for lunch but not too early for ice cream.

We took our time eating ice cream and lunch and waiting for the current to change so that we could enjoy an easy paddle back. You can see the 11 of us in the photo below. Once we were back in the boats we poked our noses out into Peavine Pass, where the current was running strong, and made a quick turn to enter the “express” lane for a fast ride. On the return trip we held up for ferry traffic to pass with ferries going both directions.

We were back on the beach at Spencer Point a little after 2 pm. We logged 9.4 miles on the day’s paddle. An excellent outing with a fun group of friends.

Lopez Island: Makaye

This is day four for us on our Lopez Island adventure. Today we met with a few of our fellow kayaking club members (BASK, Bay Area Sea Kayakers) at the Makaye Harbor Boat ramp for a paddle around the southern points of the island.

From the boat ramp we headed south and around Iceberg Point, noodling along the coast, paddling through kelp beds and poking into caves. We conintued to noodle along the coast until we got to Blackie Brady County Park.

There we landed and broke out our lunches. After lunch we were back on the water retracing our route back to our launch site.

Over the course of the day, we logged 11.6 miles, on calm water with very little wind. It was a grand experience paddling along the rugged coast where one can imagine what the currents and water conditions might be like in less favorable conditions. We even saw a Bald Eagle sitting on a rock close to where we were paddling. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough with my camera to capture the magnificent bird.

Rescue Practice

So here’s the scenario. You’re out paddling your kayak along with some of your buddies and one of your paddling buddies ends up unconscious floating face down in the water. And this happens under the Golden Gate Bridge in some lumpy water. What do you do?

This is one of the scenarios we acted out with members of our kayaking club, Bay Area Sea Kayakers (BASK) recently. We gathered in the morning at Horseshoe Bay, on the North side of the Golden Gate Bridge. We broke into two groups, those that wanted to practice basic rescue skills and those that wanted something more challenging including incident management.

I joined the more advanced group. We launched our boats and headed out to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was just off of Lime Point where we had our first execution of a T-rescue. With practice this is an efficient and quick way to get someone back in a boat. After the mornings practice sessions, we landed at Kirby Cove for lunch. As you can see it was a gorgeous day to be on the water.

After lunch we were back on the water. This is where we had a more complicated scenario. Just what do you do when you have an unconscious kayaker in the water? Someone needs to go in the water to assist the person, get them face up, and perhaps provide rescue breathing. Someone else needs to get on the radio to call for help. In our practice, we did get the person back in the kayak and upright, with some cooperation from our “unconscious” victim. The kayak was now full of water and unstable, so two kayakers came alongside to stabilize the boat and the paddler. Two other kayakers used an inline two to get the swamped boat and victim to safety. We were now surfing breaking waves with white caps. I can’t say our “victim” would have survived if this was a real situation, but we all agreed that practicing this scenario gave us a better understanding of what we would do in a real situation. And then messing about in boats with some good friends and well accomplished paddlers is always fun.

Bahía Concepción

Today we arrived at Playa Santipac. At the gate we paid 200 pesos for one night thinking we would move on the next day, but we ended up spending two nights. The campground was fairly busy, but we did find a suitable site with a palapa about 1/2 mile down the beach.

Playa Santipac is a popular spot for big rigs but also suitable for smaller rigs and tents. We had fun visiting with fellow campers that were walking along the beach, many of them from Canada and other northern locations that come down to Baja for several weeks or more. One of the joys of traveling is hearing people’s stories. Everybody on the road seems to be quite friendly and happy to share information.

There is no running water at the campsites, but vendors will drive along the beach in the morning and provide you with a blue barrel with as much water as you wish for a small fee. There are also vendors selling fresh fish, and a variety of other things. We bought water to use for washing since we wanted to conserve the water we had on board for drinking and cooking. We also bought some fresh halibut which served us for a couple of dinners as well as a hammock and some carrot cake.

We did manage to get our boats on the water, paddling out from the beach and around several islands. In one of the photos, you can see Joann in the little wooden boat with a line of RVs on the beach in the background. The beach at our campsite was quite shallow at low tide, so we ended up dragging the boats until we had enough water to paddle. If I had been paying attention, I would have given priority to a campsite further west where the beach wasn’t quite so shallow.

After a few days of dry camping it was nice to have a shower, even if it was just pouring a bucket of cold water over my head. For lunch we walked down the beach to Amando’s, a rustic shack on the beach with delicious seafood tacos.

After a couple of days at Playa Santipac we moved on the Playa Coyote. This is a popular spot. We pulled into the campground at 10:30 in the morning and found the last open site. We were surprised to discover that the campers next to us were kayakers, fellow members of BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers). We pooled our resources for dinner. I fired up the Dutch Oven and baked up some Halibut. In the morning we paddled together around Isle Coyote. It was a gorgeous day to be on the water and the flat calm gave us the opportunity to look below the surface. We saw many sting rays.

And talking about sting rays, I managed to step on one. Ouch! Before we launched our kayaks, I was tossing the ball for Carson and the ball went in the water. Carson wouldn’t go in the water to get it, and while the water was only six inches deep, I forgot to do the sting ray shuffle. Fortunately, I was wearing sandals and after a little first aid I was on the water paddling. I think I was quite lucky, since sting ray wounds can be very painful.

While we did have thoughts of driving further south to Loreto, Playa Coyote was such an idyllic spot we decided to spend time here rather add more miles to our trip.

More photos of Bahia Conception are available in an online gallery.

Baja Bound

Today is my birthday. Birthday number 73. We’re headed to Baja California, the three of us: my wife Joann, our dog Carson and myself. My birthday wish is to see a rainbow. So, as we are headed south on I5 near Firebaugh, there it is, a rainbow off to the east. That has to be a good omen for the start of our 23 day trip. Of course, we have to find an off ramp to get off the highway to take a photo.

We make our first overnight stop at Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area. Not a bad spot for an overnight given the lack of camp sites along our route. This time of year, finding a site in not a problem, but in summer this can be quite a popular spot.

The next morning, we broke camp and hit the road. We needed to stop in San Diego to renew our passports and since our appointment with the passport agency is on March 8 we discovered that we have an extra day. This gave us the opportunity check out the wildflowers at Anza Borrego. The campground at Borrego Palm Canyon was full, but we managed to boondock at Peg Leg Smith, a popular spot for boondocking, and this turned out to be quite close to some of the better flower displays.

Also enjoying the flowers was this painter Stephen Stauffer who spends his time traveling the country and painting.

From Anza Borrego it’s a two-hour drive to San Diego, where we had booked two nights at Campland on the Bay. Campland turned out to be quite a comfortable place to camp even though it is an RV park.

On the morning of March 8 it was an easy matter to break camp and head to downtown San Diego. We were at the San Diego Passport Authority well ahead of our 8:00 AM appointment, and already there was a line. With our applications submitted we drove over to Fiesta Island where we took Carson for a walk at the Fiesta Island Dog Park and then launched our kayaks for a paddle on Mission Bay. Later in the afternoon we returned to the passport agency to pick up our passports. Rather than go back to our campground for dinner we discovered the Pacific Beach Fish Shop that had excellent fresh fish. Then it was back to camp, to get an early start crossing the border.

Ferry Point to Point Isabel

When we arrived at the parking lot at Ferry Point, we were amazed at how many of our fellow BASK members were getting ready to paddle. It looked like a record turnout for a Thursday lunch paddle. We were on the water at 10 a.m. I counted 12 boats on the water. We paddled out a short distance to the shipping channel and held up waiting for a tugboat with a barge to pass. Shortly thereafter we broke into two pods. One paddler was trying a new boat and discovered that it was not working for him. Fortunately, he was able to paddle back to the beach accompanied by several others and swapped the boat for something more stable. That left the remainder of us waiting. Using our radios to communicate, one pod opted to continue on. The second pod would follow.

We paddled around the end of the breakwater and headed for Brooks Island. On the way we noticed flocks of Cormorants flying about. I don’t recall seeing Cormorants in such numbers. With calm water and no wind, we had an easy paddle. We landed at the Point Isabel boat ramp at 11:40 and with the low tide we had plenty of exposed beach. The second pod was not far behind. They landed about the time we got our boats up above the tide line.

When we arrived on the beach, we were delighted to be greeted by one of our members who had arrived by car, taking a break from paddling due to a back issue. Given the fact that many of us are past 70, I’m about to turn 73, it’s amazing that we can get on the water as often as we do. I keep telling myself to go paddling when I can. My paddling days are numbered. In the morning I will find myself questioning whether I’m up for paddling, given various aches and pains and the desire to just take it easy. But after a paddle I feel ten years younger. I consider paddling part of my physical and mental health regime.

After lunch we were back on the water, taking the inside route back to Ferry Point, landing on the beach about 2:30. Our day’s paddle covered 8 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Train Spotting on Elkhorn Slough

With a high tide of 6.2 feet much of the marsh on Elkhorn Slough is underwater. We found ourselves paddling over fences and right up to the railroad tracks. I wonder if the train engineers pay attention to the tide tables.

We launched from Moss Landing, assembling on the beach near Monterey Bay Kayaks. We were on the water at 9:30 a.m. Being a large group, about two dozen people, we formed several pods of kayakers. We paddled along mid-channel watching the sea otters. There were more sea otters than I recall from previous trips, and they seemed quite playful. Then we paddled over the marsh and up an inlet, passing through a fence.

Having explored the north side, we made our way to the south side of the slough where the water was lapping at the rails of the train tracks. Paddling on along the tracks we waited for an approaching freight train. The train was moving quite slowly, out of caution for the high water I would imagine.

It was 11:30 a.m. when we landed at Kirby Park, with the boat ramp completely under water. The current was just starting to ebb, which was a disincentive to paddling the remaining 1.5 miles to the railroad bridge.

After lunch we gathered for a group photo and then made our way back down the estuary, riding a growing ebb current. We were back at our launch site at 1:45 p.m. having logged 9 miles round trip. Along the way we saw plenty of bird life including terns, seagulls, herons, egrets, and a variety of other shorebirds, as well as sea otters and a few harbor seals.

We did have one kayaker capsize under the highway bridge on the return. The current apparently pushed her boat up against the bridge pylons and she flipped over. Fortunately, a couple of experienced kayakers were close at hand and managed to get her back in her boat.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Starting the New Year with a Splash

Once again, we started the new year by going kayaking. This year it was a paddle sponsored by California Canoe and Kayak (CCK). They offered to provide boats for any of us that wanted to invite friends, so we invited two friends. You can see Kristina here on the dock getting help adjusting the foot pegs.

You can also see Kathryn getting outfitted with a sit-on-top kayak. Not having any experience in a kayak, a sit-on-top seemed to be appropriate given its stability. Now it’s time to get on the water. A couple of us enthusiastic paddlers thought it would be appropriate to assist Kristina in a “seal launch,” guiding her boat as we pushed it off the low dock. Not a good idea; she went bottom side up as soon as her boat hit the water. To stay right side up for this kind of launch you need to be able to use the paddle as a brace, not a technique a novice paddler would know.

Kristina, being dressed in a wetsuit and a good sport, was back in her boat and on the water with a smile. Kathryn found her boat a bit slow compared to the more experienced paddlers in touring boats. When some more energetic BASK members offered to give her a tow, she was happy to accept.

Our destination was the Tidewater Boating Center about 2-1/2 miles from our launch site at Brooklyn Basin. Once we reached the boating center, we got out of our boats for snacks and a break. A couple of experienced paddlers were eager to give some instruction on technique for an efficient forward stroke, something that’s quite valuable for covering distances in a kayak.

After the break we climbed in our boats and headed back to our launch site. Our route took us under three bridges, and we had the opportunity to watch the Park Street Bridge open to let a few sailboats through. You can see Kathryn under the bridge. If you look closely, you can see that she is being towed by another paddler. We returned to our launch site where we enjoyed an extravagant potluck meal. A great way to start the new year. Our paddle covered 4.7 miles.

More photos are available in an on-line gallery.

Gone Paddling x 4

Here are four more paddling adventure which deserve to be documented. I consider this blog to be a diary of my adventures. If I don’t record the adventures, I may forget they ever happened. And for the past few years, as the new year turns over, I have turned my blog entries into a coffee table book.

So here are four paddles: 10/27 Richmond to Albany, 11/03 Eckley Pier, 11/10 Gallenas Creek, and 11/28 Windsurfer.

Richmond to Albany

On October 27 there were just two of us with two wooden Pygmy Boats. We launched from Ferry Point in Richmond, paddled out past the end of the breakwater and then past Brooks Island. We poked into the basin northeast of Caesar Chavez Park thinking we might find a spot to land, but we didn’t see much so we paddled to Albany Beach where we stopped for lunch.

After lunch we returned to our launch site by way of the Richmond waterfront, stopping to admire the Red Oak Victory. We logged 11 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Eckley Pier

November 3. Seven of us gathered at Eckley Pier for a paddle to Martinez. The pilings of several abandoned piers provide an obstacle course to practice boat control. I had my GoPro camera running to capture the action. It remains to be seen when that footage will be available. From Eckley Pier we paddled out towards the shipping channel to take advantage of the flooding current.

Once we reached the Martinez Marina, we hauled our boats up the boat ramp and off to the side to keep the ramp free for boaters. We logged 8.8 miles over the course of the day.

Gallenas Creek

November 10. Up the creek, Gallenas Creek. We launched from China Camp and took advantage of the high tide to paddle up the creek. When we could no longer make forward progress, we returned to the McInnis Canoe and Kayak Dock where we hauled out our boats and had lunch. Our course covered 10 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Windsurfer Beach

November 29. Loch Lomond to Windsurfer Beach. This paddle takes us under the Richmond San Rafael Bridge and past San Quentin State Prison. At lunch on Windsurfer Beach, we watched the ferries and a dredge. We paddled around the Marin Islands on the return leg, a total of 8.2 miles.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

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