Tag: Mendocino

Mendo Madness: Albion River

September 25. With conditions on the ocean predicted to be a bit spicy, we opted to paddle on the Albion River. Fourteen of us were on the boat ramp for a briefing and safety check before we slipped into the water at 8:45.

We paddled up the river about four and a half miles. The river narrows at this point and with brush and debris blocking further progress we turned around looking for a spot to land for lunch. We managed to find a grassy spot on the bank where we could haul our boats out of the water.

After lunch we continued back down the river. We rafted up in the lagoon, which is a couple of miles upstream near one of the houseboats. One of our club members wanted to capture some drone footage of kayakers, so we accommodated him. We followed directions relayed by radio.

We stopping to explore some of the houseboats. Tom managed to get his kayak inside to octagon house, which is pretty dilapidated. We were back at the boat ramp at 1:45 having logged 9.5 miles after a very pretty paddle. You can view more photos in an online gallery.

Mendo Madness: Big River

Wednesday. September 25. Today we paddled on the Big River. Quite a contrast to paddling on the coast. Flat calm water. Peaceful and Quiet. The Redwood Trees stand majestically on the steep banks of the river. We were a little slow getting on the water. A pod of about eight kayakers were launching as we were getting ready. Three of us were on the water at 9:40.

We paddled up the river until noon keeping an eye out for a good landing spot for lunch. The steep banks of the river do not provide many spots to land. At noon we found a shallow sandy spot among a few fallen logs and ate lunch sitting on a log with our feet dangling in the water. We didn’t dally long. With the water level dropping with the ebbing current, we were back on the water at 12:20 after a 20 minute lunch stop.

We had crossed over a fallen log going up the river and on the return trip the water level had dropped enough that getting our boats through the tangle of branches and over the log proved to be a bit of a challenge.

We saw quite a few cormorants and a couple of water ouzels on the river. Paddling back down the river with the current pushing us made for a fast trip. We were back at our launch site at 2:25 having logged 11.6 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Mendo Madness 2025

Every September our kayaking club, Bay Area Sea Kayakers (BASK), heads to Mendocino for a week. Over the course of the week there were some 70 or so club members camping at Van Damme State Park. Joann and I arrived on the afternoon of Monday, September 22. Events of the week included a number of organized paddles on the coast and on the rivers. I participated in four paddles, two river and two coastal.

September 23. Big River. The Big River empties into the ocean just south of the town of Mendocino. Nine of us were on the water at 10:00 launching from the sandy beach to the east of the highway.

This is a winding lazy river which feels the effects of the tides. Redwood trees come right down to the water, and the banks are lined with ferns and alders as well as redwoods. Paddling here is a serene and peaceful experience. Most of the group stopped for lunch at the “second culvert.” There is a dirt logging road that runs along part of the river, and the road goes over a couple of culverts that are big enough to paddle through. Rather than join the others for lunch, Joann and I opted to continue paddling up the river riding the tail end of the flood. At 11:30 we noted that the current had stopped going upstream. It was time to stop for lunch. I caught a glimpse of a river otter as we were preparing to stop. Other paddlers reported seeing a number of otters and a bear.

We found a shallow spot with a downed log, pulled our kayaks up out of the water and sat on the log while we ate lunch. As we were eating the water level was rising and our boats were threatening to float off without us. The dry log that we were sitting on was no longer dry. We hopped back in our boats and paddled back down the river. We seemed to be chasing a Great Blue Heron down the river. He would alight and fly down the river a few handed yards, only to repeat as we approached again. We were back at our launch site about 3:30 having logged 14.5 miles.

September 24. Open Coast. While the rivers are calm and serene, the coast can be quite dynamic. Some spots give you the sensation of being in a washing machine with water sloshing back and forth with the wave action. We joined a paddle led by two of our more experienced members, Tom and Ellen, launching from Van Damme Beach at 10:30. Eleven of us paddled south exploring a couple of caves and tunnels. There was plenty of dynamic water with a significant swell spicing things up. Fortunately, there are some reefs and rocks that provide protection for some of the features.

One popular feature is a pour over called Disney. A pour over is a feature where, with proper timing, you can ride a wave over a rock. I have watched many people execute this pour over on previous trips but never had the nerve to try it myself. Today it looked like something I could manage, so I went for it.

I positioned myself for the ride and was holding position while watching the waves, looking for the wave that I would ride. As a wave approached all the water in the hole I was in disappeared, and then with a whoosh a wave caught me and took me over the rock. I was quite happy that I stayed upright. Having a good bracing stroke saved me from capsizing. One of the pictures above shows Ellen riding over Disney.

September 25. Albion River. The Albion river is another lazy tidal river south of Mendocino. Nineteen of us launched from a boat ramp at the Albion River Campground. There are several houseboats on this river which gives it a sense of humanity although most of the houseboats are abandoned and deteriorating which gives them a ghostly feel.

We paddled up the river and found a dry marsh where we could haul out for lunch. After lunch we continued up the river until we were stopped by a downed tree at the 4 1/2 mile mark. Several people decided to haul their boats over the logs and continue exploring. That looked like quite an exercise, getting out of the boat, climbing up on the log and dragging a boat over. A couple of people ended up in the water, or hanging onto the log like drowned sloths. You can see a photo of Deborah hauling her boat over a log. Most of us were content to call this the end of the road and we headed back down the river.

September 27. Rock Gardening 101 and Potluck. Today I was happy to have made the list for Bill Vonnegut’s Rock Gardening 101 Class. This is all about learning how to read the water and making decisions about what features to explore given conditions and skill. I opted to leave my camera on the beach, since I wanted to be unencumbered by any equipment that might be a liability should I capsize. It was actually refreshing to concentrate on paddling without my mind always looking for photo ops.

One of the thrills was doing the elevator ride. Waves that come into a vertical surface such as a cliff lose their forward energy as they reflect off the cliff. You can actually point the bow of your boat at the cliff, holding it just inches away while the waves take you up and down. It’s an amazing experience. Conditions were such today that we did not execute any pour overs or explore any caves.

In the evening the club had a potluck dinner with more food than you can imagine. We participated in the Dutch Oven Cookoff, entering our Enchilada Casserole as an entree. After dinner, with our eyes drooping, we were off to bed before the awards were announced. We woke the next morning to discover that we had won the best entree. The award was a bottle of Silver Wood 2002 Cabernet. What an excellent wine! Cheers!

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Mendocino Tunnel Vision

Seven of us gathered on the beach at Russian Gulch to explore the coast north to Point Cabrillo. When paddling around rocks we wear helmets and prefer plastic boats that are more forgiving when banging into rocks. We also wear wetsuits or drysuits should we end up going for a swim. We were on the water about 9 a.m. After a few days of rough water, we had calm conditions with little wind and wave action. This afforded us the opportunity to explore just about every cave and arch between Russian Gulch Beach and Point Cabrillo.

We did have one person go for a swim early in our paddle. A good opportunity to practice a T-rescue.

We paddled north along the coast noodling into every feature we could find. I had a GoPro camera attached to my helmet and was able to record much of our cave exploration.

We did find a couple of channels that offered some dynamic water. A few members of our pod opted to avoid the surging and sloshing water by paddling outside the rocks where conditions were calmer. Those of us that paddled inside the rocks had some fun bracing and practicing boat control.

We arrived at Point Cabrillo just before noon and found a very protected beach on which to land for lunch. After lunch we noodled our way back down the coast, once again taking advantage of the conditions to paddle in and out of the many caves and tunnels.

We were back on the beach a little after 3 p.m., having logged 7.7 miles. You can see the track of our paddle on the map. An excellent day on the water with some good paddling friends.

Big River Paddle

The Big River offers a spectacular opportunity for a calm water paddle in Mendocino. This is a favorite paddle for a number of our BASK club members, and an option when conditions on the coast are a bit challenging.

Today we had quite a group of paddlers launching from the beach, both well-seasoned, experienced paddlers and a few people new to kayaking. Paddling here feels like being in a canyon between the towering redwood and fir trees lining the river.

We split into two pods, with the faster paddlers in the lead and the slower paddlers poking along behind. This worked until we happened on a family of otters that were feeding along the bank and seemed to be oblivious to us. We watched for quite a while before continuing up the river. Trying to photograph the otters was a challenge. I did not capture anything of interest.

Along about noon we found a spot where we could land for lunch. There are not many places where one can land easily. After lunch we continued up the river until several paddlers decided it was time to turn back. Three of us split off from the main pod and paddled back.

It seems that a logging company had done some work maintaining logging roads. We explored a couple of culverts they had installed and poked our noses into a little waterfall that was flowing down the bank. We logged a little over nine miles by my recollection. My phone battery died before we got back to our landing, and I lost part of my GPS track.

Albion River Paddle

This was our first full day in Mendocino, having arrived the evening before to join our fellow BASK members (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) at Van Damme State Park. The fog was just starting to clear as we launched from the boat ramp at the Albion River Campground. This is a private campground and there is a $10 fee to launch a kayak here.

There were 11 of us and we were on the water at 10:20. What makes this paddle fun is following the meandering river through the coastal forest and passing houseboats that have untold stories to tell. There are also plenty of pilings and remnants from logging days. Along about noon it was time to find a landing spot for lunch.

Three paddlers opted to land early at a convenient spot on the bank. The rest of us paddled on until we found the waterway blocked by a downed tree. With no convenient spot to land we paddled back down the river to join our fellow paddlers who had stopped earlier.

We were back at our launch site at 3 p.m. having logged nine miles. You can see more photos in an online gallery. You can also read about previous adventures here.

Mendo Madness

We were hardly back from Scotland when it was time to pack up the kayaks to head for Mendocino. On September 20 we pointed our rig to Van Damme State Park to join our kayaking club for our annual Mendo Madness. Each year our kayak club takes over a good part of the campground for a week of paddling and socializing. There were about 70 of us, which makes for plenty of paddling opportunities with skill levels ranging from novice to expert, a great opportunity to get on the water with friends and to advance our skills.

On Wednesday we paddled up the Albion River. It’s such a peaceful feeling paddling on the quiet river past the redwood trees, with a variety of wildlife to view. We saw plenty of birds, but no seals or river otters.

On Thursday conditions were perfect to paddle on the coast, so we joined a group of experienced paddlers, launched from Russian Gulch, and paddled south exploring caves, tunnels and other features on the Mendocino Headlands. I had a GoPro camera mounted on my helmet, so stay tuned for some video of our paddling through caves and tunnels.

Our club has occasionally been referred to an eating club with a kayaking disorder. True to form there was an abundance of food with two pizza ovens and charcoal grills going. We came prepared to cook our own meals, but who wants to cook when you can simply nosh while sharing stories with friends. Friday night was Bourbon and Brine, hosted by two club members who are very creative mixing drinks suitable for the occasion. They were assisted by a half-dozen bartenders.

On Sunday, September 25, we broke camp to head for home. Passing through Cloverdale at noon gave us a good reason to stop for burgers, fries, and shakes at Pick’s Drive in. Great burgers.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

A Hike in Fern Canyon

We spent the week of September 12 in Mendocino with members of our kayaking club. On Wednesday the 14th we took a break from paddling to go for a hike in Fern Canyon.

This is a lovely hike that follows the Little River. The trail winds along the river, crossing the stream a number of times on bridges and meandering through tall redwoods and the fern-lined canyon. Once we had hiked up the canyon, we opted to continue on the trail up to the Pygmy Forest. Here the tall redwoods give way to pines and cypresses stunted by extremely acidic, low-nutrient soil that sits on top of a layer of low-drainage iron hardpan.

We were happy to have some overcast since it can be quite warm in the Pygmy Forest. The soft light from the overcast also made for excellent photography. I prefer the soft light to the harsh shadows and highlights that can happen with direct sun. I also found that the railings on the bridges were a perfect place to park my Gorilla Pod and my trusty Sony RX100 camera in lieu of my tripod. Walking through the dwarf trees feels like walking through an enchanted forest.

We returned to Fern Canyon by an alternate trail, making a loop. When we returned to camp we had logged 11 miles. You can view more photos of our hike here and you can view more details of our track here.

Mendo Madness 2021

Each year our kayaking club, BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) takes over a number of camping sites at Van Damme State Park for a week of camping and kayaking.

This year’s adventure started Sunday morning, September 12. With our kayaks on top of our camper we hit the road. Before we got very far we discovered that our camping reservations didn’t start until Monday. What to do for Sunday night? We pulled off the road to consider the options and Joann booked us a night at the Seagull Inn. Hey, I’m not going to complain about breakfast being served.

After breakfast we drove the short distance north to Russian Gulch. The prediction was for high surf, but the beach at Russian Gulch is quite protected, so getting on the water was not a problem. In poking around the cove though, we decided it was too rough to venture out. After a very pleasant paddle on the cove we checked into our campsite. That’s our Four Wheel Pop-Up Camper with the kayas on top parked next to the trees.

In the morning we fired up the Dutch Oven. Here’s Joann serving up Hash Brown Crusted Goat Cheese and Scallion Quiche. Yum! With rough water predicted on the coast we opted for a paddle on the Big River, and we found a few BASK members happy to join us. We logged 12 miles paddling up the river and back. A very pleasant paddle in an enchanted forest.

Wednesday, September 15, we put on our hiking boots and hiked up Fern Canyon to the Pygmy Forest. Another enchanting trail up a canyon lined with ferns and redwoods. The hike in itself is worthy of a separate blog post so stay tuned.

On Thursday with the conditions on the coast continuing to look daunting, we opted to paddle on the Albion River. We managed to pull together a group of eight people to paddle up the river. That brings us to Friday, our last day in Mendocino and it was time to paddle the coast. Conditions were much calmer than earlier in the week so we launched from Van Damme Beach and poked around a few rocks and paddled through a few caves. Hard to condense a week’s worth of adventures into one short blog post so stay tuned. I’ll be posting separate stories with more details. You can view more photos of our adventures here.

Mendocino Magic

So many stories to share! I seem to be challenged with finding the time to post them all. Perhaps that’s just as well. I wouldn’t want to bore you with every single adventure. But then I consider this blog to be a log of my adventures, so why not share them all?

I’m going back to September, when we put our kayaks in the water in Mendocino and had a magical paddle. Our kayaking club, BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers), has an annual tradition of spending a few days in Mendocino in September. This year with social distancing and the coronavirus pandemic, the club cancelled the event dubbed Mendo Madness. We had been planning on this trip for many months, so rather than just cancel we managed to spend two nights at Van Damm campground and two days paddling. One of those paddles on the Albion River I wrote about not too long ago. Now it’s time to share our coastal paddle.

On the morning of September 20, we launched from Van Damm beach and paddled north. The wave action on the coast was calm and we discovered that we could paddle places that are often too rough to access. Our paddle took us into some magnificent sea caves.

I had a GoPro camera going on my helmet. I’ve finally managed to edit the video down to three minutes that I think will give you the feel for what it’s like to paddle here. Here’s the video clip.

Paddling into the caves with the water glowing a blue-green was magical. This wasn’t about covering distance, but we did cover about four miles while poking along the rocks. We were back on the beach for lunch. After lunch we explored a few caves south of the beach. Here’s the track of our morning paddle.