There's no otter place quite like Elkhorn Slough

A relaxed resident of Elkhorn Slough studies passersby (Click on photos to enlarge)

 This might be my No. 1 choice for a paddling trip….

…during the “Other Season,” and it’s easy to make that case with generally mild winter weather, beautiful scenery and some of the best wildlife viewing anywhere in California. But on my most recent trip to Monterey County, I noticed that the entertainment worked both ways – while kayakers were watching sea otters and harbor seals in Elkhorn Slough, those critters were gawking at us too.

I've seen the Golden Gate from both sides now

Before a paddle under the fog-draped icon of San Francisco Bay…

 …our leader asked, “What are your goals today?” An easy one for me: “I want to paddle out the Gate – and I would prefer to come back.” As it turned out, that would be the right goal for a kayaker who ended the day feeling nearly as time-worn as the span that symbolizes San Francisco.

Thousands of kayakers have paddled under the Gate, and they’ve done it many thousands of times. I bet all of them remember their first trip. For me, the allure had little to do with kayaking and everything to do with another trip under the Gate in 1943.

It was a clear night. A troop transport ship chugged out of the Bay carrying hundreds of  soldiers. Including a 19-year-old, Blue Ridge Mountain farm boy. He had never traveled 

A paddler's wish comes true: "...and I would prefer to come back"

more than ten miles from home before he volunteered for the Army. Below decks, the heat from jammed bodies was so stifling that men were allowed to sleep on deck. “I could see all the stars in the sky – and then suddenly it all went dark as we passed under 

Learning to go with the flow on San Francisco Bay

A gorgeous day on the bay proved to be just a  bonus for our paddling group  

A kayaking class on tides, currents and rough water….

…recently reminded me that I took up writing as a vocation because higher mathematics was a deep, dull subject to me. And by “higher mathematics,” I mean stuff that your average fifth grader can knock out between video games. Not me -- words be my thang.

Jennifer Yearley translates chart

But the class shed a whole new light on practical applications of math, such as avoiding being sucked from San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge in a very small boat and out into a very large ocean.

Our daylong paddle provided clear examples of how to judge current speed and time low and high tides to good effect, as well as interim periods of slack (water). I am a huge fan of slack, in the slang-ish sense that I would like more of it in general, not to mention minimizing physical exertion in the form of paddling. On this day, we spent a bit over 5 hours on the water with a mid-trip break of more than an hour, just my speed.

We launched from Horseshoe Cove at Fort Baker, on the Marin side of the bay, tucked into a natural hip pocket behind the Gate. Instructor Jennifer Yearley’s plan: Start off around slack tide (I was happy already), work our way up the coastline toward Sausalito,

Kayak surfing fulfills a paddler's longtime dream

Blogger puts lessons into practice at "Bodega Bash" kayak surfing meet on Sept. 17 (photo courtesy Mark Boyd)  

The kayak instructor’s question was an easy one for me…

Earlier surf session in "Maytag zone" (photo courtesy Kelly Marie Henry) 

Why did you want to take an introductory kayak surfing class? My instant reply: “In the early ‘60s, when I was a kid living 800 miles from the ocean and I heard The Beach Boys on the radio….”  Everyone laughed, but true. “Surfin’ USA” in 1963: ”If everybody had an ocean…” Ha! A kid in in the Appalachian Mountains could only listen to the radio and dream.

But 50-some years later, my dream finally came true with a recent “Introduction to Kayak Surfing” class at Dillon Beach, near the mouth of Tomales Bay.  My first run, from 

Slow, spectacular kayaking in Yosemite Valley

Passing under the Swinging Bridge with Yosemite Falls as a backdrop

Merced River now open to kayakers, so make plans for next spring... 

Rounding a bend in the Merced River, my kayak nosed gently toward shore as Yosemite Valley revealed all its granite grandeur. Upstream, Half Dome dominated the distant skyline. Straight ahead and across the river, Yosemite Falls shot from craggy heights. And downstream, El Capitan loomed menacingly under racing clouds. To call it breathtaking would be an understatement.

Not another soul in sight. Yet barely more than three miles away, Curry Village buzzed with activity. Only the sound of the river and birds twittering in the trees broke the silence here.

And then the weight of history hit me like a river rock – naturalist John Muir, his camping partner Theodore Roosevelt, and the incomparable photographer Ansel Adams had all stood at or near this spot. And here I was, the first kayaker on this stretch of the Merced River since Yosemite National Park opened it to paddlers just a few days earlier. 

'Downsized' Tahoe still an alpine gem for kayakers

Update 5/10/23: D.L. Bliss State Park campground will be closed for repairs this season. The day-use road that leads to Lester Beach will also be closed, effective this month. 

A view of the dwindling Sierra snowpack on May 2, but a beautiful scene nonetheless. 

A bit less water, but it's clearer than ever

It’s still the most spectacular alpine lake a kayaker could ever hope to paddle. So just think of Lake Tahoe as downsizing a little bit during California’s record dry spell.  

Earlier this month, three of us headed up the hill to enjoy Tahoe views while some snow still dusted the peaks. We weren’t disappointed, although the lake had dropped perhaps six or eight feet from its usual spring level.

On the plus side, Tahoe beaches are longer and wider than ever. On the minus side, that may mean some walking to haul kayaks down to the waterline. On the plus side again, water clarity is better than it’s been in years, thanks to less runoff from the hillsides.

Kayaking paradise found, then nearly lost to fire



Before the fire, a typical view of Slab Creek Reservoir along the south shoreline

There are many kayaking venues in Northern California with spectacular scenery, but perhaps only one where the view floats back and forth in time, right before a paddler's eyes. That would be Slab Creek Reservoir, near the El Dorado County town of Camino.

Slab Creek paddlers follow a green shoreline of timber that's stood untouched for perhaps a century. But only a few yards away on the opposite shore, deep scars run down the

Sea otters, paddlers, PBS find a special environment

Sea otter dines casually in the surf off a Monterey beach

One of the best things about paddling is that it brings us closer to nature. Out on the water, we become part of our surroundings in a quiet, unobtrusive and personal way. Kayaks are an ideal vehicle for exploring a wild world that can’t be fully appreciated from shore. 

So it was with my very first kayaking experience six years ago, on Monterey Bay. Just floundering around in a rental sit-on-top when a sea otter nonchalantly paddled right by. Thick fur, expressive eyes, whiskers, playful personality – the whole animal kingdom package.
 

Kayakers find purple paradise on American North Fork

It's a long walk to the waterline, and well worth it -- at least, on the way down

Just can’t get any better, we agreed as we paddled back toward Rattlesnake Bar on the North Fork of the American River. An ideal Easter Sunday kayak trip just above Folsom Lake. Perfect weather. Waves of purple lupine carpeting the hillsides. Sparkling, clear water. Nope, can’t get any better than this.

Paddle Mendocino in a day, the Noyo way

9/13 update: "Tracks to Kayaks" is back in business on the Skunk Train line. 

Mendocino County is a paddler paradise – more than 75 miles of coastline along Highway 1, plus five large tidal rivers over almost 3,900 square miles. You could easily spend a week kayaking on just the most accessible waters. But let’s get a flavor of Mendocino paddling in just a few hours. No way? Noyo way!
 

Just minutes from downtown Fort Bragg, the forest semi-primeval

 The Noyo River channel cuts through Fort Bragg like a lumberjack’s chainsaw. By turns it’s gritty and green, a flowing embodiment of contradictions that are so Mendocino. In a distance of less than four miles, paddlers get a feel for paradise, paradise lost, and most everything in between.
 

Fan-tastic kayaking around Delta's Sherman Island

Kinetic art in a Kondos scene near Sherman Island in the Delta

“This is just like a Kondos painting!” said one of my kayak buds. Sure ‘nuff, the vista unfolding before us looked like an iconic California Delta scene by artist Gregory Kondos. Blue and bluer hues of sky and expansive flatwater. Low hills dotted with trees. Gleaming white, 30-story-tall wind turbines – say what?

 

We were paddling in the Sherman Island Waterfowl Management Area, near the town of Rio Vista. NorCal Yak pal Frank found this place and picked the perfect late fall day, with neutral tides, virtually no wind, and temps in the 70s. Calm conditions being significant, because there’s a reason why 800 giant wind turbines fan out across the hillsides.  You want to be off-water when these big boys start humming, unless you're a windsurfer.

Mendoscenic Albion, a kayaker's river of dreams

A two-story fantasy is an Albion landmark

ALBION, Mendocino County – Near the end of one of the most spectacular kayaking days ever, we found ourselves caught in a tug of war between ebb tide and sea breeze. Though “breeze” hardly described gusts that brought sea kayaks to a dead stop, even with determined paddling and a 2-mph current behind us.  

Closer to the shelter of a small marina, the wind let up a bit to allow paddling around to the mouth of the Albion River. There, deep in the shadow of the last wooden-truss bridge on Highway 1, came a momentary standoff between nature’s strongest forces. 

Mendocino kayaking: 3 rivers, no wading, go now

Paddling through a stream of sunlight on the Albion River

“Every day on the water is a good day,” says Cap’n Bob, a paddling pal who’s been kayaking for, oh, a few eons. But there are moments when it gets even better, when paddle strokes stir up a mixture of water, sun, wind, flora and fauna that becomes magical. So it was on a May weekend kayak trip to Mendocino. (And not a puff of magic smoke, wiseguys.)

Kayaking from China Camp -- enjoy it while we can

China Camp village beach provides best launch at low tide

(7/23 update: A nonprofit group takes over China Camp to keep the park open...see news story for details.)  

CHINA CAMP – This has to be one of the most kayaker-friendly spots on the north end of San Francisco Bay. It’s conveniently located, offers cheap parking close to a good launch beach, provides picnic tables and clean restrooms, and features spectacular paddling to several points of interest. Oh, and a minor detail – China Camp State Park could be shut down by mid-summer.

Paddling into history at China Camp State Park

"Grace Quan" sails out of China Camp, where past and future may be on a collision course

(7/23 update: A nonprofit group takes over operation of the park, saving it from closure.)

Rack that kayak for a paddler’s ideal day trip and your drive might end on San Pablo Bay in Marin County. At China Camp State Park, kayakers enjoy fabulous views of the bay, plus hiking, camping, bicycling, fishing, and a fascinating glimpse of California past.

Sad to say, but China Camp and its rich history are on a collision course with a future fixated on the bottom line. Due to state budget cuts, China Camp is on a “hit list” of parks that may shut down permanently this year. Some areas of the park have already closed or operate only on weekends. It seems ludicrous to abandon a place with almost 150 years of history and so much to offer kayakers and other outdoors enthusiasts – especially when it’s so close to urban areas. (This is the first of two NorCal Yak posts on China Camp.)

Some favorite wild kayaking moments from 2011

Wild moments can mean different things to different paddlers. For some, it's about speed or challenging water. But sometimes, a wild moment can simply bring us closer to nature. It might be as quiet as a rippling stream that flows underfoot, or a silent hawk that soars overhead. The thunk-thunk sound as a sea otter taps a rock against a tasty mussel. Or the spectacle of Sierra snow mirrored in sparkling water. Here are some favorite NorCal Yak "wild" moments from 2011, with links to the original posts.

Kayaker falling for Monterey once again

On more than one occasion, moi has confessed a love jones for Monterey Bay and Elkhorn Slough. Without going all ga-ga again, let’s just note that October and November can be the finest season for kayaking and wildlife viewing in these parts. And here are some photos to prove it.

Sea otter kicks back amid the kelp, just off Cannery Row  

How to make such a great paddle even better? Enjoy the scene with good folks who haven’t kayaked here before. NorCal Yak pals Lisa and Frank joined me last weekend on a paddler pilgrimage to the slough and the bay. Hoo-boy, was it inspiring to share in their delightful

"Mono World" seems like paddling on another planet

Tufa towers light up after sunrise on Mono Lake

(12/3 update: Good news for Mono Lake, see Christine Sculati's Blog for details.)

MONO LAKE – If there’s any kayaking destination that might be mistaken for another planet, this must be the place. At dawn on an August day, temperatures dipped into the 30s. Snow still traced bare mountain peaks. And below, the desert held a small sea captive, as it had for eons.

When the first rays of sun slashed over the horizon, the surreal scene was complete. Steel gray waters shifted to violet, then quickly took on hues of blue as darkness receded overhead. Strange, gnarly rock formations from another world began to shine in the emerging light. Birds stirred and screeched in the distance, breaking a vast stillness.

Loon Lake perfect for summer paddling

Say you could combine the sparkling waters of Lake Tahoe with the rugged beauty of Yosemite granite, on a more modest scale. Then make Sierra summer crowds vanish into thin air. Voilà, you’ve just created Loon Lake, a kayaker’s mountain retreat.  

One of many "rock gardens" in Loon Lake 

A great Shasta adventure, part 2

Kayak rainbow and a wooden wonder

(This is the second of two posts on "Camp Arbuckle.")

REDDING – Kayaking and writing are similar in that, most of the time, paddling and story lines follow a planned route from one specific point to another. But now and then you can just meander along without any particular destination in mind, and it still works out. On that note, more about a recent kayak and camping trip to Shasta County at the invitation of the Arbuckle family and their new Headwaters Adventure Company.

~ ~ ~

There are times when you go paddling with just a few people and things can still get complicated. So given the prospect of a