Early splashdown kicks off kayak waterfall tours

Finding waterfalls at Englebright? As easy as one, two, three 

Snow melt turns on the faucets for area lakes and rivers....

Dry times aren’t over, not by a long shot. But there are trickles of hope for paddlers in Northern California’s lakes and rivers, thanks to early runoff from the Sierra. And that sets the scene for waterfall tours by kayak, even before the spring equinox arrives.

Our paddler pod enjoyed just such an outing last Saturday at Englebright Lake in the Yuba River gorge near Marysville. A ten-mile round-trip jaunt revealed several

Get out of the kayak cockpit to find a better view

My best sea otter video ever was taken from the shore...

It seems kind of strange to write this on a paddling blog, but sometimes, you can find the best view and take your best photos by getting out of your kayak.

This came to mind recently after two British tourists kayaking on Monterey Bay had a close encounter of the worst kind with a humpback whale. The whale - probably in the 40-to-50 ton range - breached and then dropped squarely on the Brits’ tandem kayak just off Moss Landing.

It's almost impossible to approach wildlife on the water without disturbing them, especially females with young 

Miraculously, the pair not only survived - they escaped without injury. Tom Mustill and
Charlotte Kinloch later recounted the incident in numerous press interviews, as a tour

Returning to Slab Creek one year after Sierra blaze

Canyon forest on the one ridge, fire damage on the other side at Slab Creek Reservoir

King Fire damage remains, but kayaker access better than ever...

It’s been a year since the King Fire destroyed thousands of acres of beautiful Sierra forest and devastated several mountain communities. One place that narrowly avoided total destruction was Slab Creek Reservoir near Pollock Pines. While parts of the north canyon wall were scorched, the southern ridge - and hundreds of homes nearby - were spared. It’s a remarkable before-and-after view of nature.

A NorCal Yak paddle just two days before the arson fire began last September may have caught the last pre-fire photos of the area. Here’s a link to that paddle trip with pre- and post-fire photos.

 

NorCal Yak pal Karen left her pups at home but attracted a dog paddler 

For the first anniversary of the fire, we returned to check out Slab Creek’s recovery. Unfortunately, California’s epic drought has put a damper on re-greening. On the plus side, some fantastic rock-scapes remain fully visible, and the southern ridge still offers lushly forested views.

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.