Sammamish River Slough

It was bound to happen.  I started paddling about a year ago and have gone this long without paddling in the rain.  That was a pretty good run considering I live in the Pacific NW.  I went out with our kayak club to paddle the Sammamish River Slough. 

Although it looked kind of ugly, the weather turned out to be rather mild. 

 

 

There was a little drizzle and the temp was in the low 50s.

 We were treated to some nice fall colors, lots of ducks, herons, beavers and one huge salmon that jumped completely out of the water about 3 feet in front of us. 

 Parking lot

 Stopped at Brackett’s Landing for a quick lunch before heading back. 

Fall Colors

I love paddling in the Fall.  It's just a very special time as the paddling season winds down for most of us, the skiers and boaters have gone into hibernation and you have the water to yourself.  We've been having some wet and windy days lately and today the skies opened up a little for a break in the weather.  I grabbed the Avvy and we set off to enjoy the lake.

Kayakers are a funny bunch

Very well played :-)

Drowning at American Lake

For those that have been following this blog, you know that American Lake is my go-to paddle playground and I try to get out there at least 3 or 4 times a week.  Yesterday I didn't go due to an overloaded work schedule.  Yesterday a man drowned on American Lake.  He and his brother were testing a boat that had some recent repairs done.  The boat began to sink and the brothers tried to swim to shore.  They were in their 60s.  One decided he wasn't going to make it so he turned around and swam back to the boat.  The other brother was nowhere to be found.  I wonder what I would have done if I came upon this accident while on my paddle.  My husband is a dive instructor and the first thing he tells his students is not to be a victim.  Meaning, don't get caught up in a situation where you find yourself in as much danger as the person you are trying to rescue.  In panic situations, you never know what will happen out of desperation and the fight for survival.  If I did attempt a bow rescue, would my kayak be capsized?  Would I be dragged down into the water?  Or would I not have thought about it and just helped?  I wish I were out there yesterday.  I'd like to think I would have been able to help.   

They recovered his body today.  

Have kayak. Will travel.

My kayak is a perpetual accessory to my Prius for 9 months out of the year. You never know when your schedule opens up or your H20 addiction overcomes you.  The downside is you get a lot of people wanting to talk to you about your "canoe".

You know which one you are

Pungo Kayak Expedition
by: Firstfoundation


If you don't know what a Pungo kayak is, keep it that way.

Fishing line

I like fishing.  I need to start this blog off with that statement to show I have no bias against fishing, fishermen or wishermen.  But I do need to vent a little about responsibility.  On the nearby lake that I paddle, it is always populated by the local fishermen which I'm always on the lookout for since some are in boats but others stake their claim on the banks of the shore.  You never, ever want to run into their lines - for some reason, they get upset with that.  But what disturbs me about one of the aspects of fishing is the tangled lines that are abandoned.  It's just not something that we think about (me included).  Our line snags, we cut it loose and start setting up another one.  I took this video which has inspired me to be responsible no matter what the activity since whatever you leave behind in your wake will no doubt have some consequence.

 

Eld Inlet - Frye Cove

70 degrees.  Wind at 2mph.  We paddled Eld Inlet today in the calmest of conditions.  Launched from Carlyon Beach park and headed to Frye Cove park for lunch and back.  I'm learning in order to keep things interesting when it's this mild out, I need to get out of my Point A to B mentality.  Someone once told me that every time you're out on the water, that's your opportunity to practice.  Improve something whether it's edging, advance maneuvering, rolling, perfecting your strokes or whatever especially if you're in a group that paddles at a slower pace.  Instead of stopping and waiting for folks to catch up, why not do some slaloms or hug the shoreline so that you're still with the group but doing your own thing.  Today afforded me the opportunity to practice some bow rudders and draws which made things more interesting since the water was so flat.

Staging area at the launch site

This was how the water was the whole day - hardly a ripple.

 Harbor seals

 Meandering under the trees

 

Our lunch stop

Lunch at Frye Cove Park

 

A glimpse of the conditions