AULD LANG SYNE

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne.

The old Scottish song 'Auld Lang Syne' will usher in the new year again, as it sang all over the world at the stroke of twelve on New Year's Eve. The phrase Auld Lang Syne translated means, for old times' sake. The song evokes the spirit of friendship over the past year and raises hopes for a brighter future in the new year.
Let's hope so. I do not have to tell anyone, but 2021 was pretty rough for many. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to linger. The highly contagious Omicron variant is only making it worse, as the average number of daily US Covid-19 cases are reaching new pandemic highs during the holidays. Dr. Anthony Fauci suggests that people opt for smaller gatherings with vaccinated and boosted family and friends rather than attending large-scale New Year’s Eve celebrations.
For some of us, we will be outside enjoying an end-of-year kayak tour on the lake or kicking off the year in style on a Polar Bear paddling event. Just obey the same rules as last year. Socially distances, wear a max and stay safe.

After a year of extreme drought that triggered water shortages and stoked wildfires, rain and heavy snows are falling over Northern California. This past week nearly 17 feet of snow has fallen over the Lake Tahoe area breaking decades-old records as the snowiest December on record. Roads were closed, ski resorts were shut down, and avalanche warnings were issued as the Tahoe Basin was buried in much-needed snow.
And what a difference a few storms make! After more than a year of being well-below average, water levels at Folsom Lake are filling up at a rate of enough water to fill 400 backyard swimming pools every minute. That's a lot of water. So much so, that even though the reservoir is just above half-filled, the Bureau of Reclamation is releasing water from it. Dam officials say that with more storms are coming the water level is near the maximum allowed at this time of year for flood protection. The water is flowing through Nimbus Dam and downstream. The releases will raise river levels on the American River Parkway. While the release will have a minor impact, people venturing out onto the river should beware.

As 2021 now comes to an end, it's time to look back at all our paddling memories and leap forward in planning new adventures. And as the rain hits my window, I'll take that as a good sign we might have more water this year than last. At least, that is my hope.
One of the side effects of the pandemic has been the explosion of participants in paddling sports. The numbers have swelled as people have flocked to the waterways to escape the constraints of the global coronavirus pandemic.
From us old veterans, we say welcome. The paddling community is here for you. We will look forward to helping you and inspiring you as you continue paddling the rivers and lakes.  

Paddle Day #107
I paddled not even close to my record of 152 paddling days in the calendar year. But I did get to some new places and enjoyed some of the old ones. I started on California's Lake Natoma with Bayside Adventure Sports and finished the year with them as well on Lake Natoma. Without a doubt, I'm looking forward to leaving 2021 behind while eagerly anticipating an exciting new year in 2022.

                                And here's a hand my trusty friend

That gives a hand to thine

We'll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld lang syne

Happy New Year

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OVER THE BOW: SAILOR BAR & THE LOWER AMERICAN RIVER

American River Parkway's Sailor Bar has always been a local favorite spot for me to paddle. Conveniently located near my home it not much trouble me to get on the water in a timely fashion. With good flow, I can paddle back and forth to the Sunrise River Access about two miles downriver in a little more than an hour including three portages that aren't too long. Making a very enjoyable afternoon or evening on the water and still home at a reasonable time.

Named after gold-seeking sailors who had reportedly jumped ship to stake their claim along the banks of the river. The park's area and the river were later dredged for gold. The bucket line dredges churned up the riverbed. The gold was filtered out and the leftover rock tailing was cast aside, texturing the park with piles and piles of rock.

Over the years, those rock pilings have been put to good use. Since the Nimbus Dam upstream from Sailor Bar prevents the salmon and steelhead from reaching their spawning grounds, construction crews funded by federal and state agencies have to periodically restore habitat for re-establishing a crucial spawning area for hundreds of native fish. The latest project was completed last fall after heavy machinery moved and placed thousand tons of rock and gravel into the river before the salmon run.

Another part of the project was to create a new side-channel that runs a parallel to the river for a little less than 200-yards. Shallow with sections of both fast and slow-moving water, it was created as a protected area for juvenile fish. But, the extra benefit is a creek like an environment with ripples, eddies, and waves perfect for an afternoon of paddling

Full disclaimer, by no means, am I an expert whitewater paddler. I'm not even average. I know paddlers who can make their kayaks dance over waves doing somersaults and spins in a stylish river ballet repertoire. They are amazing athletes who go over huge drops and surf big waves.

As for me, I just like the feel of the movement of water beneath my boat. The opportunity of learning and reading the river's flow and eddy lines. But mostly, I just like spending time on the water.

"There's always something new waiting for you on the river some new kind of challenge," slalom champion Jana Dukatova, told Red Bull, "White water is never the same, and there are so many features you can play with: surfing a wave, playing in a roll, dropping into a waterfall. As you improve, there's always more new fun stuff you can learn. You'll never get bored."

The smell of death and decay still lingers as skeletons of salmons dot the river banks with turkey vultures and gulls fighting over the leftover bones. Underneath the white ghostly corpses of giant fish slowly decompose at the bottom of the rivers icy waters.

I slid my boat in just above where the narrow channel turns and feeds back into the river. The current there is moving fast with water pouring over rocks providing a nice little standing wave and place to practice my surfing.
Once in place by pointing my bow upstream, I'm was able to skim on top of the water on the front of the wave.

"It's a lovely sensation," wrote kayaking adventure author Peter Heller, "Like flying, with all the river hurtling beneath you as you skip and veer down the front of the wave, held in place by its steepness."

In my little playboat, I was able to surf the wave back and forth with no real threat of rolling back and forth back and forth. Using forwards stokes, I attempted to keep the boat pointing upstream and carve and edging around the wave, that is until my strength wore out and I was flushed out downstream only to ferry back and try it again.

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, we would love to see it. Submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com

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OVER THE BOW: LAKE NATOMA

  The path of the paddle can be a means of getting things back to their original perspective. – Bill Mason, Path of the Paddle

 It was a quiet morning on Lake Natoma earlier last week. A slight breeze passed over the water, causing barely a ripple. I could feel its coolness coming off the water and in the shade of the trees. It was a welcome relief from the daytime heat that usually blasts this valley.
I had beaten the rush. The parking lot of the Negro Bar access was still empty along with the rest of the lake. The usual array of Huki boats, sit-on-tops and fishermen had yet to arrive and the lake was pretty much mine for my own adventure.

I wasn't lost in the wilds of the BWCA or Desolation Wilderness. I was only a couple of miles from home and could hear the hum of traffic buzzing over the Folsom Avenue Bridge. But, I might as well have been. Because with each muffled stroke of my paddle, I slipped further away into nature's domain.
Environmentalist and wilderness guide, Sigrud Olsen said  'There is magic in the feel of a paddle and the movement of a canoe, a magic compounded of distance, adventure, solitude, and peace. The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten."'

Alone in my thoughts and on the water, I felt a certain exuberance in this calm of tranquility. On a simple morning cruise around my neighborhood lake, I felt that same deliverance and enchantment that Olsen pontificated about his beloved northern lakes and forested wilderness.  I was minutes from the freeways, gas stations and fast food restaurants, yet the lake was still home to things wild. Ducks, geese, beaver, and deer find the same sanctuary that I do near its waters.

It was an effortless paddle for me, through and around the slough of the lake. The lake level has been a bit higher in the past few weeks making it an easy way to navigate through the tiny rocky islands without scraping the bottom of the kayak. In the stillness, I brushed past the prickly blackberry bushes tangled up against the water. The berries hang over the water like gaudy ornaments. They were a lush tempting red, far from being ripe enough to pick and very tart to the taste. The black ripened juicy ones are few and out of reach.

Up near the Rainbow Bridge, the river has joined the lake. The cold water released from Folsom Dam only runs a short way as the American River before being captured again by the Nimbus Dam, creating the lake. I felt the slight tug of the current and hear the gentle sound of water flowing over the rocks. I marveled at the three-story canyon walls embracing the narrow river on both sides. Further up the Folsom Prison cable sign lets me go no farther. I put my kayak into the current and felt it turn me back downstream.

 Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com