Where the River Ends...Rattlesnake Bar.

Where the river ends...The North Fork of the American River flowing into Folsom Lake

 All my paddling books were written about 15 years ago. Each offers maps and tips on where to go and how to get there.  They have suggestions on the obstacles one might encounter and what sights to look for a long the way. It is very helpful knowledge for both the beginner and the veteran paddler.
 However, Folsom Lake is now at an all-time low. Where my GPS says there should be water,  looks more like the surface of Mars. The waterway which has definitely shrunk offers now new opportunities to explore areas that were once underwater. Look for massive and remarkable rock formations resembling fortresses and castles along the shoreline and giant boulders rising up out the water from nowhere.
 Rattlesnake Bar is the furthest north boat access point on the north arm of the lake at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. The landscape there is very rugged. The guidebooks say watch for rattlesnakes, hence the name, but look out for other wildlife as well.
 At the time, the lake level had dropped far below the cement of the boat ramp. Along with that, the gate leading to the ramp was locked. Portaging the kayak down the hill was in order to get on the water.  Once on it, I found the water very quiet while paddling up past Morman Ravine.  Here is where the water clarity improved as the icy North Forks of the American River water meets the warmer lake water.  At this place,  it was easy for me to see into the depths of the lake below. In places, I could see clearly twenty to thirty feet into the bluish green water.
 A giant gravel bar soon appears. It is the reminder of the power water. A flood destroyed a cofferdam some years ago sending a wall of water and dam material all downstream. The water at this point became shallow and the current started to tug at my kayak.  I had to stop and turn around just before hitting some Class I rapids. This is where the river ends.
 I will have to wait until the lake is higher to conclude this journey.

Kayak Journals, My History of Paddling

Lake Journals

May 27, 2010...Cole and I put our kayaks into the water.  The day had finally came. It is a beautiful day in Minnesota.

That's it. That is how it all started.  My son Cole and I put our brand new Perception and Old Town kayaks into Red River Lake just east of Elizabeth, Minn.  The day was bright and warm. The water was clear and smooth. We had just found out how to adjust our seats and our footpegs. I guess we were a little shaky at the start.  But, soon we were watching the turtles jump off the logs in the quiet spots of the lake

 The only reason I can remember this so well is that I began to write a kayaking journal that very day to keep track of my paddling adventures. I have chronicled every day since I have put a kayak in the water. With three completed journals and one just begun, I currently have documented 300 days of kayaking. The books are small little travel journals with about 200 pages, offering spaces on each page for several paragraphs. The top of every other page of the journal contains a "highlight of the day" section. I usually reserve this space for a map, newspaper headline, but most often a photograph.

May 2010 on the Otter Tail River

 The pictures have documented my complete kayaking experience. Some of my favorite images include Cole and I holding our paddles over our head in triumph, the many over-the-bow shots of sunrises and sunsets in places called Itasca, Bemidji and Clementine, rustic campsites by lakes and rivers where I  hear the cry of the loon and those postcard memories of both whitewater and calm water from Superior to California.

  The pictures also include friends and acquaintances that I have taken out on the water with me.  For many, it is their very first time in a kayak.  Most of them start out with the same question.
 "Is this going to tip over with me in it?"
  And at the end of the day when we are loading up the boats, it is always the same question.
 "When can we go again?"

Photos of my kids, my wife and even my dog blanket the pages. Like the shots of Cole white-watering on the Kettle River,  my son Taylor and daughter Alia sitting around a fire on a campout, or  Noel on leave from the Navy in a much smaller boat than her USS Nimitz, while paddling on the Otter Tail.
The pictures record the courtship with my wife.  There are images of Lake Natoma backwater on our first kayak outing. A great shot of our bright smiles after placing in the Race on Red Canoe & Kayak Race. Plus travel snapshots of a northern Minnesota camp out complete with mosquitoes, a thunderstorm in Colorado and coming back home again at Lake Natoma.

 July 4, 2013...This river has a way of slowing downtime. The sun hangs like a big orange ball sinking just slowly, slowly, slowly. The trees reflect in a mirror image of the water.  It is very still, till the echoes of fireworks shatter the silence. After all, it is the fourth of July.

 There are essays about being lost on watery trails. Bodies of water have a way of revealing beauty and tranquility in the world  It is awesome to kayak in wonderful places. However, my pictures don't even come close to capturing the splendor of seasons surrounding my kayaking.  My words, has hard I try, don't come much closer. I try to embrace the fleeting spirit of the lake or stream of the day in my passages. Rivers leave no footprints. Each time it is a different memory. The old cliche, "It's the journey that matters" still rings true.  I look back through the pages of stored experiences reliving those hot summer nights on Minnesota lakes, the touch of autumn in Maplewood State Park, my freezing fingers of a first snowfall and the high water voyages during spring runoffs.

 Sometimes the entry is a combination weather report and a laundry list of where I went, who came with, did it rain or shine? and what did I have for snacks? Those entries are pretty simple. I usually describe what I saw along the way. If the lake was full of kayaks or if I had it pretty much to myself.  Did I see any wildlife? Was the weather pleasant or breezy? A record that I got for a 90-minute paddle across the water on a mid-week late afternoon.

It is second nature to me now.  I have made it a habit that either at home or by the campfire, I put down a few lines about the day's paddling. I have even expanded to other journals to keep track of my cross-country skiing, biking and hiking outings. I like to look back, to see where I went and how I traveled down the trail that day.

 August 16, 2012...The night is cool, but still very beautiful and even peaceful. I could have paddled even more, except for the setting sun.

 It is not for everyone, I agree, but for those who enjoy remembering their days on the water, I would recommend it. It will make each trip, whether a long day's journey down a river or a quick outing on the lake, an odyssey.

On the Parkway with the Paddle Pushers

On the American River Parkway with the Sacramento Paddle Pushers.

 Most of the 23 miles of the American River Parkway meanders through the urban part of Sacramento in slow motion.  The recreation river has few ripples in places, but mostly it's a slow easy ride all the way down to the Sacramento River. Paddlers will have little trouble going against the current from confluence of the rivers up to the I-80 bridge. There are two access points for boat launching.  Tiscornia Park is just to the south of Discovery Park. It offers a small craft access underneath the Jibboom Street bridge that link the parks. Discovery Park offers one for the larger pleasure boats.  From there up stream the slow moving river offers a view several bridges to mark the progress of your trip.

 It is definitely an urban paddle. In some spots downtown skyscrapers can be seen.  Homeless camp on the banks and boats zoom by on way to a fishing spot. However, the river corridor still offers great views of birds and other wildlife. Turtles can be seen sunning themselves on logs along the river, while a number of herons nest in the trees. River otters and beaver can also be spotted along the way. This makes the parkway a great place for a weekend paddle.

 The Sacramento Paddle Pushers an online meet up group, embarked on the river this past weekend.  Over 20 some paddlers were enchanted by the river's natural surroundings and history during their outing. The group's organizer Lynn Halstead, wanted get more people out kayaking together. She began the group in October of 2010.  It now boast about 500 online members. Since, Halstead has hosted numerous paddling, biking and hiking activities. She also plans the outings months ahead in some cases.
"I just wanted to start my own group and it keep getting better." said Halstead, "It is only amazing because of all people I have come out. Just meeting all the wonderful paddlers."

 The Paddle Pushers paddle up stream from the Jibboom Street launch.  They traveled about 4 miles before stopping for a lunch break. After lunch the group returned in a relaxed fashion going down stream.

The trip on the American River Parkway.

Lake Natoma Sunshine

A late afternoon paddle of Lake Natoma

  The best thing about Lake Natoma is the proximity to my home. Located just minutes away from where I live in Fair Oaks, California, the lake provides quick and easy access for a late afternoon kayak trip.
 This narrow and popular lake is not only a great place to kayak but also features sailing, stand up paddleboarding, and crew races. The lake is lined with biking and hiking trails encompassing its shores. Bird watchers can see geese, herons, egrets, and cormorants flying and nesting along its banks. Established rookeries are the home to many nesting colonies. Migrating birds arrive in the spring and stay throughout the summer.
 The Willow Creek access is on the south side of the lake. It is a quiet little bay and picnic spot. Paddling from here is a great way to explore the surroundings lakeside, the leftover tailings from the gold dredging days, and watching the sun go down.

Late Afternoon on Folsom Lake

 Folsom Lake seemed to have become ground zero for this year's California drought media coverage.  The state recreation area's dwindling water way near Granite Bay, has capture the attention of helicopters, camera crews and reporters everywhere.  It is impossible to watch the local television news with out seeing a picture of the diminishing lake.
 The shoreline offers a dramatic view of the state's dry spell. Parched and exposed, the lake bed looks  more like the moon.  Boat ramps no longer reach the water, historic remnants, once covered by the lake, have appeared and mesmerizing rock formations surge out of the greenish deep.
 Boaters, fisherman and kayakers are unfazed by the shrinking lake. It still is a great place for a late afternoon on the lake.
   

Sunset on the lake.

Otter Tail River Memories

  The Otter Tail River is Minnesota's eighth-longest river, running through the western part of the state before pouring into the Red River.  It starts as crystal clear water while moving downhill as a narrow stream through several lakes and marshes. After Fergus Falls the river flattens out, as it runs through prairie grasslands and farmland on its way to Breckenridge.
  Rapids are not common in western Minnesota.  The gradient of the land just doesn't drop that fast. A second-hand pool table might have more of a slant than a western Minnesota river.  However,  just east of Fergus Falls,  the Otter Tail makes an abrupt turn toward the west running through a wooded valley filled with Class I and II rapids along the way. The turmoil continues all the way toward Broken Down Dam.
  Broken Down Dam has been crumbling into the Otter Tail ever since it's collapse 1909.  The dam was improperly built over a spring the year before. The riverbed quickly gave way at the foundation of the dam causing a major flood at its time. The dam broke right through its center leaving two huge concrete walls in which the river flows in between.  A boulder garden of debris was left behind.
  During the spring runoff or after a good summer rain the stream rages to fast-moving Class III rapids. It is perfect for practice for white water kayaks. It is also a treat to get my son Cole out on the water.

Oh my Darling, Clementine...

When I started out kayaking, I dreamed of far off places to dip my paddle.  I wanted a quiet wild places with tranquil clear emerald, a half lake, half river water. I wanted a place to unplug from the day to day tension of reality to reach out for the universe. I wanted to hear the haunting words of Meriwether Lewis echoing  off the canyon walls.

"As we passed on it seemed as if those scenes of visionary enchantment would never have end." 

 Our truck, with kayaks overhead, rounds the narrow road down the gorge and behold Lake Clementine.  A shining finger of water nestles down between trees and rock. It calls for an adventure in stillness.
  Lake Clementine is a four-mile long and narrow waterway in the popular Auburn State Recreation Area near Auburn, Ca.  The dam, creating the lake was built in 1939 by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is a debris dam designed to keep the silt and other debris, dating back to the gold rush (hydraulic mining), out of the lower American River. The water cascading over the dam offers a man-made waterfall and rainbow for the lucky hikers on the trail.
 Summer brings out the water skiers and other boaters.  But, it is winter now. We have the lake to ourselves. The water is so smooth it has a mirror-like reflection, only to be shattered by the bow of our kayaks. This is traditional flat-water kayaking at it's best.

The North Fork Dam.

  Just past the ramp way of the boat launch and marina is Robber's Roost, 1,457 piece of limestone towering over the lake. It's many little caves and pox marks on the spire make it a perfect nesting spots for the the turkey vultures soaring over the reservoir.
 On one recent trip,  I came across two kayaking birders with high power binoculars. They seemed mesmerized by their flight. They had paddled to just below pinnacle to watch.
 Water fowl, ducks and geese, find their way closer to the water. They dance across the water just a little ways away as we paddle by. Their honking will cry out their warning of our coming near.

Paddling under Robber's Roost.

  Paddling up even farther up the lake are boat-in campsites and picnic spots which are popular in the summer months with boating and water skiing crowds. They are inviting sandy beaches and shade trees. But, it is winter now in the foothills and these spots are deserted except for the geese. Those days, will have to wait for now.

Camp sites along the lake.

  The lake turns to river after the campsites. The North Fork of the American River presses against my kayak going up stream.  It is not that difficult yet. The water here flows at gentle pace.  The current is much faster up river. The whitewater rafters have even named a pair of rapids. One is called Bogus Thunder, the other is, Staircase.
  I'm just heading toward the second access at the upper part of the lake called Long Point.  I'll have a quick lunch here before turning back toward the dam.

At Long Point.

  In the late afternoon on Lake Clementine the sunlight dips around the foothills, taking us from the  blue light to the sun light at every bend. There is coolness in the shadows and warmth in the sun. But it is not equal. It is late in the afternoon and the shadows are claiming the valley. We will have to  race back to the dam to beat the setting sun.

Heading back in the shadows of the foothills.

 So far I have been to Lake Clementine three times.  All short little outings, providing a classic flat-water kayak fix to my energize my spirit, my soul... and build a bond with this new lake with every dip of my paddle.