Snowshoeing the Sierra

Snowshoeing in the Sierra 

 Snowshoeing is increasing in popularity in snowy areas mainly because it is so easy to learn and lots of fun. We picked a trail just off I-80 near Donner Pass in the Tahoe National Forest.  It was a beautiful spring day in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Without a cloud in the sky, the temperatures were balmy. It was t-shirt weather. 
 We left from the Sno Park with our high-tech snowshoes crunching through the snow. After crossing  over a stream, we made our own trail through the trees. The noise of the freeway slowly faded away  with each step. The snow was deep;  the terrain was rugged. Without snowshoes, the hike would have been impossible. At the top we enjoyed the pay off of our trek... a view of Castle Peak,  a 9,104 foot sentinel of the Sierra. 

Tips and Tricks for Snowshoers Climbing
To ascend a slope kick the front of your snowshoe into the snow and press down to compact it into a step. Make sure that each new step is sufficiently above the last one to avoid collapse.

Descending
Heel cleats are the key to an easy descent. Keep your knees slightly bent, lean back and  keep your weight on the heel cleats to maintain control.

Edging
The best way to traverse a slope is to kick the side of the snowshoe into the hillside, engaging the cleats. Swing your heel hard towards the uphill slope, then stomp down, securing the snowshoe edge in the slope. Poles are also helpful.

Breaking Trail
When snowshoeing in a group, walk in a single line behind the leader who is breaking the trail. When it is your turn to lead, take consistent, even steps that are easy for everyone to follow.


Safety Tips for Snowshoers

Check with the local weather service before you head out. Conditions can sometimes change abruptly.

Make sure someone knows where you will be snowshoeing and your expected time of return, even if you are not going alone.

When snowshoeing with a group, make sure everyone is comfortable with the pace and demands of the trail. Count the number of people in your group before you leave and make sure everyone in the group knows this number. Stop every 30 minutes to allow everyone in the group to catch up.

Know your limits and don't surpass them! 

Copyright © 1998 Atlas Snow-Shoe Company. All Rights Reserved.     

Nick & Debbie across from Castle Peak.

Kayaking with the Stars

Camera ready kayak.

 My kayaks have become stars for television. They were used by Windsong Productions in a commercial being filmed on Lake Natoma.  The production crew was working on an upcoming TV spot promoting air quality for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
 Before going out on the water, crew members outfitted one kayak's bow with a camera. Actors then paddled across the lake in tandem of each other to create the shot.  An aerial drone with camera also hovered them to provide extra footage.
 In my tandem kayak, I paddled around the photographer so he could position the kayaks in the shot he wanted. It was all filmed during sunset to furnish the best light.
 So look for my kayaks paddling through your TV screen some time soon.

Sunset on Folsom Lake

Bayside Adventure Sports Erik Allen leader of the Tuesday evening Activities

It is said, "The best reason to own a kayak, is for the sunrises and the sunsets."

  It's an evening I have always wished for. Pleasant temperatures, no wind, flat water and the sun gently settle into a hazy sky.  The water couldn't be more inviting to me and my fellow boaters. The kayaks are quickly unloaded and slipped into the water. Our leader gives a prayer of thanks. Amen, it is a perfect evening for kayaking.

 Today I'm with members of Bayside Adventure Sports, an active outdoors church group.  Transformation through recreation in God's creation is the guiding ideal for participants. The group organizes weekly biking, hiking, skiing, and kayaking outings, along with camping and ski trips throughout the year.

 We launch out of Granite Bay boat ramp of Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. The lake seems to be making a come back now after a very dry winter. The lake was ground zero for California drought's media coverage this past winter but now is on a slow rise. According to the lady at the gate, the lake is at 50 percent capacity with room for more.

  The lake is motionless. The reflection creates mirror images of us gliding across the water.  Our bows and paddles splinter the surface of the water producing it's only wrinkled. Occasionally we rock in the waves of passing motorboats, but it's mostly stillness. Before long, the sky burns orange while the water turns golden. It is a timeless experience. The sun doesn't seem to hurry and neither do we.

Check Info@BaysideAdventureSports.com for more information on Tuesday Evening Activities.

The Parkway Part II, Urban Paddler

After the H Street Bridge, the American River speeds up in spots before turning west. 

 The Lower American River has something for everyone. The recreational waterway meanders through the heart of Sacramento, Ca. The American River Parkway as it is called is a paddler's delight.  Easy access, reliable flows, and a good view of nature even in this urban setting of the parkway. There is a good mix of fast moving currents, along with some slow and lazy tranquil water around each bend.

  I met up with seven Sacramento Paddle Pushers for a weekend outing on the river.  We pushed off at the popular Howe Avenue Access area. Going down the river at the start, we first encountered the Howe Avenue Bridge followed by the city's water treatment facility. Before long we cross under the Guy West Pedestrian Bridge at the Sacramento State campus. If we were to keep going from here all the way to the confluence with the Sacramento River we pass under another 8 bridges. They are the only real way, we can tell that we are paddling through a city. The banks of the river are lined with trees and nature is in abundance. We see turtles and different types of aquatic birds along the way. It is hard to think, that we are in the middle of Sacramento.

Just past the H Street bridge, a series fast moving water appears running through the gravel bars. This is our turning around point for today. We will have to push our kayaks past some ripples on our way back. Once past them, it is an easy paddle back toward Howe Avenue.

Daffodil Hill

 Daffodil Hill is a multi-generational project dating back to a family's original flower garden, planted in the late 1800s.  It has become a popular tourist destination now near Volcano, California,  attracting thousands of people every spring to come see the golden blooms.
 The original property owner planted daffodils around his cabin. The flowers were a good choice because they were left untouched by the deer and the gophers.  In 1887, the McLaughlin family purchased the ranch and under their care the daffodil garden flourished. Each year they divided and replanted the bulbs increasing the size of their garden. As the flowers grew, so did the interest. Each year more and more people came to visit. Before long their ranch became know as Daffodil Hill.
 Each year from mid March to mid April the hillside is open to the public. Seven acres are dedicated to only daffodils. As many as 300 different varieties speckle the knoll to give an abundance of over 40,000 annual blooms each spring. Every year between 8 and 1600 new bulbs new are planted. It mainly daffodils, but now tulips are mixed in here and there. Visitors wander the planted hillside free of charge to gaze at the yellow and white blooms. They have some 4,000 guests on some weekend days.

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.