NSSKA

Six intrepid kayakers braved wind, rain, and temperatures in the low 40's to enjoy the splendors of the Seattle waterfront.  Our bright kayaks were in sharp contrast with the grey city, grey sky and grey/brown water.  The cold kept us moving and we finished in 4 hours, then retired to the Celtic Swell pub to warm up.

Five paddlers paddled from La Conner to Goat Island on a crisp, overcast Fall day. We hung out on the island for about an hour, eating lunch and exploring  historic Fort Whitman and the environs. We saw lots of herons but no goats. The fish hole was plugged with logs and sticks, so we returned the way we came.

Due to big time winds we decided to cancel our trip out to Succia Island and camp and do day trip from Orcas Island. We camped at Moran State Park, paddled around Mountain Lake, hiked up Mt. Constitution, paddled around Cascade Lake and finished our paddling by launching at North Beach and paddling down to and hiking around Point Doughty.  Our last night on Orcas we joined in an annual pumpkin carving challenge with our good friends from Body Boat Blade International. Pictures by Bill Brackin here . Pictures by Bill Porter here.

Very cool write-up for this trip here at   Everytrails website .  Pictures too! Pictures !   More Pictures !

Karl G: “We only had 4 people, but it was a great trip.  The river was very low at about  2000 CFS, but we had no trouble.  We enjoyed full sun in the morning, and full/filtered sun with a breeze in the afternoon, high about 70F.  How was the west side?  Cloudy and 62F?  Saw a nice gopher snake and possible small rattler, deer, and Magpies, Bald Eagles, Osprey.  Sunday we saw big horn sheep from the bike ride.  Wildflowers were not nearly as good as previous years.” Bill B: “It was a beautiful day on the Yakima River yesterday for four NSSKA paddlers. We saw hundreds of swallows, osprey, magpies, heron, Red-Winged Blackbirds, kingfishers, and many more birds. Deer were eating along the river. The water was low, about 2,000 cfs, and that made for more small rapids and interesting rock dodging than the last time I floated this section in 2013, when the levels were over 7,000 cfs. "It's going to be a very dry summer." Thanks to Karl Guntheroth for leading the trip.”

NSSKA taught a beginner's kayaking class offered by Everett Parks & Recreation at Silver Lake. Great weather, great folks. Pix by Julie Titone and Don Erickson

Balmy late afternoon/evening paddle. Little snow in those mountains. The unpaved part of the road, which is pretty potholed, is open early this year.  Pictures here on Facebook

NSSKA 'Intro to DP currents and dynamic water rescues' class Coronet Bay, WA, Weather conditions: sunny skies, mid 50's temp and 10-15K wind with gusts As we launched our boats at Coronet Bay SP, two buzzards circled lazily overhead, always a good sign when heading towards Deception Pass :-) . Seven NSSKA  members and four guests were exposed to some practical tips on trip leading followed by several hours on the water around Ben Ure and Strawberry islands on the east side of Deception Pass. We all practiced various bracing strokes, rescues in both flat and dynamic water, body boat balancing, eddy hopping and crossing into and out of rip currents.  At the end of the day everyone had gone for a swim or two,  honed their rescue skills and had a big smile on their faces, a very successful day on the water !   Bill Porter

Five paddlers launched from Lundeen park and took a leisurely paddle around Lake Stevens on a near-perfect spring day.