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Burrows, Allen Island Trip 10/9/2019

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Five paddlers were met with rain and calm winds for an adventure leaving Washington Park in Anacortes with a plan to take a clockwise route around Burrows and Allen islands.  After a brief safety discussion including an anonymous risk assessment, we headed out promptly at 9 a.m. Departing on the first hour of a flood tide with a moderate exchange, we encountered a small current as we headed east through Burrows Pass. As we crossed the channel, we met no other boat traffic. Coming around the NE corner of Burrows is where you will encounter the most current as water converges into the small channel. This can be a challenging area with a strong current.  We made a brief stop to checkout the campground on the east side of the island then continued on to Allen Island. Our Burrows and Allen island adventure was pleasant, not sunny! As our group neared the island, some construction activity on the dock caught our eye and we decided to take a closer look. It appears there is so
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God's Pocket

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This was a 6-day trip to the God's Pocket area off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. Prior to the trip we held a planning meeting to review individual responsibilities, develop our trip plan, our paddle plan and our travel plans to Port Hardy, British Columbia. Saturday July 6th Group members toured the town of Port Hardy, visited the museum, coffee shops, bakery and lone grocery store. Late afternoon we assembled at The Sporty (a local watering hole) to firm up the launch time, launch location (Carrot Park), review segment leaders and parking for the trip. Sunday July 7th Our 9-person group hit the water at 7:30 am under calm winds and fair skies. Our first team of leaders took us to Duval Point, then we made a left turn up Goletas Channel to Songhees Creek arriving at 9:45 am. This is a beautiful location with a year-round water supply, wilderness camping and two black bears to welcome us. Mother bear was showing junior how to search for tasty treats along the s
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Spada Lake Adventure

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Fourteen paddlers explored Spada Lake on June 29, 2019. For most of them, it was a first visit to the  high mountain reservoir  on the Sultan River in eastern Snohomish County. The lake supplies Everett's drinking water. Because it is a protected resource, no power boats are allowed. As usual, we had the big lake practically to ourselves! We launched around 10:30 a.m. and paddled to the east end of the lake, where we parked our kayaks at the spot where a sparkling stream enters the lake. After lunching there, we took in more of the east end of the lake, traveling along the north shore before heading back to the launch site as the afternoon wind picked up. Some folks got off the lake; others continued westward to extend the experience. The weather and company were splendid. Paddlers were Julie Titone (trip coordinator), Claire Carpenter, Jeanne Crisp, Davi Hablewitz, Doug Bradeen, Lucas Duncan, Emmanuel De Leon, Jesse Janicula, Martin Proudfoot, Shawna Hartsell, Blaine Rambough, J
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Green River - Canyonlands

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Bill Brackin led a group of 8 NSSKers 118 miles  down the Green River through Canyonlands National Park. We paddled and drifted for 11 days, first through Labyrinth Canyon, then through a more open landscape resembling Monument Valley, and then through Stillwater Canyon where we reached the confluence with the Colorado River and the end of our journey.  Our NSSKA group plus four of Bill's friends who happened to be paddling the same route and accompanied us on the trip. March 30-31 These were driving days from our homes to Moab, where we stayed two nights to acclimate and do last-minute prep.  April 1 We stretched our legs in Arches National Park, wandered around Moab, and met for dinner before heading to our hotel rooms for a good night's rest. April 2  We woke early to get to Tex's Outfitters, where we loaded our gear onto their trucks and trailers, and drove to our put-in site at Ruby Ranch. Launching before noon, we paddled about 11 miles
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