Back in my home waters

Day 9  • 
And it’s a wrap! Took off this morning at 6am from Benicia to catch the ebb. It was going pretty fast already at the Carquinez bridge but winds were not strong so no particular difficulty there. Got into the flow of paddling and found a good and steady pace that I could keep. I stayed wide in the ba...

Gnarly waters

Day 8  • 
Started paddling at 6am with a beautiful sunrise. Wind was quite low. Ebb was starting. That changed quite fast as within 20 minutes I was surfing waves on a downwind. “I’ll get there at 10am if that continues”. That didn’t. As the river changed direction, that created a side wind which complicated...

Rudder is repaired

Rio Vista Coast Guards  • 
Thanks to my friend John, the repair guru, my rudder is now all fixed. Epoxy, Stainless steel screw, it's all strong and solid. Tomorrow morning I am ready to go at 6am! I will catch the ebb current on my way to Benicia where I will camp for my last night of the trip.

Safety first

Day 7  • 
Left this morning at 6am. I knew the winds were going to pick up. (was awakened at 4:38am by a tractor spraying the orchard right near my tent. Like 20 feet.... but that’s too long a story to tell here). managed to do 20 miles to Rio Vista, with the tide but against the wind, when the winds started...

Through Sacramento

Day 6  • 
Left 8 am from the camping site. Great to see my friend Matt who came with his tent and beers and food! 20 miles easy going and I was in downtown Sacramento. Surprised how fun it was to go through the big buildings with my kayak on the river! Then I met Marsha who treated me with a burger and fries...

Broken rudder, dirty water and hot temps.

Day 5  • 
Well today was a mix. I was super happy to have paddled 9 hours and clocking 55+ miles. Good progress. This being said, conditions were terrible for the heat. Finished the last 8 miles on my knees, so to speak. Lost a screw on my rudder. Had to paddle steer for a while. Then used zip ties to fix a b...

Longest day so far

Day 4  • 
Today I paddled over 50 miles I believe. Felt good. Love my kayak. Even loaded with 7 days of food and sleeping gear and all, it rides well. Woke up naturally at 5:15. Coffee and oatmeal, fold the tent and on the water at 6:30. Didn’t stop till 11:30 when I wanted a good lunch and hide from the sun....

Hot hot hot

Day 3  • 
38 miles today. Very little flow so have to push more on the paddles. It has been very hot today. Dipping my hat on the river every 5 minutes and splashing my shoulders. Drinking a lot of water with electrolytes. Didn’t stop on the shore to eat lunch so could put more miles in. Wildlife: white pelic...

Rapids

Day 2  • 
Another beautiful day on the river. Many rapids but nothing crazy. Saw many turkey vultures and several Balt eagles and many deers (one swam across the river in front of us). Did 18 miles this morning and 20 this afternoon. The canyons before Red Bluff were amazing. We even saw real cowboys waking u...

First day

Day 1  • 
First day in. Take off at 6am to drive to Redding from Sausalito. I’m joined by Laura and Julien who come for the first 3 days in a tandem. Forecast is rain but it actually doesn’t matter. Put in at 1pm. Water seems to run quite fast. Estimated speed of the flow is 3-4 miles per hour so it’s going f...

Good flow

Day 1  • 
https://www.dreamflows.com/Pages/KeswickSchedule.php Up to 10,000 cfs which means more current and more volume - faster water and fewer rocks:)

Forecast

Redding  • 
Rain the first day, tomorrow Saturday. Then hot all week.

Change of Route

Redding  • 
I originally wanted to start from Lakehead on the first day, Saturday, paddle 20 miles to the Shasta Dam, then portage the kayak to the bottom of the Dam and sleep there before day 2. After a few phone calls today to the board of regulation, I was told that the access to the bottom of the Shasta Dam...