Crabless crabbing in Tillamook bay.
It was a beautiful overcast sort of day with just the occasional glimpse of lighter cloud cover indicating that indeed there is sun & its to the south.
There was a lot of confusion around this trip due to an ORDFW ban on crabbing which was pointed out to me by Marty M. I decided to just paddle in the Garibaldi area & forget the crabs.
We met at the kayak launch on the s.e. side of the marina. After waiting a while Denise H. & I launched. This area is her back yard. (Indeed it is likely she didn't need to start her car, but saved gas by merely rolling down hill from her home to the marina). I let her show me around the area to get some good local knowledge. We headed out to the west past the Coast Guard station (they regaled us with a fantastic display of helicopter aeronautics) as we proceeded out to the Three Graces. After a pass or two through the rocks with some flood current, we meandered out towards the middle of the north jetty where we hoped to find passage through a breech in the jetty to a lagoon with sandy beach. Alas it was a portage several feet in height...no go. We continued on toward the open end of the jetty to see if the westerly swell was indeed 16 to 18 feet...it was. At that point we made a nice crossing to the south jetty, chatted with a fisherman in a Kokatat foot drive kayak...we brought him good luck & he caught a nice surf perch of some 30cm in length. We continued around Kincheloe Point and into to Crab Harbor. There we stopped to investigate a primitive campsite for a future trip. (Look for a Denise, Mona, & Ryc; Birding, Yoga, & kayak camping trip next May 2017). Then we crossed back to the Coast Guard Station where Denise wanted to practice some rolls. Seems as if it was a little chilly so we headed of to Miami to warm up (Miami River that is). To get there we paddled through the creosote forest and looked for an entrance to the river in the marsh grass. We paddled perhaps a mile up river against a stout current, stopped to have lunch at a Nature Conservative site. It was a muddy steep beach from which we tried to seal launch when we left. My main concern was face planting into one of the myriad spawned out salmon carcasses that lined the river shore and bottom. Our return downstream to only 15 minutes. On the way back to the put in we once again threaded the creosote forest sharpening our boat handling skills (and perhaps a piling or 2 along the way).
Wildlife spotted was mainly of the waterfowl variety. Loon, 3 types of scoters, a hawk, a barn owl, an eagle, lots of geese, great blue heron, assorted ducks & gulls. Ask Denise she is up on this & can likely recite Shipley's from memory. Also noticed a few seals, 2 divers (for clams) and zillions of salmon carcasses and perhaps 3 or 4 salmon still swimming.
Time on 4.5 hours with 2 breaks of about 15 minutes & 30 minutes. Distance about 10 to 11 nautical miles. Wind calm to force 2, Sea state calm to excess of 10 feet. Current of up to 2.5 of 3 knots. Longest crossing about 1 mile. Rocky & steep muddy banks. Large Bay. Overall it was a "relaxed" level three paddle. No rescues or assists were needed, nor was first aid rendered. There were no incidents to report.
Note, while I've been mentoring Michael K. as a trip organizer, he has been showing me how to keep my trip reports from being short & terse. Although I am omitting the fashion report; after all a tiger stripped skin on frame Cape Falcon F1 clashes severely with a red rotomolded Valley Avocet;)
Respectfully submitted,
Ryc Williamson
