Rob Casey's Blog, page 6

Public Access issue on Lake WA in Seattle

Eric Nordstrom, a SUP paddler in Seattle posted the following note on his FB page:
Seattle neighbors fight uphill battle to maintain public Lake Washington access
On a beautiful sunny winter afternoon, a small crowd has gathered on Seattle's Burke-Gilman trail overlooking a tiny beach leading to Lake Washington.But after decades of wandering onto the beach or into the water in the Cedar Park Neighborhood of northeast Seattle at 130th St., now they can't go any farther. Newly erected no trespassing signs stand in their way."Watching people's reactions to these signs is anger and shock," says longtime resident Sue Pope as she walks her dog along the trail.The signs that appeared Monday are just the latest move by the owners of the two homes bordering the popular beach access to take over the property and keep the public out.Read article
Read more about Seattle Street Ends

Paddle in to Coffee or a Pizza in Port Townsend

I love places where you can paddle to a beer or a snack.  There's a few spots like this on Puget Sound - the Tides Inn in Gig Harbor and the Boat Shed below Manette Bridge.

In Port Townsend there's several places you can paddle to..

- Paddle to the Pourhouse for a pint of local craft beer. I heard you could get a $1 off for paddling in. This is my kinda of town.

- Paddle to downtown 'PT' for Waterfront Pizza or coffee at Better Living Through Coffee.  Both are adjacent to a great little beach with drift logs to set your gear on.

Wetsuits welcome at Waterfront Pizza
Beach and picnic table below coffee and pizza spots
Beach below Better Living Through Coffee (on left)

Lyre River Mouth Purchased by the North Olympic Land Trust

Surfers who spent time on the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the 80's told me of having access to the Lyre River Mouth, a great point break.  When I started surfing a decade later the mouth was closed to the public by private land owners, unless you paddled in from a mile to the east from Whiskey Creek or west from Murdoch Creek or the Harris Beach campground

This month, NOLT, the North Olympic Land Trust purchased the river mouth area opening it to the public once again.  Paddlers and surfers do need to walk in a mile from the parking area or paddle in. If the latter, at least you won't worry about trespassing.

Read the story here from the NOLT newsletter. 

View from Mt Erie, Fidalgo Island Above Anacortes

View of Whidbey, Skagit, Hope and Goat Islands.

SUP Exploring Everett Harbor, Trip #21

Here's a great video from Seattle SUP'er Darrell Kirk who explores the 19th century ship hulks of the Snohomish River mouth in Everett, WA.  Follow Darrell and his many wonderful paddling videos of the NW, Missouri and other places he takes his inflatable SUP to for work trips.  Trip #21

On #Paddling.net, Click Here.

Main Link, Here

(C) Darrell Kirk
(C) Darrell Kirk

Eagle Harbor, Winslow - Bainbridge Island Trip 14

Eagle Harbor in Winslow - Bainbridge Island.  Trip #14

Wing PtA great protected gunkhole with a lot of personality.  I've seen surfable waves on the outside from ferries while only a few hundred yards inside it's usually super calm.  Way up inside it dries out to a tide flat at low tide and is surrounded by interesting modern and some historic homes.

A great paddle if you're seeking a protected spot for windy days or fun exploring for a short day trip from Seattle.


Eagle Hbr looking west to east

Two Darrell Kirk Paddling Videos of Everett's Waterways - Trip 21

My neighbor and student Darrell Kirk does amazing videos of his explorations around Puget Sound and the West Coast.  From the Saltine Sea to Ebey's Slough, here's two exploring the Everett, Wa waterfront.

Trip 22 - 

Ship Graveyard.  Many of these ships date to the 19th century and line the Snohomish River mouth in  to Puget Sound.
http://vimeo.com/85328730

Adventure on Ebey & Steamboat Slough. Note to check tides here to avoid being caught high and dry in mud on lower tides.
http://vimeo.com/89457365

SUP Trip to Hat (Gedney Island) with Darrell Kirk

My student Darrell Kirk gets around and he creates fun mini documentaries of his SUP explorations.
Here, Darrell explores Hat (Gedney Island) off Everett and SE Whidbey Island.  I believe he got a boat trip back to the mainland from one of the island residents.

Mid Hood Canal, Trip #23

Warm water in summer, bucolic backwater views and great paddling best describe this section of Hood Canal.  North of Hoodsport stretching to Quilcene, this curvy section of Highway 101 has many campgrounds, B&Bs, tucked away marinas, and oyster farms.

Trip #23 in the book.

Dosewallips St Park, high tide (empties at low).
Hamma Hamma river delta
Quilcene, WA

Mouth of the Elwha River - Jan 2014

On new spit looking south.