Kayak Elkhorn Slough

I talked H into kayaking with me in Elkhorn Slough with promises of calm water paddling and abundance of wild life to observe. She agreed.

Our day started like most kayaking trip: early in the morning. We drove to UC Santa Cruz where we met up with my favorite kayak guide, Dave Johnston and the rest of the tour group. From there, we were transported by van to Elkhorn Slough boat launch at Kirby road.

When we arrived, I was surprised to see the pier which we used for launching kayaks last year was in ruins! Apparently, Dave was surprised too. Without a pier, we were forced to do beach launch on the small, gravel filled edge "beach" on the side of the pier.

H and I had some paddling experience, so we launched quickly. Also, I still remembered the paddling route from last year and quickly made our way out of the delta, towards the sea, leaving the rest of the group behind.

The early morning was filled with birds. The majestic white Pelicans was making a rare appearance in Elkhorn slough! These white Pelican would fly close to the ocean surface, then suddenly land in the sea water and make a quick turn. It was amazing to watch. Some were flying so close to our kayak that I was concerned we would be knocked over.

As we paddled closer to the mouth of the river, we started seeing my favorite animal: sea otters. Most of the otters I had seen at Elkhorn slough are quite shy. As soon as they detected us, the otter would dive into the ocean. On this trip, we were lucky to see an otter having a meal. It was trying to break open a shell and we had quite a show:)

The trip to the mouth of the river took about 2 hours. There, we shored for lunch and rested on a sandy beach on the left of the river mouth.

After lunch, we paddled under Highway 1 bridge to see the seals. After that, we paddled back to the launching point.

Due to the date, the falling tides were in effect for our paddle back, so Dave suggested we kayaked back near the edge of the delta, away from the middle of the channel. This eddy current would help us along as we were paddling against the tide.

To further help us along, Dave had a special equipment for this trip: Kayak sail. There was a nice breeze blowing inland. H placed the sail behind her and, with a wind blowing, created a nice back rest for her.

The return trip was rather uneventful. We saw more seals, sea lions and otters. Since we paddle were closer to the edge, the water became really shallow and we were almost stuck a few times. Luckily, we were able to push our way out without having to get out of our kayaks.

Base on gmap.com, this is a 8 mile paddling trip, which took us about 4 hours of easy paddling to complete. It was an enjoyable time on the water.