Paddling to the San Fran Bay

Trip Members: Tommy McKinley (Cousin) and Brian Goal: To paddle (our slightly leaking) canoe from Sacramento to San Francisco Bay in 2 days

The Scoop: Tommy and I embarked on our journey in the inky blankness at 5:30 A.M. on a chilly Saturday morning on the last weekend of September. As we paddled west towards the Pacific we noticed that not only were we the only ones not in a power boat on the Sacramento River that day, but that we got amazed looks and plenty of, "Where the heck are you guys going?" from the passing boaters. (I guess our tent, sleeping bags, boom box, and 30 pounds of snacks prevented us from going unnoticed!

We cruised onward, at a top speed of perhaps 2 miles an hour, with reletively few problems until confronted with the mother of all barges. At a point when the river was about 200 feet wide we saw a barge 150 feet wide barrelling upstream towards us. We quickly sped towards the shore until we were withing 5 feet of the rocky outcroppings, giving the massive barge as much room as possible. However, as we watched the bohemeth vehicle approaching we saw the tidal wave-like waves it was spitting out which were crashing against the shore of the river. My cousin steered the canoe so the front of the canoe was facing the oncoming waves (which is the correct way). Unfortunately for the person manning the front of the canoe (ME) this often leads to disaster. I braced myself as the barge passed, and could only watch as the wall of water crashed over the front of the canoe and into my lap!

Mission Accomplished: After two days and 20 hours of paddling, camping at a trailer park home on the river bank, and actually paddling upstream for several hours due to the rising tide, Tommy and made it past the Rio Vista Bridge, where the river widens out and ocean-liners can be seen cruising through the water. We finished feeling sun-kissed, hungry, happy, not wanting to paddle for a year, amazed at the extensive system of waterways which is begging for adventure, and grateful that we had encountered only 1 barge on our route!