S3.4 - Salmon River at Knight Park.

 Two years ago, almost to the day, we kayaked the Salmon River estuary, putting in at Knight Park in Lincoln County.

The boat ramp is good, but a bit slimy and smelly. Just like the coast.

In that post, I mentioned wanting to return when it was high tide, in order to explore the many 'fingers' reaching into the surrounding marshland, and that's what we did.






The high tide helped us out a bit, gently pushing us along the narrow channels. We saw a ton of waterfowl, including many herons. As we went further along into the marsh, the smaller bird calls got louder and closer, although we could not see their nests.





One thing I found interesting, although I did not get a good picture, was the texture of the exposed dirt between the water line and the marsh grass. Lots of small, irregular holes. I couldn't tell if they were homes, or just erosion.

The temperature inland, where we live, was in the low 90s. Here at the beach it was below 70, with a nice coastal breeze. When we got out of the main river channel, we could see the marsh grass waving in the breeze, but we were too low to enjoy it. 









On the way back to the park, we came across 3 baby seagulls in a clump of grass. I thought it might be a nest, but they flew away when we got too close. It was just a clump of grass.

Closer to the park, a seal popped up a ways in front of us, and then disappeared. 

We did not head toward the beach this time. Maybe in the future, but still a nice relaxing paddle on a relatively cool summer day.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

S2.7 - Trillium Lake.

Image
  Trillium Lake is just past Government Camp, on the foothills of Mount Hood. The boat ramp area is decent, with a small loading and unloading area, and a pit toilet. There is a decent amount of parking, and we got there around 9am, so no trouble finding a spot. However, it got a lot busier as the day went on. There is a day use area on past the boat ramp, and that's where most people go who are just coming to swim. It's always nice to get that first glimpse of the water you will be floating for the day, but the view you get when you get to the bottom of the boat ramp is breathtaking. Everyone who comes down always stops to enjoy the view, and usually to take some pictures. During our time on the lake, I took quite a few breaks to just enjoy the view. And take lots of pictures. There is a day use area on one end of the lake, and a campground on another. A 2 mile trail goes around the lake, although part of it was closed when we were there. The campsites are spaced quite a ways ...
Read more

#6 - Ermie Walters - Alsea River

Image
  We went camping at Beachside, just south of Waldport. Our intent was to try the Alsea water trail, which starts at the mouth of the Alsea, heads upriver, and into Drift Creek. Leanna's sister was with us, and so we called around to rent a kayak for her to join us. The advice of the renter was to skip the water trail due to wind and waves, and head upriver about 19 miles to the Ermie Walters Boat Ramp . So we did. Ermie Walters is a nice boat ramp with decent parking lot for this far upriver. No bathrooms. There were 2 other cars in the parking lot. One waiting to rent kayaks, like us, and another belonging to a couple who had set up shop at the bottom of the boat ramp, and were cooking up some crawfish they had caught. Once our other kayak arrived, we put in. I got all the way in, unintentionally, as I was trying to get in my kayak. The water level was pretty low, and I had to pull my kayak into a deeper channel from the ramp. Just slipped on slippery rocks. Good news is the wat...
Read more

2.3 Waldo Lake - North Waldo Campground

Image
  Waldo Lake is infamous for a few things. Beauty. Clarity. Mosquitoes. All are justified. The boat ramp at North Waldo is large and well maintained. There is plenty of parking, and there are relatively new composting toilets all through the campground, including the boat ramp. We ended up kayaking 2 days here, so this post includes both days. We stayed at the North Waldo Campground. The sites are large, well spaced, and come complete with friendly chipmunks and birds. Especially when you have food out. The mosquitoes were very annoying. We used a lot of mosquito repellent, and had 2 citronella candles burning most of the time. The campfire also helped. Between all 3 of those precautions, and the long sleeves and pants, the mosquitoes were manageable. There are quite a few first come, first serve campsites, which is what we got.  The boat ramp is in a small bay, with an island in the middle, so it is well protected from the wind. Once you pass the island, you are subject to wa...
Read more