Sea Kayak - Nisqually Delta & Reach

The original plan for our 12/3/2022 trip was to paddle a loop past Johnson Pt, Devils Head, Treble Pt, and Lyle Pt while exploring several small coves along the way (14 NM).  Based on conditions we paddled to Johnson Pt and then decided to turn around and follow the shoreline back to Luhr Beach (13 NM).

We launched from Luhr Beach after a brief talk at 0930 and headed NW toward Johnson Pt.  The weather was cold but absolutely beautiful with clear skies all around.  Mt Rainier and the Olympics were visible in all their glory!  Before we even reached the National Fish & Oyster Company we were suddenly paddling with a group of 5-6 river otters who swam alongside us for 1-2 minutes.  It was a very cool experience since they typically come and go very fast when we see them out in the water.

The paddle past Tolmie State Park and several small coves was lovely but uneventful.  A steady 10 kt wind was mostly coming from the NNW but didn’t prove to be a challenge.  We were looking for a small cove from a past trip called Mill Bight and eventually found it.  Linda and I explored the back of the cove while Lisa waited outside for us.  Once we gathered back up and continued paddling toward Baird Cove we noticed the wind had slightly increased causing bigger waves near shore.  One notable thing about the shoreline between Luhr Beach and Johnson Pt is that it tends to be fairly shallow and most of the shoreline is either steep bluffs or bulkheads.  It can be challenging to find a beach to land on during high tide along this stretch.  The shallow waters can create bigger wind waves and the bulkheads result in bigger clapotis, especially with a North wind, which is what we experienced on our paddle.

As we passed Zittel’s Marina (avoid the $20 launch fee!) we were already considering route alternatives due to the waves and possibility of stronger gusts in the afternoon.  We ultimately decided to avoid the 3 crossings and turned around at Johnson Pt to follow the shoreline back the way we came to Luhr Beach.  You can see Johnson Pt from some distance away due to the concrete bulkhead that encircles the point.  I’ve never seen a bulkhead go completely around a sand spit and it’s one of the ugliest sights in Puget Sound!  What made up for the eyesore at Johnson Pt was the excellent visibility which allowed us to see Mt Rainier AND the top of Mt Adams to the east!  I pondered the thought that in the past you probably could see 3 volcanoes at once from this location before Mt St Helens erupted.

We made good time after turning around at Johnson Pt and were keen on finding a spot to land and have lunch.  Due to the bulkheads lining the shore the closest spot was back in the small cove called Mill Bight.  It also happened to be approaching one of the highest tides so it was challenging to find a spot to accommodate 3 kayaks.  We settled on a rickety old wooden dock hidden from the houses with barely enough “beach” for the kayaks.  Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!  We had a nice lunch and continued our paddle back to Luhr Beach.  Just before Tolmie State Park as we were crossing Dogfish Bight the waves became very interesting.  We noticed the NNW wind had picked up blowing consistently at 10-12 kts with no particular pattern to the direction of the 2 ft waves so I kayaks were sort of getting pushed back and forth.  I did not experience any serious difficulty in getting my boat to go in the direction I wanted and we were making decent forward progress.  Linda was getting uncomfortable in the chaotic wave patterns and at some point she told me she felt queasy.  Looking back I wasn’t sure if she meant nauseous or uncomfortable but at the time I interpreted her comment as nauseous. Given the waves Linda didn’t want me to get close enough to raft up so I signaled Lisa to hold up and start heading for Tolmie State Park in the hopes of finding a spot to take a break or at least in to calmer waters.  As we approached shore it felt like the waves eased a bit and Linda said she didn’t want to stop for a break and felt fine to continue paddling.  After the state park the shoreline turned in to a solid concrete bulkhead with no beach at all.  The clapotis waves soon became 2-3 ft and were stacking against each other due to our proximity to the bulkheads as we tried to paddle around the next corner.  Lisa took the lead and I stayed alongside Linda.  The conditions were brief, maybe 10-15 minutes, but very challenging as the waves clashed against each other to often form exploding vertical fountains of water.  A more detailed narrative of our experience was written by Lisa Johnson in the form of an incident report.  Once we were around the corner and past the bulkheads the waves eased considerably and we paddled back to Luhr Beach without too much effort arriving at 3 PM.  Landing at Luhr Beach on a tiny patch of sand next to the boat ramp in 1 ft wind waves blowing from the North and close to a 14 ft high tide was another challenge.  It was a little tricky but we managed to exit our kayaks at the small pocket of sand and then haul them out of the water using the boat ramp.