Sea Kayak - Snohomish River

Trip Report

SIGHTED: CORMORANT, LOON, SEAL, OSPREY, EAGLE, CANADA GEESE, HERON,   MALLARD, SWALLOW, NORTHERN PINTAIL, WRENS AND SONG BIRDS

 

I left Lake Stevens a little after 7 AM to get a breakfast burrito from Safeway and some Starbucks coffee.  The launch site at Jetty Island – 10^th Street Boat Launch was an easy 15 minute drive and I arrived about 8:00 with Terry a minute later.  The others arrived as we were unloading. A clean and stocked bathroom was available.  Parking was $7.06 and accepted credit cards.  For once there was no float plan and the lack of a real chart was a big reason why.  There must be one but the whole SE corner of Skagit Bay is not covered well on either the Puget Sound or San Juan charts.  Terry had kindly provided a substitute Snohomish River Estuary map which I unfortunately had left on my printer. I had to crib off of his and Cathie’s phone GPS now and then.

 

We were ready for our pre trip huddle on time and the decision was made to go over to Priest Point after a brief radio check. The bottom of the ebb had already come and gone with the max flood around 1315 only about a foot and half exchange which made it easier to figure out our options.  The water level basically dictated where and when we could go as we went along which made the exploration more of a fun adventure I think.

 

A boat seemed stalled to the left of us just past Jetty Island—it must have been fishing.  We paused to stare back at a couple dozen seals in front of us.  Of course they disappeared before I could get the camera ready.  We paddled to Priest Point followed by the little entourage at first before we turned and began following the shore looking at the interesting houses.  There are a lot of closed gates with wooden fences on top of some of the bulkheads; they must get a lot of surges with the boat traffic so maybe that helps.

 

We then headed east with about 12-18” to spare sometimes across the mud flat towards North Ebey Island.  Once in view of the NE point of North Spencer Island we hit our first fork in the road.  We could see on the map a kayak crossing (turns out it is a key for an informal kayak launch)  if we went right but there was a clear wider path going down Steamboat Slough on our left so we chose that one.  We cleared the bulkheads under the interesting 529 bridge shortly before reaching the taller I5 bridge.  It’s high but not as high as the Tacoma Narrows.  The water level varied but often my stick never tested to the bottom as the channel got narrower once we had turned the corner and heading south between the embankments. 

Only one paddler needed a very brief bio stop before we continued on.  We could hear birds twittering, an occasional nest in the mostly still bare trees mixed in occasionally with the sounds of traffic from the freeway.  We meandered past Otter Island after choosing the east side around 11:30 and began looking for a lunch spot.  This can be tricky as the shoreline of areas like this can have steep drop offs and/or sucking mud when trying to get out of the boat. We saw signs saying “Mid Spencer Island” but I think we were not far from the southern end when we found a relatively flat place.  A comfortable looking goose watched us from the other side of the narrow opening and didn’t budge as we unloaded our lunches.  We easily crossed some tidal grass to a washed up log that the birds had obviously been sitting on first but there was still plenty of room for us less fussy folk to sit on while we ate our meal.  The freeway was visible across the flat but it was far enough away to not be an issue and we spent about 45 minutes or more there, then continued on at 1315. 

 

Now it had to be kept in mind that the tide had turned and while the water was moving in our favor the level was dropping again.  We soon saw the Hwy 2 trestle bridge and soon came to the confluence of the Snohomish River where we took a right and rounded the bottom of Spencer Island. 

It didn’t take very long to go back underneath Hwy 5—this gets a little confusing when you are actually paddling on the water without a proper chart—and soon reached pretty Langus Riverfront Park with its docks and boat ramp just north of the bridge. 

Nobody needed to stop so we kept going at an easier pace in the helpful slight current on around the bend towards the bigger southern section of the 529 bridge. 

The Everett shore was looking much more industrial and I noticed the enormous boat/RV storage area off of I5 on the other side as we approached it. For once there was no wind but sadly only one seal this time who peeped at me as I paddled surprisingly close to the southern shore. Normally we are way out to avoid the mud.

I paddled under the docks of the sand operation or whatever it was at Preston Point and happily didn’t have to swing out too far to stay in sometimes barely adequate water all the way back to the boat launch. I don’t think I have ever seen more pilings/markers in one place than Port Gardner.  

The fishing boat was still in the same place but the seals were not. The park was busier than when we had left but the boat launch still mostly empty when we arrived about 1500.  The water was almost exactly the same level as when we had left so it didn’t take long for us to load back up with great teamwork by all.  Our post paddle huddle yielded no complaints and we all agreed it was a fun and interesting trip.  Terry and I were the only ones to opt for a stop at a local Taco Time where he kindly treated me to a meal.  All paddlers performed well with excellent group dynamics.

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