As
I looked out the front window of my parent’s Seattle, Washington
home, from the glimmer of the sun on the lake and the lack of other
boats, I could sense that it would be a grand day for some urban paddling.
So,
I loaded up my Prijon SeaYak on top of the Subaru, gathered my paddling
gear and headed down to Lake Union. I parked my car by Ivar’s
Salmon House, portaging at the park just next door. Paddling solo makes
getting the boat to the water a bit of a tedious process, but with a
little maneuvering of the switchback path, my boat was nestled in the
water waiting for my skirt to comb the rim of the cockpit.
With the skirt on and my Werner paddle in hand, I shoved off from the
northern shores of the Lake. A couple of strokes later, slicing through
the slips of sailboats, I looked to my right noticing that a large vessel
was missing. The “Air Stream” of boats was gone. An old passenger
ferry, better known as the “Kalakala”, had seemingly run its
course.
After
a moment of mourning, I was off again with some solid strokes and
heading west towards Fremont. Paddling on the lake is a serene experience
and always a surprise. One never knows what boats or planes will
be out, and sometimes the forward course must be changed in a matter
of seconds. As I paddled onward, I came upon Gas Works Park and
noticed a number of folks enjoying the weekend relaxing. While I
was tempted to join them, my drive to keep paddling was greater.
I decided to continue farther on.
After
passing the Park, my next scenario included the channel past the
Fremont Bridge. Here in the channel, my final adventure included
a short observation of the multitude of birds nesting and basking
in the area. Also, while in the channel, I had the luck of being
the only paddler at the time. A rare moment seldom found.
At
this point it was time to head back towards the car. A calming feeling
arose the whole way back, and with nothing but sunshine and blue
sky, no complaints were to be found. It was a short paddle, but
enjoyable nonetheless. As I pulled up to the launch I had left earlier
in the day, thoughts of other adventures came to mind. All in a
days paddle.
