Summer = more frequent and longer trips for the club. In an effort to explore as much as the Puget Sound as possible, I've been trying out each leg of a northward paddle from Shilshole/Seattle. It starts with a short-ish paddle from West Point in Discovery Park, heading north to Shilshole. I've paddled from Shilshole to Carkeek, Carkeek to Richmond Beach, from there to Edmonds. The next logical step is Edmonds north to Mukilteo.

   The thing about Seattle/north-central Puget Sound in the summer is that usually the winds blow from the north. The only exception seems to be when new weather is arriving or when I'm trying to plan a big trip! So, instead of Edmonds to Mukilteo, I reversed it - Mukilteo to Edmonds - for the extra wind push in the right direction (in theory).

   That crazy thing on the front of my kayak is a downwind sail. I was counting on the north wind to give me a little extra push on this trip because it is a longer one - a little over 9 miles. Well, it went from north wind (yippee!), to no wind, to south wind (not yippee) to no wind. It wasn't too bad, but there wasn't enough for the sail - oh well. Note that in the Northwest winter the wind on this trip usually blows from the south.

   It's a pretty straightforward paddle. You've got Edmonds in sight as your destination in the distance. This sometimes breaks down newer kayakers - you basically paddle at the same spot for the entire trip. In my Innova Helios II, with two paddlers, this trip took about 3 hours from Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo to the Edmonds Marina. Sights along the way? You've got Whidbey Island on your right, mainland on your left, a cool earthen beached ship along the way, and Meadowdale Beach Park about halfway for break-time if you need it.

   Despite many signs about not diving near the Edmonds ferry terminal, there aren't any about what kayakers should do when approaching. Paddle around the giant ferry that could leave at any moment or sneak quickly under the docks? We went with the dock option with no problem except the ferry attendant reminding us not to do it again...

   After the Edmonds ferry terminal and fishing pier you'll arrive at the marina. It's a very congested marina, especially the entrance/breakwater, so be careful coming in. After you enter, head south and you'll see the fuel and guest docks. We pulled right up to an empty guest slip and got out and packed up our gear without hassle. If you keep going past the marina there is a nice beach to land. There's even a beach before the ferry if you don't want to go around. There's restaurants here - a nice place to break if you were heading farther south.
   Like I mentioned before, this trip took about 3 hours (in our inflatable) and is best paddled downwind (aren't all trips better downwind?!). The next step in my northward travels? Probably Mukilteo to Camano Island! Or maybe in reverse if the wind actually blew the way it was forecast!
   ~Paul & John (& Captain Wifey in the support car:)   ETC

   Once upon a summer day, Captain wifey and I were looking for a land adventure. We were in the area and discovered Meadowdale Beach Park in Edmonds. It turned out to be a strategic visit, I'll explain more later, and we ended up hiking from the upper parking lot down through the woods following Lunds Gulch all the way to the beach (about 1.4 miles down hill, one-way). The whole park is around 100 acres of valley/trees/beach. 

   You're almost to the beach when you come upon a quaint little park ranger residence (pictured above). There did appear to be a parking lot down here too - that might be a good idea if you had a lot of beach gear for the day. However, with limited parking spaces, I bet it fills up pretty quick so plan accordingly! Pictured below - the beach.

   What's so strategic about this little picnic visit you say? Well, captain wifey thought this was just a nice summer walk for the sake of summer walking…turns out I was scoping out possible stops for a future paddle - Edmonds to Mukilteo. I'm actually trying to paddle northward from Seattle in small sections - I've done Golden Gardens to Edmonds, and I'm looking at the next leg of the journey (and places to stop along the way). Edmonds to Mukilteo, then Mukilteo to Everett, Everett to Camano Island, etc… Meadowdale Beach Park - a nice stop along the way!
   ~Paul & Amber   ETC

   The club knocked out another little paddle - from Richmond Beach to Edmonds Washington (and back). The paddle is about one to two leisurely hours one-way. It's nice to start at Richmond Beach in Shoreline and head north - that way you can stop for refreshments halfway when you get to Edmonds. Once you arrive there is a great public beach, dog park, bathrooms, the Edmonds marina (pictured at the end of this post), restaurants, ice cream (mmm ice cream), and more. Watch the tides/wind - it took us almost two hours to get there and only 45 mins to an hour to get back (without almost no wind). The paddle takes you through my favorite photogenic asphalt plant on the water at Point Wells. Check out these pics and our previous post on the area!
   -Paul & John   ETC 

   I've always wanted to leave the homeland of Golden Gardens and paddle North...the idea that you'd hit the Pacific pretty quick is a big thought. Well, I didn't make it that far but I had a great Super Bowl Sunday (there was a game?) paddling from Kingsley, at home in Shilshole Marina (Seattle), North to the town of Edmonds, WA.

   This was how the day started, wind = 0. I left with a slow incoming tide (against me). I checked the tide charts before I left, you should too if you paddle this. It turned to slack tide pretty quick, which was still nice, but then later on as the tide was heading out the wind picked up from the North making some little waves (wind coming in, tide going out). Moral of the story, if you are new to the club and paddling where tides matter, check the chart before you go...along with the wind forecast!

   The best part of the paddle is about at halfway (maybe a little bit after) as you reach Point Wells. I had always seen the pier and buildings here while sailing but never knew much about the place.

   After doing a little research it turns out -  (1) It is an asphalt plant in Shoreline/Woodway (read about it on the city website here). (2) It's right on the railroad tracks. (3) It is private property and only accessible by one road. (4) There is a nice beach just North of the place. (5) Behind the nice beach is 'Sherwood Forest'...according to Google Maps (6) This nice beach may or may not be used as a nude beach...and there may or may not have been a 'World Naked Beach Party' here in 2005 [check the info here (clean)] (7) The whole site will probably be turned into a condo/beach/urban center in the coming years.

   Tennis-balls in the water means one thing in the Northwest - we're almost there (and there is a beach dog park at our destination)! The trip only took about 3 hours (one-way) with almost the right tidal direction, some of the wrong wind direction, and paddling my usual inflatable kayak...next up, Edmonds to Everett?
   ~Paul   ETC

P.S. - Check out a post from last summer when we stayed in Edmonds and paddled around the marina!