I worked in San Rafael for two and a half years after graduating from UC Berkeley in 2013. It was my first job, the salary was so-so, but the learning environment was great. Here was where I would spend much of my time with interesting colleagues and projects. And at the end of the day, I could always head out for a jog in a nearby park (McInnis County Park) surrounded by marshes and a creek, with birds and wildlife in full abundance everywhere I looked. And close to that trailhead was a boating dock that had always held my fancy. I often told myself that perhaps one day I’d be able to kayak down the creek and head out to the bay and explore the area along the water trail.
Well, my first trip from Gallinas Creek to San Pablo Bay happened in 2016. Today would be my second time going on this same adventure heading to China Camp State Park. I was the first one to park in the lot when I got here at 8am, although there were a couple of people out and about already, walking the trail with their dogs or otherwise. High tide was to be at 9:11am of 3.89ft, and the next low tide was to be at 1:27pm of 2.57ft. I specifically picked today to paddle this stretch of waters due to this high mark of 2.57ft for a low tide, which would still allow me some depth to paddle back to the dock later in the day. From my previous experience with the creek, there might hardly be any water in the creek if the tide were to become sufficiently low.
Launching from McInnis County Park in San Rafael. The water level here was at 3+ feet tide. You can see the band-aids I have on my paddle =( It took on a lot of abuse in the water, and there are now chips here and there. I originally put on a layer of epoxy on some of the older chips, but for these newer ones, I decided to use tape instead. Kialoa (or anyone else that is reading), I’m taking up sponsorship right now =D
I let my car do the pumping for me, and was on the water around 8:30am. As I headed east, and while still within the North Fork of Gallinas Creek, I heard some commotions in the waters and looked toward that direction. All I could see were dark furs on the back of some sort of animal, which quickly submerged under the water and was soon to be out of my sight. As I paddled on, I met and exchanged greetings with a woman walking the trail by the creek. She wanted to know if I was going to fish in the bay, to which I replied that I was going to China Camp State Park, have lunch on the beach there, then I’d head back.
You are an adventurous type! Doesn’t paddling tire your arms out?
I wanted to ask if walking the trail tires her legs out, but I thought better, smiled and carried on with the small chat =) She was a lovely woman, very friendly and we soon parted ways. But just a bit further down the creek, I ran into another woman who was walking her dog, and she had unexpected news for me.
Did you see any otters coming this way?
– Unknown woman with dog on trail
I saw some commotion back there in the waters, I’d guess that was one of them? I didn’t know there are otters in this area, this is the first time I ran into one around here.
– known man paddling his SUP
Oh, there is a family of otters hanging out around here, a mother with four cubs. We’d see them from time to time along this trail here.
– Unknown woman with dog on trail
I think if you’d head back there for may be 100 ft, you may be able to catch glimpse of that river otter.
– known man paddling his SUP
So that was good to know. Based on information I learned elsewhere, there are no sea otters north of Monterrey, but environmentalists were thinking of re-introducing them to the area. River otters, however, are of a different situation. Apparently some can be found along this creek, and I hope to be able to get a clear picture of one in the near future.
Where I launched was the North Fork of Gallinas Creek, and soon it would join up with the South Fork and became bigger until it ended up in San Pablo Bay, which is about 1 mile away. Once out on the bay, I’d hug the coast and went south, heading for China Camp State Park. The water along the coast line was very shallow, no more than a couple of feet at the maximum. Beyond the water and coastline is the state park, which extends from where I was until my final destination, China Camp Village, about 3 miles down the road (or water trail).
I’m not sure what this structure is, may be it’s a bird viewing tower? You would pass by this soon after reaching the bay from Gallinas Creek.
Continue to hug the coast line, the uneventful paddle soon took me to Rat Rock Island, which lies just outside of China Camp Village. A boat took anchor near the island, and the man onboard and I exchanged greetings. Then I continued to the island and paddled around it, seeing a few ducks on the side facing the mainland. Circumnavigating any island is not a small feat, and I was equally proud of this feat on Rat Rock Island as on any other bigger ones (ahem, Brooks Island in Richmond, the only other one =D).
It was a short paddle from Rat Rock Island to the China Camp Village, where I’d land on the beach by the pier. I think there was a picnic or event of some sort around this area, but I had more important thing to attend to at the time. I walked up to the museum and asked for directions to the nearest restroom. “It’s just beyond the boardwalk here, in that direction” was the reply that I got. I kept telling myself to not drink too much water on these trips, but I’m addicted to water, and couldn’t stay away from it. In any case, I just want to document here that best among the happiest moments in life is when I’m not holding anything in =D
This area used to be a shrimp-fishing village for Chinese Americans. The village and some other artifacts are all that remains of their activities some 100 years ago. Today, it’s a popular stop for hiking, mountain biking, picnicking, fishing, and a host of other outdoor activities. In fact, on the day that I was there, a family was fishing from the pier next to where I landed. Also anchored by the pier was Grace Quan, a reconstruction of the San Francisco Bay shrimp junk (an old Chinese vessel).
After touring the village, I then had lunch on the beach (3 steamed potatoes, 2 steamed cauliflower florets), then began my paddle back to Gallinas Creek. The sky now looked much brighter, with clouds opening up and a blue color appearing in the horizon.
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!This day had been beautiful. I left the village around 11am, and there was still hardly any wind picking up on my paddle back. What was more, the sky opened up and I was all alone by myself (human-wise) in a vast stretch of waters with some pelicans soaring above for companions. There were no waves, so I could stand and paddle and did all that SUP was meant to be. Of all the paddles I had done this year, this and Heart’s Desire Beach ranked at the top.
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!And then I got to the mouth of Gallinas Creek and I ran aground in the middle of the bay! A word of warning for future paddles in this area, I should also hug the coast on my way back, as that seems to be well dredged, and there was plenty of depth to paddle in. On the other hand, it was very shallow near the center of the creek mouth in the bay, especially in the low tide that I was paddling back to. It took me some effort to leave this area and re-entered Gallinas Creek.
Once I was safely back in the creek though, it was smooth paddling the rest of the way. I was treated to viewings of egrets and herons and black-necked stilts and pelicans and a host of other marsh birds which I’m still not familiar with. Last time I paddled the creek, I was coming back later in the afternoon and there was strong wind blowing against me; that took a lot of effort on my end to get back to the dock. I had learned this time around, and the paddle back was relatively easy on my part.
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!A man was fishing at the dock when I got back around 1240pm. We struck up a conversation, and it turned out that big fish do come into the creek from the bay occasionally. He told me that he’d usually get striped bass, and a friend of his had gotten one yay big in this area (he told me a weight, but I’m not a fishing person at all and forgot how much that was; from his description, it was big!). We chatted on a few other topics before I finally packed up everything, said goodbye and good luck to him, and left for home. Did I say I had a great time on this paddle? Also a reminder for myself here, if I ever want an easy paddle, I could also stay in the creek and explore the South Fork next time. It should be protected from wind and waves in San Pablo Bay should there be any in the future.
