Wednesday Wanderings - Steamboat Slough to Hogback Island

Today was the first paddle in the series of "Wednesday Wanderings." Every other Wednesday during fall and winter, Delta Kayak Adventures is offering a chance to paddle different locations throughout the Delta in a small group setting at reduced tour prices.

Myself and two other paddlers, one of them being their first time in a kayak, launched just north of Rio Vista just before 2:00 p.m., crossed Cache Slough and headed up Steamboat Slough. High tide at Snug Harbor was predicted at 2:24 p.m. at almost 3.5 feet. There was barely a breeze and in most places the water was like glass.

The incoming tide helped us along as we paddled past Hidden Harbor and onto Snug Harbor. There wasn't much wildlife to be seen today other than a couple of beautiful white Egrets and a Great Blue Heron. We did see a couple of fisherman catch a couple of fish. It was so peaceful as we paddled toward our destination.

We reached Hogback Island a little over an hour from the time we launched. Hogback Island is a Sacramento County park with two launch ramps, grassy picnic area with BBQ's and porta potties. There are no beaches or gentle landing spots besides the launch ramps with docks. While we stretched our legs and enjoyed a quick snack, we met a couple who fish commercially for crawdads and have been doing it for the past 25 years. It was very interesting talking with them about how they catch and bring the crawdads to market.

We returned to the water and paddled with the outgoing tide back to our put in for a total of 8 miles. It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the Delta. If you would like to explore the Delta on one of our "Wednesday Wanderings," check our events schedule on our Facebook page or join our Meetup!