The previous night at the bar I'd talked to our friend Micah about a possible adventure where I'd use a car shuttle to float 20 km down the delta to the gulf, then paddle 10 km back up, then ride my bike 25 km back to my car. If I timed it right I would be able to use the outgoing tide to pull me towards the gulf and use the incoming tide to push me back upriver.
I dropped my bike at the Alaganik Slough boat ramp and drove up the road to what I hoped would be an appropriate put in.
The "marine layer" holding strong:
Eventually I found this little stream next to the road; no streams had crossed the road since I crossed the Alaganik, so I figured this would probably feed into it. Apparently its called Wrong Way Creek, go figure...
Things started out a bit slow with plenty of downed trees and shallow spots blocking the way. But, pretty soon it got deeper and faster, which I was stoked on; until I found myself pinned against a snag, immediately followed by an unceremonious flipping and a swim.
Approaching a more reasonable level for my novice kayak skills:
