Brookings to the California Border, July 27th 2008.


Dave Harry and I stayed in a motel in Brookings the last night of the trip. Before he left, Brian Schultz stated that he liked this kind of kayak camping: Staying on a beach most nights but checking into a motel every third day or so. Dave and I tried to talk the motel manager into letting us stay checked in until early in the afternoon but she would not bend the rules. So we got up very early in the morning to get our paddling done before checkout time. This would allow us to return and take hot showers before starting the drive home!

We drove down to the trailer park / beach on the south side of the Chetco River Jetty. From here we had an easy launch over mild waves and turned south. There are no interesting rocks in this stretch of coast until you cross into California to encounter Hunter Rock and Prince Island. We could see those large rocks ahead of us but had no plans to go that far south.

Instead we stopped when my GPS told me that we were at the border. We paddled as close to shore as we dared. The border happens at a long nasty sandy dumpy beach with no protection from the northwest swell. I was tempted to land but didn’t want to get cold, wet, sandy and exhausted from launching back out again. We contented ourselves with straddling the border with out kayaks, taking pictures of the event and blowing noisemakers.

So this is it! I have now paddled the entire Pacific coastline of the contiguous United States! From Cape Flattery to the Mexican border. I sent an email announcement of the event to the BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayaker club) email group. A few days later, sooner than I could get back, there was a general meeting for BASK. At that meeting they declared me the “Czar of the Left Coast” for my accomplishment.


All text and images Copyright © 2008 by Mike Higgins / contact