Lap of California: The Mission Trail – San Francisco to Fremont

The Bal Theatre, San Leandro
The Bal Theatre, San Leandro

On 17-18 November 2014, I walked the 26 miles from the ferry terminal at Harbor Bay to Mission San Jose in Fremont, mostly along Mission Blvd. The first section of the walk is through the light industrial area around the Oakland Airport. They were testing the new BART connector to the airport on the day I walked by.

Oakland Airport BART Connector
Oakland Airport BART Connector

Walking  through San Leandro and Hayward is like traveling back to the 1950s. Emil Villa’s was one of my grandfather’s favorite BBQ places, and is still operating on Mission Blvd. From Hayward, the east side of Mission Blvd. is open space with good views of the East Bay hills.

East Bay Hills
East Bay Hills

Union City has a bit more of a muti-cultural feel.

Union City
Union City

In Fremont I detoured a block off of Mission to walk through the Niles district. Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin made movies at a studio in Niles in the early 20th century.

Niles
Niles

Mission San Jose is in a residential are of Fremont – it is not the most scenic location.

 

Mission San Jose
Mission San Jose

Lap of California: The Mission Trail – San Rafael to San Francisco

On 10 October 2014 I walked the Mission Trail from San Rafael to San Francisco while my car was in the shop. I walked from my mechanic’s shop at Post and Leavenworth in San Francisco to the Ferry Building and took the ferry to Larkspur. Then I walked to Mission San Rafael, back to the Larkspur Ferry, and took the ferry back to San Francisco.

I had lunch at the Ferry Building, walked down Market St. to Mission Dolores, then walked back to pick-up my car.

100 Miles on the Mississippi River

I arrived in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, 23 September. On Wednesday I did some sightseeing in Minneapolis and St. Paul, then bought food, water, and a few supplies for my trip. Thursday morning I took a taxi to a boat ramp I had found on Google Maps. The ramp in North Mississippi Park on the north side of Minneapolis is right at the beginning of the navigable portion of the Mississippi River at river mile 858. Just above it is Coon Rapids Dam which doesn’t have a lock and is therefore impassable to boats.

I unloaded my kayak, gear, and supplies from the taxi. The driver asked if I wanted him to pick me up later. I said no, I’m paddling to St. Paul today. He left. I looked at my pile luggage and wondered if I should have gotten his phone number.

Pile of Luggage
Pile of Luggage

I assembled my kayak.

Kayak Frame Assembled
Kayak Frame Assembled
Kayak Skin on Frame
Kayak Skin on Frame
Kayak Loaded With Deck On
Kayak Loaded With Deck On
Launched
Launched

It took about two hours to assemble and load my kayak, and I pushed off just before 10:30 am. It was a cloudy but warm morning and the river was like plexiglass – more like a calm lake than a river. There was little to no current on the river the entire week I paddled on it. The Mississippi River from Minneapolis to St. Louis is more like a series of lakes than a river. There is a dam with a lock every few miles. When I was there in late September there would be a bit of current just after each dam, then nothing. If I stopped paddling I would usually start to drift back up the river because there often seemed to be wind blowing upstream.

Soon I could see downtown Minneapolis ahead of me.

Minneapolis Ahead
Minneapolis Ahead

The first lock (more information about locks on the Upper Mississippi River is here) is in downtown Minneapolis. Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock drops about 48 feet and has the biggest drop of any of the locks on the Mississippi. This is what it looks like when it’s full.

Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock - Full
Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock – Full

And this is what it looks like after the water has drained out.

Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock - Empty
Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock – Empty

A few hundred yards below Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock is Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock. It took about an hour to get through both locks. Not far below the locks was a nice beach so I stopped for lunch – two bananas, half a bag of carrots, and a Nutella and almond butter sandwich. Then I continued on to St. Paul. It was a beautiful Fall day with temperatures in the 70s. The leaves were starting to turn color.

Autumn Colors
Autumn Colors

Mid afternoon I locked through Lock No. 1, which is actually the third lock – Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls Locks aren’t numbered. I arrived in St. Paul at about 5:00pm.

St. Paul
St. Paul

I left my kayak at the yacht club and walked to a hotel downtown. There is not much activity in downtown St. Paul on a Thursday evening – even most of the restaurants close at 5pm.  Senor Wong – a Chinese  taco place – was highly recommended (as the only restaurant within walking distance that was open) and it was pretty good.

At 7:30 on Friday morning I was back on the river. It was a warm morning. South of St. Paul is very scenic with many interesting industrial plants and barges lining the shores of the river. This continues for several miles. Then the river becomes a large lake. I had seen very few boats up until this point, but as I approached Hastings on Friday afternoon boat traffic started to increase (all power boats – I only saw one other kayaker while I was on the Mississippi).

Just before Hastings is Lock & Dam No. 2.  As I approached the lock a couple in an anchored boat told me a barge was coming through the lock and there was a two hour wait. The river banks were rocky and there was nowhere to land. A strong wind was blowing up the river. I’d been sitting in my kayak all day and really needed to stand up. For two hours I sat there, getting blown up the river, paddling back down, then getting blown up the river again.

I finally locked through at dusk. I paddled down the river looking for a place to camp.  I found a place  just below Hastings as it got dark. The mosquitoes were thick and I couldn’t find my insect repellant. I ate a quick dinner and climbed into my tent.

At first light on Saturday morning the hunters began shooting. For once I was glad I wasn’t a duck. I was on the river at 8:30.  Soon I was at the junction of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers, and instead of having Minnesota on both shores of the river, Wisconsin was now on the east shore.

Prescott, WI at the mouth of the St. Croix River
Prescott, WI at the mouth of the St. Croix River

Saturday was another beautiful day in the 70s, and the scenery was quite scenic. But the river was like a freeway with power boats going full throttle in both directions. I paddled near the bank to keep out of the traffic. When I stopped for lunch a big wake washed over my beached kayak and flooded into the cockpit. Later in the day I passed a large sign pointing up a side channel to a casino, and all the boats were turning off towards it.

Just upstream of Red Wing I locked through Lock # 3 with several other boats. Red Wing (home of the boots) was fully booked for the weekend so I camped south of town. I still couldn’t find my insect repellant. From my research I knew mosquitoes aren’t a problem in Minnesota in the fall. I’m glad I wasn’t there in the summer.

Barge Near Red Wing, MN
Barge Near Red Wing, MN

It was a warm night – I didn’t need my sleeping bag. In the morning it took me about an hour and a half to get everything packed in the kayak and I left at about 8:30. Ahead of me was 35 miles of Lake Pepin. By late morning it was close to 80. Many people were out enjoying what would probably be the last warm weekend of the year. I paddled near the channel buoys so I wouldn’t lose my way.

I made it to Lake City at 2:30 and left my kayak at the city marina. After lunch I found a hotel. It was a very warm afternoon so I went for a swim. By the time a got out of the pool the wind had picked up and it had cooled off.

When I woke up the next morning it was cloudy, windy, and cold. There were whitecaps on the lake. I loaded my kayak, put on a wool shirt and windbreaker, and left the dock at 8:30. At first the wind was at my back and I flew down the lake. But there was a wide bend in the lake and as I went around it the wind was at my side and then in my face. I paddled hard and slowly moved ahead. Finally the lake narrowed and the wind and waves moderated.

Wabasha
Wabasha

Early in the afternoon I passed through Wabasha, and at 2pm I arrived at Alma, WI.

Alma, WI
Alma, WI

Tuesday was rainy and cold so I stayed in Alma. The forecast was for colder weather so I packed up my boat and headed home.

I’m Leaving Tomorrow on a Mississippi River Cruise

I’ll be paddling a folding kayak. I’m starting in Minneapolis. If the kayak actually floats with me and all of my gear I’ll go to St. Paul (about 15 miles). If I have an acceptably good time and the weather remains fine I will continue on from there the next day. I’ll keep going until I get too tired, or the weather gets too cold, or I stop enjoying the trip, or I run out of time. You can follow my daily progress on the Mississippi River Map and in real time on my Spot tracking page.

Lap of California: The Mission Trail – Sonoma to San Rafael

Monday I took the bus from Petaluma to Sonoma. I had breakfast while waiting for the Mission to open at 10 a.m.

Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma
Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma

I bought a credential at the gift shop and then started walking back to Petaluma, the first stop on my way to Mission San Rafael. Here is a map of my route.

 

El Camino Real Route Marker
El Camino Real Route Marker
Bucolic Scene
Bucolic Scene

Wednesday I walked from Petaluma to Novato.

 

Wildflowers
Wildflowers
Oaks
Oaks
See the Buck
See the Buck

And Thursday I walked from Novato to San Rafael.

Mission San Rafael Arcangel
Mission San Rafael Arcangel

 

The Switzerland of Asia

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Singapore couldn’t be more different from the Philippines. With the exception of the weather they have little in common. Singapore is the second most densely populated country in the world (#1? Monaco) but is so well planned that it doesn’t feel crowded. It is the most expensive city in the world. It is known for its safety and cleanliness. There isn’t any graffiti or litter. There aren’t any homeless people. And it’s known for its shopping malls. For every Prada or Armani store on Fifth Ave. there are 10 on Orchard Rd.

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But Singapore may be best known for its food. It has everything from hawker centers, some with hundreds of food stalls, to gourmet malls with restaurants by top chefs from around the world. My favorite local dishes so far are rojak (a very distinctive vegetable and fruit salad) and laksa (rice noodles with vegetables and shredded chicken in a spicy broth).

Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll be home.

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Into the Heart of Borneo

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Three days ago I was in Kapit, a frontier town as far into the interior of Borneo as a foreigner can go without a permit. Just a generation or two ago the inhabitants of this region were pirates and headhunters. I was walking down the street early in the evening and there was a family walking in front of me – parents and two daughters, maybe 12 and 14. The younger daughter looks back, sees me, gets a look of terror on her face, gives a little scream, and runs and hides behind her mother, proving that all things are relative to one’s frame of reference.

I arrived in Kuching, the largest city on Borneo, on Wednesday. It seemed pretty exotic, with a city center that looks like it hasn’t changed much since the days of the White Rajahs. There is a tourist infrastructure and you see a decent number of tourists around town.

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On Thursday I took an express boat to Sibu, and I didn’t see another tourist until I got back to Kuching a few days later. Things go from exotic to primitive pretty quickly once you get away from the coast in Borneo. The trip to Sibu takes 5 hours to travel 200 miles through the South China Sea then up various rivers. The Batang Rajang is several miles wide at its mouth and maybe a mile wide at Sibu. The flow is tremendous – the water is brown for several mile out to sea at it’s mouth.

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Mostly there is just jungle down to the riverbank, but every few miles there is a long building that looks like a motel or strip mall. These are the modern versions of the long houses that the Iban live in.

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I stayed overnight in Sibu and in the morning took a ‘Flying Coffin’ (so named because of their shape and speed, not their safety record) upriver 80 miles to Kapit.
Kapit is literally off the map – Google Maps shows it miles from its actual location. The only way into Kapit is by boat or helicopter. Once you reach the edge of town the only way to go further is to cut a path through the jungle.

The only problem I’ve had on this trip was when I went to leave Kapit there were no seats available on any of the Flying Coffins that day. After I pleaded and told them I had to leave that day they let me on one of the boats, but I had to ride on the roof with the luggage. It’s good I took this trip now – next year I may be too old for this sort of thing.

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Tacloban and Back

Last week I went to Tacloban and it was quite an experience. A van was recommended for the trip because they are safe and comfortable. I went to the bus station and selected a van company whos drivers wore shirts that said “Our passenger’s safety is our top priority.” Someone apparently forgot to include the word ‘not’, because it was a hair raising trip.

The damage from the typhoon is unbelievable. Where the eye of the storm passed through – a path across the island about 2 miles wide – everything is sheared off about 10 feet above the ground – trees, power poles, steel roofs, and even reinforced concrete buildings. In the areas of Tacloban hit by the storm surge the ground was pretty much scraped clean – there are just piles of debris left by the receding water.

But what is really amazing is how vibrant everything is so soon after the devastation. The people here are very resilient and have taken the initiative to rebuild on their own. There is an appalling amount of poverty and much of the population lives in wretched slums. But when you walk through the slums every home has some sort of business – weaving mats, sewing, repair shops, machining. It’s a little frightening to see how dynamic things are here in contrast to what one sees in the US. We’re much better off, but for how much longer?

The transportation system here is interesting. There is no public transportation – everything is privately owned and operated. The cheapest transportation is by trishaw (pedicab) and motorized rickshaw (motorcycle with sidecar). For just a few cents these will take you short distances. There are thousands of these on the streets, so one is almost always available. Hence you don’t see many pedestrians.

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Jeepneys are similar to city buses. They are lengthened WW II Jeeps or modified vans that travel a specific route. They also cost just a few cents.

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There are also thousands of taxis. For $2 you can take a taxi almost anywhere within a small city. Because labor is so cheap, when you rent a car here it includes a driver. This is a good thing because the traffic is terrible and driving is completely different than in the US.

Because there are so many islands there are also many ferries and boat taxis.

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A ferry to a nearby island costs a few cents. Oddly, there is a port tax of about 2 cents that you pay separately from the ticket – I doubt if it even covers the salary for the person collecting ths tax.

I’ve never thought of the Philippines as tropical Pacific islands, but they are.

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There are beautiful white sand beaches, palm trees, turquoise water, and coral reefs full of tropical fish. However, the pollution is abysmal. I wouldn’t swim in the water within 5 miles of a populated area, and the population density is such that one is always within 5 miles of a village.