Re: [Paddlewise] The Ocean is Big Enough For All of Us! [OT?]

Strosaker_at_aol.com wrote:

[And Dave responds in kind ... Duane is such a subtle kidder.]

> A few recent posts about sea kayaking becoming too popular of a sport and
> becoming overcrowded have amused me.  I live in Orange County California,
> which is connected to the LA area and is one huge mass of city right next to
> the Pacific Ocean.  Millions of people live here.  To get away from it all, I
> only have to paddle two or three miles offshore, and a boat, much less
> another kayaker, will rarely come by me.  The ocean is big and finding
> solitude in it isn't difficult. [snip]

Aaah, the quality of the solitude one finds offshore of SoCal:  the now and
then oil drilling platform, the here and there slick from outboard motor oil,
the wisp of human detritus wafting west, and the delights of diesel exhaust
driven westward in a Santana breeze!  Wish we had solitude like that up here in
Oregon where it rains all the time and people drown if they trip!

> I don't know why solitude is so important anyway.  I like people!  Camping in
> solitude in Southern California is rare, but I usually enjoy the company of
> others when I camp here.  Other people are usually the most interesting
> aspect of my trips.  If sea kayaking isn't spoiled in Southern California, I
> find it hard to imagine how it could be spoiled anywhere else.

Sea kayaking is perfect for people-lovers in SoCal, and so will it forever be. 
And, it ain't spoiled for folks who like folks and don't care about much else.

>  All we have to do is what nature does, which is to adapt.

And, those millions are adapting, all right, just as is the Columbia River
salmon, to dams, overfishing, loss of streamside habitat, and non-point source
pollution.

Oh, I forgot!  We are the most important creatures on the planet ... and to
hell with the rest ... we don't need 'em, anyway.  We'll just pave over those
rivers and streams when the fish are gone, and channelize the streambed when
it's dead.  The West Covina Wash looked like a hot WW run the other night on
TV.

That Columbia River water is **wasted** anyway -- why, Oregonians even let some
of it escape to the [gasp!] ocean!

Thanks, Duane -- I needed a little breath of fresh (Southern California) air. 
Boy, do I miss that stuff!  Also miss the right at San Onofre, either way at
Trestles, the right at Swami's when it's a little overhead, and the shorebreak
at WindanSea.

Peace, SoCal brother.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

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