Kayaking SLO County's Coast

When Tribune photographer Joe Johnston first suggested kayaking the San Luis Obispo County coast, I thought to myself, "Somebody's been spending too much time in the darkroom."

This is not a trip for weak stomachs or soft shoulders.

Coastal explorers have been launching boats from the mouth of San Carpoforo Creek for hundreds of years, so we figured our sunrise send-off wouldn't be much of an adventure.

Our kayaks were swaying from side to side along the Cambria coastline when we saw the silhouette of another kayaker slicing through the morning mist.

Our friend Steve Hennigh was the first human to join us during our six-day trek down San Luis Obispo County’s coast. Up to then, a handful of sea lions had been our companions.

By the third day, the three of us were sunburned, blistered and plenty salty after another wet and wild launch at Morro Strand State Beach.

We had been paddling toward Morro Rock for three days and were excited to be looking up at the 581-foot volcanic plug again.

As we paddled south from Spooner’s Cove, it was as if the three of us were leaving the civilized world behind.

A handful of early morning hikers were sprinkled about the Montaña de Oro Bluff Trail, but once we paddled around Point Buchon, it was just me, Joe and Beau.

Sunrise was still nearly an hour away when the three of us began lugging our kayaks to the dimly lit dock behind Port Side Marine.

We were greeted at the launch area by an old sailor who looked as if he had just walked off the set of the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel. The crinkly faced man took a brief break from his early-morning routine of collecting aluminum cans and wished us well on the final leg of our trip.

“Good luck to the three of you,” he growled.

Read about the gear the three are using and bringing along.