On April 10, 2008, I paddled solo on Peytonia Slough, part of an ecological preserve, and then east into Hill Slough. You put in at the boat ramp in Suisun City, and there are a certain number of free parking spaces for vehicles without trailers. If you don't get one of these, then you pay $5. There are restrooms at the boat ramp, and plenty of floating docks to put in from.Surprisingly, the entire route was navigable at low tide. I think it would be interesting to do this paddle again with the tide reaching the high point at the end of Hill Slough, then come out of it after slack when the water is ebbing.
I saw more wildlife on this trip than I had on any before. I took pictures of some of the creatures, including some of a sloat crossing the slough. Unfortunately, the sloat pics are blurry, but recognizable. I also saw muskrat, but wasn't able to get pictures. This is the first time I've seen a sloat or a muskrat with my own eyes. Often during the paddle, I would round a bend and hear a splash on the far shore. Turtles could spot me for a hundred feet, and immediately drop in the water. I did get some good pics of one turtle before he dropped off of the bank.
Toward the end of the route I was in the flight path for Travis Air Force Base (click on the image above to see the dotted red line that traces the route). Check it out with Google Earth, and you will see what I mean. The end of Hill Slough it right in the flight path. The big jets were coming in for landing every ten minutes at one point. I could see the landing gear come down. On one jet, I saw the refueling tube sticking out the back. These jets caused me to turn around due to the noise.
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