National Geographic Adventure Magazine ~ September/October 2001

Excerpt from California's Secret Coast By Rob Reed

The Gaviota Coast harbors mountain lions, condors- and the best darned oil-rig views in the west. One day, it could be yours.

There's a reason surfers call it "shore pound." Unlike waves that peel gradually , shore pound breaks at once in a single thunderous explosion, spraying water high up the beach. I stood at the edge of the foam on an empty stretch of California's little known Gaviota Coast, eagerly gripping my paddle in one hand and the handle of my kayak in the other. Sensing a slight gap in the sets, I hurried forward into knee-deep water, then scrambled aboard and started paddling frantically. The next wave crashed into my lap, but fortunately the boat stayed upright. I broke through the surf to the cheers of my two companions…

Warm ocean currents from the south collide with a cold northern flows at Point Conception; an upwelling of nutrient-rich water supports the kelp beds and, further up the food chain, dolphins and gray whales. On land the Santa Ynez Mountains, one of only a handful of ranges in North America that run east-west, block cool, moist, storms of the north, helping make this area the biological transition zone between northern and southern California. "You can't imagine better conditions for life," Biologist Daniel Wilson said…

…. A pod of dolphins swam beneath me their bodies reflecting an aqua tint through the clear water. One angled sideways to check me out. Two other dolphins surfaced side by side just a paddles length away, their blowholes exhaling and inhaling with a whoosh. And the five foot seas undulated beneath me like a timeless series of rolling hills.

OUTFITTERS: Santa Barbara Adventure Company (888-773-3239; www.sbadventureco.com) can plan anything from one-day kayaking excursions($85) to a three-day multisport adventure($365).