Snohomish River - Snohomish to Everett

I talked a friend into coming along on a kayak journey from Cady Park in Snohomish to the boat launch at Rotary Park in Everett's Lowell neighborhood, just 3 blocks from my house. I figured that we could go for an easy float, letting the river carry us towards Puget Sound. I probably should have checked the tide table first.
The Snohomish is tidally influenced in the estuary and probably 10 miles beyond at high tide, and the tide was coming in this day, so our leisurely downstream drift became a 5 hour aerobic workout, struggling against the current and a constant 10 MPH headwind.
The Snohomish winds through the farms and fields of Ebey Island and the Lowell-Snohomish Road, with the banks mostly covered in blackberry bushes. There are occasional breaks, some natural, some created by fishermen looking to reap the bounty of coho, chinook and pink salmon, as well as cutthroat and steelhead trout. The pinks had been running heavy for a couple weeks, and they were jumping everywhere, but didn't seem to be biting today.
While not as wild or scenic as the sloughs that criss-cross the estuary, the main stem still has lots of herons, ducks, geese and the occasional harbor seal. A seal followed us for a bit, circling the boat looking for a handout of fish heads or guts, but eventually gave up when he realized we either had no fish or weren't giving up any.

We found two spots with muddy sandbars where we could stop for a much needed breather, but mostly it was more work than fun. Next time I'll do my homework first.