With four days on hand, a national holiday, a beautiful forecast and a little car packed with toys, Andrea and I decided on a trip to the San Juan Islands. The islands are part of a large archipelago located in the ocean waters of NW Washington state. The only access to the islands is by boat or float plane. We took the loaded up car complete with our kayaks, bikes, tents and sleeping bags and set out from our home in Portland thursday morning at 7am. It's a four and a half hour drive to Anacortes, Washington where the ferry terminal is located. Despite our worries of weekend traffic, we were lucky and only had to wait 20 minutes in the ferry line.
Our first stop of the trip was Orcas Island, pronounced "Orcus" not the plural of Orca. It is the largest of the San Juan Islands. Due to the impromptu nature of this and many of our adventures we stopped into the locale kayak guide/rental shop to gather ideas for possible overnight kayak trips. We gained the information we needed from the friendly islander and headed out for the first leg of our adventure.
The highest point of the islands is Mt. Constitution at about a half a mile high. This was perhaps the most venturesome element of the trip, a 10 mile drive to the summit! Regardless of the labor required to reach the summit of the islands, we were rewarded with the best view around. From the top, 360 degree views can be had of the entire archipelago, the towering summits of Mt Baker, and Mt Shukan hiding behind it, the Olympic mountains to the south, and even the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. We used this vantage point to scope out possible camping spots for the evening. Below the summit of the east side of the island we saw two lakes, and decided we'd spend the night there.
A quick glance at the map and we were off to the trail head for Twin Lakes. It was a short hike in through the forest along Mountain lake. We passed the first of the Twin Lakes and set up camp near the second. Bug spray was an item we had realized the importance of on past trips, though again we forgot to bring any and found ourselves surrounded by mosquitos. Not wanting to succumb to the tent yet, we made a dash for the lake. The water was fairly cold and it was soon apparent that I am not the best swimmer, as even treading water was demanding... I will need a few more lessons from the expert, Andrea. Back at the tent we enjoyed our feast of salami and cheese sandwiches with trail mix, bananas and a little wine.
It was nice not having any alarm clocks for the weekend. Instead we woke up with the colors of the sunrise streaming through the trees. Back in the town of Eastsound (one of the two on the island), I checked my phone messages, including one from a friend. "Hi John, It's Adam, so I'm on a ferry to Orcas island and wanted to know if you knew what that mountain is? We should climb it." Wow, small world, neither of us had any idea of where each other was for the weekend. So after a delicious combination of tacos and fish and chips at the local restaurant on the bay we met up with Adam. He was stopping by the island for a couple days en route back home to Minnesota for the summer. We got in our car and headed west as Adam went the roadside with his thumb out, headed east.
As per the suggestion of the local guide, we loaded up the kayaks at the West Sound marina. Our destination was Skull Island, a small island state park in the middle of Massacre Bay. We found no skulls and witnessed no massacres. It was a nice paddle through the protected waters of the bay. We stayed near the shore where we were able to see the sea stars clinging to the rocks beneath us. It was difficult to see what was the island and what was a peninsula, so we paddled in circles a few times until we zeroed in on Skull Island. Once we found it, we around the island looking for the small white sandy beach the guide had described to us. We found it on the southwest side, a small fifteen foot stretch of white seashells fenced in by the rest of the rocky island. It was a really cool spot, in fact the water was even colder than the Twin Lakes. We walked all over the island checking out the tidal pools where we could see the crabs, sea stars and other ocean creatures. We even witnessed a few crab fights and what we believed was a pooping sea star. Luckily there were not bugs at this spot. After we set up our campsite for the night we went out for an evening paddle. During this outing we saw a heron hunting for fish and a friendly seal swimming right next to us as. We returned as the sun set.
Our original plan was to leave our vehicle on Orcas island and ferry over with just our bikes to San Juan island, partly because it was free that way and we really had not use for the vehicle on San Juan island. After Andrea talked with the ferry attendant we decided to pay the $20 to bring our vehicle along to make the return on sunday with all the other 4th of July traffic easier, requiring only one ferry ride, not two. The ferry dropped us off at Friday Harbor, the largest town in the islands. It was during the tail end of their 4th of July parade. At this point in the trip, a shower was our primary concern. We figured that the towns hostel would be our best option, and we could even ask them about camp spots for the evening. Turns out nobody was home, but the place was wide open with with the showers imploring us to come in. "Fortune favors the brave," we once heard. After making a last minute bike adjustment at the local bike store, we found a sheltered quite place to leave the car for the night. We loaded up our backpacks for the night, hoped on our bikes and headed out to the other side of the island to Roche Harbor.
It was a 10 mile bike ride that meandered through the hills, past the vineyard and a few lakes. We stopped at Egg Lake for a picnic on the dock. Watching over us during lunch was a bald Eagle, a fitting site for the Fourth of July.
During our pre-trip research we came across a forum discussing the topic of where to go on the islands for fireworks. According to this message board, Roche Harbor was the "chill, relaxed, island-style" spot with the largest fireworks show. I guess it all depends on perspective. I have never seen a larger gathering of multi-million dollar yachts in my life, nor have I ever heard such a high concentration of Jimmy Buffett's greatest hits. Not wanting to miss out on the yacht lifestyle we strolled the docks with a smile hoping to be lured onto one of the boats. Not 50 feet onto the docks we found our selves sitting on the bow of a 50 ft boat. They were curious about the backpacks we were carrying. "Are you guys going on the airplane?" they asked, pointing to the float plane at the end of the dock. The boat belonged to some friendly Canadians who make it down here each year. They were kind enough to invite us along their hike. I had never been to a mausoleum before.
After the hike we went back to the village and ate a fancy meal on the dock while we waited for the sun to lower and the fireworks to begin. We found perhaps the only "public" field in the village and laid under the stars as the fireworks began. It was a great show with the fireworks booming over the bay in front of Henry Island. Realizing there was absolutely no public grounds for camping in Roche Harbor, we got back on our bikes and headed about a mile out of town until we found the first open field.
Covered in mosquito bites (again, no spray..) and a little damp from the wet field, we decided to ride back to Friday Harbor at dawn. It was a beautiful ride through the cool moist morning air and fog filled valleys. We arrived at the car right on cue for sunrise over the bay. It was about 6am when we got to the ferry line and were one of the last cars to make it on the boat. We immediately found the nearest couch where we stretched out and passed out. About an hour into the ferry ride, we were awoken by the captain over the PA, there were Orcas, Killer Whales right outside our windows. They were the one single sighting I was really hoping for. It also happened to be the first sighting of the season from the ferries.
After unloading from the ferry in Anacortes there was only one thing left to make the trip complete, a giant breakfast. We found an awesome local bakery thanks to the magical powers of the iPhone and were satisfied.
