Way back in 2014, we went on an overnight kayaking trip with Derek and Diane to the San Juan islands. This was right after we all completed a sea kayaking class - so this was a graduation trip of sorts.
2014-08-23
We departed on a Saturday (which just happened to be the same day that Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie got married) and started on our three day trip - leaving from Jackson beach just south of Friday Harbor. The group we rented the kayaks from provided us with an itinerary for where to go on the trip - making use of two campsites on the Cascadia Marine trail, where campsite reservations are not required for human powered watercraft - which was great on the first night but not as awesome on the second.
We got two tandem kayaks and packed them with all the food we had brought with us from Seattle (we stayed at Diane’s parents house on Friday night). We got a quick instruction briefing from the fairly strict kayak rental company owners (probably rightfully so as I’m sure they get some folks that really damage stuff) and then bid them farewell for the next three days.
Day one was fun because it was so novel - we followed the instructions provided to us and kayaked past seals, sea lions, eagles, and more on bathtub calm seas. It was quite amazing.
We pulled into Jones island where we were the first people at camp. We picked the perfect campsite and then we did a little hike around the island. Angela and I were on the hook for dinner the first night, and we had steaks prepared to cook over the fire on a collapsible grill I had purchased. It was one of the best steaks of my life…
We took a quick paddle after dinner - pulling out into the channel to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful night!
We ended up being only one of two groups on the island - so we had a nice quiet peaceful night, with one small exception. We were informed that Bull Kelp was edible - if it was still dark green/fresh - and that it made a great snack while kayaking. Lot of vitamins, like a small salad. I took this to heart and was basically snacking on it the whole day. Unfortunately, it also has a lot or salt and that messed with my digestive system - so I was up all night running to the latrine and back. This joke is still with us 10 years later - occasionally someone will just yell “Bull Kelp” for no reason.
2014-08-24
The following morning, we started to make our way past Crane island to Blind island where we would stay the night. This was a much busier trip - with other boats and ferries frequently the channels we were passing through. Still beautiful though and we made quick work of this trip - getting into Blind island in the late morning.
We setup camp right away and walked around the island. This island was tiny - basicallly just a campsite sticking out of the water with room for a dozen or so groups. As the day went on, the island filled up more and more so that by the time the sun started to set there were many more people than campsites - to the point where campers were setting up right on the trail.
We were told that the evening of day 2 was the best time to see the bioluminescense - so we went on an evening paddle back out into the bay. This was my first time seeing this and it was really amazing - each paddle stroke looked like a little light show underwater.
We got back to camp and, unfortunately, a camper had setup just 20 feet from our camp and proceeded to spend the next hour or so talking very loudly to his wife on speakerphone. Finally, the conversation was done and we drifted off to sleep.
***2014-08-25 ***
We woke the next morning and made our way back to Jackson beach to end our trip. Diane had made a delightful poriage breakfast and we eagerly ate our last meal before the end of the trip.
It had been an amazing three days and we were excited to go kayaking again - and Diane had grand plans of a trip to Alaska. Stay tuned!
