This was a trip of first - Our first overnight kayaking trip with Sara, Our first time doing an overnight trip in the inflatable kayaks, first time doing a (minor) ocean passage crossing. Overall the trip was close to 12 miles - 5.5 each way but the current pushed us off course a bit. Lots of paddling - but totally worth it! I thought Sara’s video did a great job summing up this trip.
Before we go into our trip report, quick pointer for anyone trying to do what we did. We had a very easy ocean, calm and easy to paddle. We were watching the weather closely the whole time and knew we could easily bail north into portage island for the second half of the trip. So we were out there and exposed, but we felt pretty safe that if things did change for the worse we would be ok.
|
|
So, here we go. Day one started off great. We left home early (around 6am I think) and made it to Wildcat Cove at around 7:30a. Sara was awake most of the ride (which was surprising given how early it was). We inflated the kayaks and packed them up when we got to the boat launch - which took a little over an hour. After some double and triple checking to make sure we had everything, we took off right before 10a.
We stopped at Eliza island for launch at about 4 miles in. It was a beautiful island and probably only had 30 houses on it. After lunch, we wondered around the beach for the bit and found a little marina and a small runway as well. I sprained two of my fingers walking around on the island - which made the rest of the trip all that much more fun. It was kinda dumb, I was walking along a log at the beach and it rolled on me - when I tried to catch myself, I landed on a rock with those two fingers. It ended up not being too bad for kayaking - kinda a dull ache the whole time - but definitely made the trip a little harder.
After lunch we had a little over a mile to go. We kayaked around Eliza island and headed over to Lummi island. Second leg was as uneventful as the first and we made it into camp around 1:30p.
Our campsite was Amazing! We were camped on top of this small bluff in a string of three campsites. There were two more down the other side of the bluff - with one amazing campsite on a rock near this lagoon. We setup camp quickly and set off to explores.
The views were amazing from pretty much wherever you looked. I took a lot of pictures.
We brought along the Hammock - which was one of my better decisions. I found a perfect place to set it up right at the top of the bluff over-looking the ocean. We did almost everything in the hammock at one point or another - napping, coffee, hanging out - Sara really wanted to hear horse stories so I spent probably an hour while Angela was napping telling stories about various horses and their trials and tribbulations.
Once we had been at camp for a couple of hours, my hand had really swollen up. Again, just a dull ache - but a constant one.
Angela took an epic-ally long nap - so Sara and I went to go explore the beach for a while. I was showing Sara how to skip rocks again and she protested that she was skipping rocks - just “with a different concept” than I. This basically meant that she trew rocks in the water from the highest rocks she could find. We had a great time - but still a couple of more years before she can start to skip them I think.
We had a lovely dinner that night - I mixed some pasta packets with various canned foods. It was delicious and we all loved it, but there wasn’t quite enough. I ended up taking the smallest portion so Sara/Angela could eat as much as they wanted and I had a backpackers meal to supliment afterwards. Lesson learned - two pasta packets and double the canned foods when we have 3 people (who are starving from all the kayaking).
The next morning we ate breakfast (oatmeal) on the bluff.
Some more views from the bluff.
We started paddling around 10a again and Sara was inmediately fascinated with the starfish which were just above the waterline at low tide. We paddled up really close so that Sara could get a good view.
And a final look back at camp before we headed out.
And about 30 min into our trip, Sara was out like a light. The gentle rocking must have been too much for her. :)
I took a couple of pictures of Angela kayaking along side us. The pictures give you a great perspective on just how big the ocean is - even in this relatively small crossing.
Final milage on our second day was about the same as the first - but it seemed like alot less. We went around the south side of the island to try to catch the current to help us in (instead of hurting us like on the first day. It ended up being pretty nice and I’m guessing the current pushed us a half mile or more in the right direction during the crossing.
|
|
|
On the drive back we stopped at Taylor shellfish farm for lunch - and got some oyster, ceveche, and salads. Really cool location and the food was amazing. We stopped for more food a little later (salads are not enough after a trip like this) but I’m glad we made the stop for the atmosphere/good times. The farm wasn’t easy to find - you need to make a button hook turn down a narrow road right near a broken down hotel called the oyster inn. They were super busy - so I’m assuming people come here just to find this place (which was not us, we just stumbled on it).
Overall, an amazing trip. Definitely another kayak trip in our future - maybe even a 3-4 day trip. Angela was longing for a shower by the time we got back, so maybe a 3-4 day trip was a state park for showers one of the nights would be our best option - we will see. For now, I’m very pleased with a great trip and really enjoyed reliving the experience in writing this post.