Tag: Lopez Island 2023

To Lopez Island and Back

On June 29 we loaded our kayaks on our rig and headed north for the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest. We gave ourselves five days to make our way to Spencer Spit campground. There we rendezvoused with fellow members of our kayaking club, Bay Area Sea Kayakers (BASK), for the biannual Casey Walker Memorial Campout. The night of June 29 we camped near Greenhorn Reservoir just outside of Yreka in a space we found on Hipcamp, one of the resources we use for locating camping sites. Then it was on to Portland, Oregon, where we spent the night at Rossi Farms. At Rossi Farms we gorged ourselves on the raspberries that were growing next to our campsite.

From Portland we made our way to Whidbey Island where we spent two days with my brother, feasting on fresh seafood including crab and oysters.

From Whidbey it was on to Anacortes where we caught the ferry to Lopez Island. It wasn’t too surprising to have Brad, a fellow BASK member pull up right behind us while waiting for the ferry.

We arrived on the island on July 3, so for the 4th we went into town to enjoy the Independence Day festivities.

The focus of the trip was kayaking with fellow BASK members. I’ve already written about a couple of those adventures, Lopez Island: Makaye and Ice Cream Paddle. Of course, eating together is a big part of any group camping adventure. BASK is sometimes referred to as an eating club with a kayaking disorder. We feasted on a finger-licking-good potluck dinner one evening. We also took time to do some hiking, including a wonderful outing to Iceberg Point, and we enjoyed a whale watching expedition.

On July 10 we started our return journey, getting an early start in order to be at the ferry terminal for the 8:30 a.m. ferry. We were just two cars short of making that ferry. We pulled out our camp chairs and spent the wait visiting with fellow kayakers and reading. With some ferry mishaps, it was 4 p.m. when we finally rolled onto the ferry, bringing to mind a common acronym we’d been seeing: FTF (where’s the ferry). It was 6:10 p.m. when we arrived back at my brother’s place on Widbey Island. Fortunately, he had dinner ready with freshly caught prawns.

From Whidbey Island we took the Port Townsend Ferry and headed south where we spent the night at Scenic Beach State Park on the Hood Canal. There I got up early and captured an image that I’m calling Morning View from Scenic Beach (fine art prints are available in my art store). From Scenic Beach our drive took us through Raymond where we stopped for a quick picnic lunch and a walk around town to admire the town’s metal people.

Then on to Cape Disappointment where we watched the setting sun sink into the sea. From Cape Disappointment we decided to follow the Columbia River Gorge as far as The Dalles where we turned south. We found a campsite at Prairie Camp near the town of La Pine. In the morning, we discovered that we were close to a little lake, East Lake, where we managed to get our kayaks on the water for one last paddle. We were not too anxious to head south into California’s Central Valley where extreme temperatures were predicted.

Our last night we boondocked, locating a site near Mount Shasta that iOverlander identified at Shasta View in the Trees. This site had a spectacular view of Mount Shasta. Our trip covered 1065 miles over 16 days. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Ice Cream Paddle

The Lopez Island BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) trip is a biennial event, with the exception of a break during the Covid pandemic. We spent a week camping at Spencer Spit Campground; over the course of the week, we did a number of day paddles. One of the traditions is to paddle over to Blakely Island for ice cream. So today is our ice cream paddle. There were 11 of us on the beach at Spencer Spit ready to launch at 9 a.m. We had clear skies and no wind, a marvelous start for the day. We paddled out to Frost Island and then set course for Bald Bluff with the intention of minimizing our time crossing the ferry route.

We kept a keen eye out for ferry and other boating traffic as we made our crossing. Once we were across, we paddled just far enough offshore to stay out of any eddies and to take advantage of the current.

We landed on the beach at the Blakely Marina at 10:30, too early for lunch but not too early for ice cream.

We took our time eating ice cream and lunch, waiting for the current to change so that we could enjoy an easy paddle back. You can see the 11 of us in the photo below. Once we were back in our boats, we poked our noses out into Peavine Pass where the current was running strong, and we made a quick turn to enter the “express” lane for a fast ride. On the return trip we held up for ferry traffic to pass with ferries going in both directions.

We were back on the beach at Spencer Point a little after 2 p.m. We logged 9.4 miles on the day’s paddle. An excellent outing with a fun group of friends.

Lopez Island: Makaye

This is day four on our Lopez Island adventure. Today we met with a few of our fellow kayak club members (BASK, Bay Area Sea Kayakers) at the Makaye Harbor Boat ramp for a paddle around the southern points of the island.

From the boat ramp we headed south and around Iceberg Point, noodling along the coast, paddling through kelp beds and poking into caves. We conintued to noodle along the coast until we got to Blackie Brady County Park.

There we landed and broke out our lunches. After lunch we were back on the water retracing our route back to our launch site.

Over the course of the day, we logged 11.6 miles on calm water with very little wind. It was a grand experience paddling along the rugged coast where one can imagine what the currents and water conditions might be like in less favorable conditions. We even saw a Bald Eagle sitting on a rock close to where we were paddling. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough with my camera to capture the magnificent bird.