Sunrise at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal
5am: it’s time to wake up for the earliest ferry! In classic Nena-style we (Nena/Sara/Bridget/Ale/Alex/Maria) took the first ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor at 6:25am. We were directed to Lane #4 where we parked, ate yogurt and cereal, and watched a gorgeous sunrise. We wandered into the waiting area and found a Seattle’s Best coffee machine, which delivered wonders for $1.50. “Now boarding the 6:25 ferry to Friday Harbor.” Oh crap, we return to the car just in time to board the ferry, parked behind another pair of kayakers and next to a massive flammable liquids truck. The ferry to Friday Harbor lasted ~1 hour.
In the "cars with boats" lane
A caffeinated Sara is a happy Sara, even at 6am.
We drove straight to San Juan Expeditions (a.k.a. Tim) where we immediately discovered (no surprise here...) that Bridget’s factory roof rack was not wide enough to hold two massive tandem sea kayaks (henceforth referred to as the “Monster Boats”). Eventually it was decided that since Tess’s (the blue Subaru) rack was wide enough, she would transport the baby pink and neon green Monster Boat while Fernando and Big Purple cuddled on the top of Bridget’s SUV. To this day, we continue to regret not taking a photo of the Monster Boats (which are significantly longer than my car) on the roof. Tim was quite helpful, assisting us with strapping down the boats and making recommendations for paddling routes.
We decided to keep things simple for our first day and paddle in Griffin Bay, which was only 5 minutes from the kayak rental shop and not really affected by tidal currents. Jackson Beach was an easy launch site with plentiful/free parking, two wide ramps, and sheltered waters. An old grey/blue cannery building sits adjacent to the harbor and marked the otherwise hidden entrance for our return. Our compatriots drank some beers and whiskey at 9am before launching. We paddled south, sticking close to shore and inshore of Dinner Island.
We decided to keep things simple for our first day and paddle in Griffin Bay, which was only 5 minutes from the kayak rental shop and not really affected by tidal currents. Jackson Beach was an easy launch site with plentiful/free parking, two wide ramps, and sheltered waters. An old grey/blue cannery building sits adjacent to the harbor and marked the otherwise hidden entrance for our return. Our compatriots drank some beers and whiskey at 9am before launching. We paddled south, sticking close to shore and inshore of Dinner Island.
Nena, Ale, and Bridget on Griffin Bay
A couple hours later we arrived at Jackles Lagoon for a lunch break. Here, a wide cobble beach strewn with sun-bleached driftwood and punctuated by small stands of pickleweed separates a lagoon from the bay. We enjoyed our extravagant lunch of stale pita bread, hummus, raw kale, carrots, snap peas, and fermented avocado.
Jackles Lagoon
| Before turning back to the launch site, we paddled to Harbor Rock at the Bay’s edge. Here we observed a crowd of seals bobbing in the water. The crystal clear water allowed us perfect views to the eelgrass, kelp, crabs, and other life below. Eventually, we took a shortcut straight across the Bay to return to Jackson Beach, spotting a bald eagle soaring over our heads along the way. After paddling, we drove to our campground at the “Lakedale Resort,” which is on the northeast corner of the island and encompasses a series of freshwater ponds/lakes privately owned by the resort. We stayed at site 206, which is on the far end of the campground. Our site was so small that we could hardly find a spot for a single tent, let alone 3. Bridget parked her car across the road and Sara and I put our tent in the parking spot (Sara really loves the sound of cars rapidly approaching the tent). A few hot showers later, we cooked up some herbed couscous and steamed broccoli (with a lovely sprinkling of canned tuna) before heading to bed nice and early. Date: 7/26/2014 Distance: 10 miles Duration: 5 hours |  Sunny nap at Jackles Lagoon. |
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