Blog title...Kayaking Camping and Whales, OH MY!
Ok, for all you outdoor adventurous types who like a little bit of everything, Have I got a cool adventure for you. My wife and I recently planned and went on a pretty cool trip. We both love to kayak, camp, and generally love just being outdoors enjoying nature while getting some good exercise. We were wanting to go on a trip that had a little bit of everything and do it to where is was both affordable and to where we could fit quite a bit in for 10 days worth of time. We also wanted go see and experience something new that we had never done before.
Neither one of us had seen the Orca Killer Whales in the wild and started searching on the web for a trip to where we could see them and fit other activities in. Our search eventually took us to the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. We began realizing that there were good opportunities to see the whales, kayak, camp, and enjoy other wildlife for when we wanted to travel, which was a window between June and July.We found an affordable outfitter, Sea-Quest Expeditions http://ping.fm/6PkBe , who offered a guided 5 day kayak trip in the San Juan Islands who provided most everything needed for the trip including the kayak rental, tents, food, and most of the other equipment necessary for the trip. In the trip, the guide would be cooking the breakfasts and dinner, providing good naturalist information on the local wildlife (possibly seeing the whales), and choosing different islands throughout the trip to make camping experience not seem bland.While this all sounded really good, my wife and I wanted to ensure we were going to have enough flexibility and time to get comfortable with the area before showing up and immediately embarking on a 5 day kayak/camping trip somewhere that we had never been. So, we decided to plan the trip so that we could arrive in Friday Harbor , San Juan Island about 4 days early and check out the area. With the time of year being peak for the Seattle area where the weather is at its nicest, you can imagine how expensive 4 extra days could be at this breathtaking little summer paradise. We were like most people are when planning a vacation trying to stick to a budget and not over spend. Our online search of places to stay in Friday Harbor led us to a quaint little Hostel (which was more like a little bed & breakfast), called the Wayfarers Rest http://ping.fm/YYpTX . This little cottage setting was a short 1-2 miles from the Friday Harbor ferry terminal and was extremely reasonable so that my wife and I could spend our money on other activities the island had to offer.The cheapest way to get to Friday Harbor from SEA-TAC airport is to take a motor coach from the airport called the Airporter http://ping.fm/PDizR , to a town north of Seattle about 2 hours called Anacortes, WA , which is what we did. The motor coach will take your directly to the ferry at Anacortes although there is a stop in between where you have to switch to a smaller bus. But the ride is comfortable and it is much cheaper than any other transportation that we could find. The ferry ride to Friday Harbor from Anacortes is about an hour and is also a most enjoyable trip. So if you are flying into SEA-TAC airport, ensure you arrive late morning to early afternoon and that will give you plenty of time to get to Friday Harbor with time to get settled in order to enjoy your first evening. Once you get to Friday Harbor , San Juan Island , there is no need for a rental car as there is plenty of cheap transportation on the Island . You can buy a day pass for a few dollars and ride unlimited all day long to popular island destinations. We booked everything online from the airfare, the kayak expedition, the hostel, the airporter and ferry transportation.Before arriving in Friday Harbor and reading up on the whales, this was one of the things we were really looking forward to the more we read about them. There are 3 Pods of about 20 killer whales each that visit this area each year from March through November. They track in a large circle for the most part this time of year every 24 hours feeding on Salmon. After our arrival and checking into the Wayfarer’s Rest, my wife and I walked back down through town to the Friday Harbor dock area to check out the sites. We noticed a sign that read, “Whale Watch/Wildlife Cruises”/ “Guaranteed to see Whales or your next trip is free”. The company is San Juan Excursions, Inc. http://ping.fm/sj9fP . Knowing that we had a few days before the kayak expedition, we inquired about this whale watching tour, and decided to book it for our second day, and we are grateful that we did. Not only did we see the whales, we saw a mother and her two new Calves surface near the boat and it was awesome. The company’s owner had told us they day before that while we did good in booking the 5 day kayak expedition, it wouldn’t be a sure thing that you could catch the whales at the right place at the right time for various reasons. We were glad we listened because with a power boat, you can get to where they are quickly and there is only a small 2-3 hour window of opportunity daily to catch them in the strait near San Juan Island as they pass by. They travel quickly and cover about 100 miles every 24-30 hours in a large circle.The third day, we went to Lime Kiln National Park http://ping.fm/Q36nl with cliffs and beaches overlooking the same strait that the whales pass though each day and saw 2 of the pods within an hour of each other from the shore. We had packed a picnic lunch and had yet another awesome day with the whales.The fourth day, we went to the Friday Harbor Whale Museum http://ping.fm/YOhpt which was an incredible experience and then we hiked about 6 miles from Friday Harbor to a local winery, San Juan Vineyards http://ping.fm/Kl9UM and enjoyed some excellent wine and purchased a couple of bottles for our kayak trip. Later that evening we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner in Friday Harbor at Downriggers http://ping.fm/dJAts and then later had a beer at a local pub across the street.The next morning we visited a local grocery store to get the required dried foods and lunch items for our kayak trip before meeting the outfitters near the Friday Harbor dock area. Our guide from Sea-Quest Expeditions met us and a few other folks in a van loaded down with our gear and kayaks to take us to our launch area on the other side of the island. There was one other couple and an older single lady who end up pairing with our guide for the trip, 6 people in all.Our kayak trip began as picturesque as it could be starting our trek just north of Lime Kiln Point in the Haro Strait on the west shoreline of San Juan Island . The weather was beautiful and we paddled a couple of hours north before taking our lunch break on a beach on the northwest shore of San Juan Island . As we approached the beach, a little raccoon was scurrying around some drift wood washed ashore looking for something to eat. After a short break we then paddled several hours in the afternoon before we reached Stewart Island where we landed and made camp for what would be two nights. Our guide informed us that we had paddled a total of approximately 7 miles. Waiting for us was at Stewart Island was a caretaker who was a nice ole gentleman and kept the area where the kayakers camp pristine and clean. He had even built two little out-houses out of wood and equipped them with pictures inside, magazines, incense burning for a fresh smelling experience, and last but not least, a plunger for a good conversation and laugh. After all, it is an out-house and plungers serve no purpose whatsoever.Everyone helped unload the gear and began setting up their tents while our guide began preparing dinner. Although during the day the temperature was in the high ‘70’s to low ‘80’s, the late afternoon and evenings yielded temperatures down in the ‘50’s and a fire was the next priority. As the sun began to hang lower toward the horizon, the sky was absolutely beautiful and brilliant with color. We noticed some harbor seals playing on a piece of land slowly being swallowed up by the tide coming in before they finally had to vacate somewhere else as their resting place finally disappeared into the water. Our guide was an excellent cook as everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Since our group was small, my wife and I thought the time was right for opening up one of our bottles of wine to share with everyone around the camp fire that first evening and sort of get to know everyone. Our guide began to tell us what to expect over the next few days and all about the wildlife we would be seeing and everyone including ourselves were excited about the next few days.I think it is worthy to note at this point that the paddling experience is quite different than river, lake, or even the open ocean. The San Juan Islands consist of over 200 small islands, most which are privately owned, and located off of the northern coast of Seattle , WA. These islands are surrounded by deep ocean channels and straits that have strong currents that continuously shift and merge into other channels, making for an interesting paddling experience, especially having to take the changing tides and other weather conditions like wind into consideration. I would classify the kayaking as moderate in difficulty. If you consider yourself to be somewhat active and in shape you shouldn’t have any problem with the trip however. The one thing I would not ever recommend here is to kayak these waters on your own without a guide who knows these waters. For one, you have to know what times of the day the tides will affect which way the currents flow, and two, once you are out in the channels, it is very easy to become turned around and/or lost as all of the islands will begin to look and feel the same from where you are at water level. It is essential to be guided by someone who is an expert in navigating these waters.The second day, we were awakened by several deer wondering through our camp and smelling the wonderful smell of our breakfast being cooked by our guide. After breakfast, we set out on a paddle on the south side of Stewart Island for a couple of hours before running stopping and taking a break on one of the small beaches and turning back towards the direction in which we came. We entered an inlet and paddled all the way in before we broke for lunch. Our guide then took us for a 5 mile hike (2.5 each way) up to a summit on a cliff and near a lighthouse that overlooked several straits merging together. In the near distance we could see Victoria , B.C. and the view was absolutely breathtaking. The hike was nice and the wildlife was beautiful. We saw a bald eagles nest and several bald eagles flying in the distance. As we were approaching the kayaks, a baby harbor seal was up on the beach looking at us and trying to make his way back into the water. We paddled back to our camp and arrived in the late afternoon and enjoyed a nice rest as our guide began to cook dinner. On this day we ended up paddling approximately 5 miles and hiked for a total of 5 miles.Day 3 was a day in which we had to break down the camp, load up the kayaks and trek onward to another adventure. This was the first day where the sun did not pop out early and a light mist was falling as we were departing Stewart Island . We crossed Haro Strait into the Spieden Channel and paddled next to the shoreline of Spieden Island . From the south east end of Speiden Island , we went through where Spieden Channel, Presidents Channel, and San Juan Channel merged together, then paddling our way into the San Juan Channel. This is where we were now battling some of the strongest currents yet and the mist had turned into a light steady rain. We continued paddling towards the south along the east shoreline of San Juan Island where we found a beach to break for lunch. Afterwards, we had to beat the changing currents across the San Juan Channel and south of Orca’s Island to a small island to the north of Shaw Island named Jones Island , a national park. This had turned out to be an 11 mile day and would end up being our hardest day thus far, but by the time we arrived, the rain had gone and the sun was out giving us spectacular views on the west side of Jones Island where we made camp. After getting everything unpacked, tents put up, and resting for a bit, our guide began to prepare dinner as we made our campfire and rested for a bit. There were beautiful walking paths, breathtaking views, and a peace and serenity that cannot be described. After dinner we took our second and last bottle of wine to share with everyone around the fire and had a great time with our guide and 3 new friends.On day 4, we all voted to not break camp and stay on Jones Island for a second night. We got into our kayaks and headed south in the San Juan Channel on the west shoreline of Jones island and into spring passage where Orca’s Island was to our north and a very small island named Reef Island was to our south. We circled all of the way around Reef Island enjoying the beautiful scenery and wildlife. It was low tide and we could see lots of colorful starfish clinging to the sides of the rock on shore. Afterwards, we paddled south back out into the San Juan Channel to a small Island called Yellow Island . We stopped here and hiked around for a little bit and had lunch. This Island is a bird sanctuary and has quite a few harbor seals resting on its shores as well. After spending some time here, we then started paddling back to Jones Island for our second night there and final night of the trip. This day we paddled approximately 5 miles. We explored Jones Island as our guide began to prepare dinner and found a small herd of dear roaming near a small clearing. I remember this last evening well as the sunset was yet one up on itself as being the most spectacular sunset yet. And since it was mid July, sunset wasn’t until around 9:00pm so there was plenty of daylight to enjoy.
Day 5 and the last day of our trip we broke camp, packed away everything and started our final day of paddling. We crossed the San Juan Channel towards the east coast of San Juan Island against the current pointing northwest. The currents were strong and trying to push us southward in the middle of the channel but as we got about 2/3’s of the way across, it became a little easier to reach the place that we were aiming for to have lunch. After a brief lunch, the guide had gotten a radio call that indicated the whales were beginning to make their way into the Haro Strait from the south. He said if we hurried to the Spieden Channel on the north end of San Juan Island , we would catch the current going with us, and might be able to make it across to the north end of Haro Strait to intercept them. Everyone was anxious to really pour on the paddle power, so we went for it. We made it to the Spieden Channel and sure enough, the currents were with us and we felt like we were flying along the north side of San Juan Island , past Roche Harbor , and into the Haro Strait , which still took 3 hours. Once there, our guide made the radio call to see where the whales were, but unfortunately they were still too far south at Lime Kiln Point. We would have had to sit in the water for a couple of more hours as for some reason they were moving at a slower speed than normal. This was sort of disappointing especially for the others in our group because they had not yet seen the whales like we had before the kayak trip. We had to turn around and paddle back to Roche Harbor about 2 miles away in order to rendezvous with the expedition pick up. This ended up being about a 9 mile day so all in all we ended up paddling approximately 38 miles on the trip.After the kayak trip was over, our guide took us from Roche Harbor back to Friday Harbor . There is a nice little dock area there with facilities so my wife and I showered and started making our connections taking the ferry back to Anacortes, and then the motor coach back to SEA-TAC airport. We had booked our last night in Seattle at the downtown Marriott for some comfortable amenities after our week of not having modern conveniences as to sort of pamper ourselves a bit. A shuttle took us into downtown to our hotel and we arrived about 9:00pm, checked in, and then took a walk in down town Seattle to find food and have a drink and relax. We ended up sleeping in the next morning and planned on enjoying the day in Seattle since our flight back to Orlando, Florida was a red-eye at 10:00pm. The weather was an extraordinarily perfect day for Seattle with plenty of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. The hotel held our bags for us after we checked out so we could go enjoy ourselves all day in the city without having to worry about them. We walked down to the pier and fish market where we spent all day just enjoying ourselves and having fun. The trip could not have ended better and later that evening we retrieved our bags and made our way back to the airport and eventually home.In summary, this trip had it all and we couldn’t have planned it better. The Wayfarer’s Rest was an excellent Hostel and we will definitely stay there again as a trip back to Friday Harbor , San Juan Island is something that we will do again. There are other islands in the area that are large in which we didn’t have a chance to visit or get to experience. The ferry stops at several of the other larger islands as well. If you are close to Seattle and/or feel like driving there yourself, the ferry does accommodate a large number of cars so that you can drive on the ferry in Anacortes, WA and drive off at Friday Harbor if you so desire. Obviously it costs more to do so than just to ride as a passenger, but it could have its advantages.The Sea-Quest Expedition was truly an awesome experience that we will never forget and one that we definitely recommend. Our guide was great, the food was great, the paddling was magnificent, the scenery was spectacular, and the wildlife was abundant. They have expeditions in other places and we will most likely plan a few other trips with them as well. The only thing that you need to be aware of is their website is somewhat misleading in that it really promotes the whales and leaves you thinking that you are going to see them while kayaking, although they never promise it, you’ll think that you will. Although the whales are somewhat unpredictable in their travel patterns, they are for the most part inconsistent as well because they are after food and chasing the salmon. Seeing them while on your kayak trip would really be just an added bonus but you just can’t count on it. The other people in our group were disappointed because seeing the whales were the main reason they came on the expedition and we didn’t actually see the whales on the expedition. They also didn’t allow themselves enough time before or after the trip to have a chance to see the whales either, so we could see where they would be somewhat disappointed if that is all they really came on the expedition for. This is why we are so glad we spent a few days before the expedition on San Juan Island and having two full days of enjoying the whales independently of the kayak expedition.
Other Useful Links:
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Neither one of us had seen the Orca Killer Whales in the wild and started searching on the web for a trip to where we could see them and fit other activities in. Our search eventually took us to the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. We began realizing that there were good opportunities to see the whales, kayak, camp, and enjoy other wildlife for when we wanted to travel, which was a window between June and July.We found an affordable outfitter, Sea-Quest Expeditions http://ping.fm/6PkBe , who offered a guided 5 day kayak trip in the San Juan Islands who provided most everything needed for the trip including the kayak rental, tents, food, and most of the other equipment necessary for the trip. In the trip, the guide would be cooking the breakfasts and dinner, providing good naturalist information on the local wildlife (possibly seeing the whales), and choosing different islands throughout the trip to make camping experience not seem bland.While this all sounded really good, my wife and I wanted to ensure we were going to have enough flexibility and time to get comfortable with the area before showing up and immediately embarking on a 5 day kayak/camping trip somewhere that we had never been. So, we decided to plan the trip so that we could arrive in Friday Harbor , San Juan Island about 4 days early and check out the area. With the time of year being peak for the Seattle area where the weather is at its nicest, you can imagine how expensive 4 extra days could be at this breathtaking little summer paradise. We were like most people are when planning a vacation trying to stick to a budget and not over spend. Our online search of places to stay in Friday Harbor led us to a quaint little Hostel (which was more like a little bed & breakfast), called the Wayfarers Rest http://ping.fm/YYpTX . This little cottage setting was a short 1-2 miles from the Friday Harbor ferry terminal and was extremely reasonable so that my wife and I could spend our money on other activities the island had to offer.The cheapest way to get to Friday Harbor from SEA-TAC airport is to take a motor coach from the airport called the Airporter http://ping.fm/PDizR , to a town north of Seattle about 2 hours called Anacortes, WA , which is what we did. The motor coach will take your directly to the ferry at Anacortes although there is a stop in between where you have to switch to a smaller bus. But the ride is comfortable and it is much cheaper than any other transportation that we could find. The ferry ride to Friday Harbor from Anacortes is about an hour and is also a most enjoyable trip. So if you are flying into SEA-TAC airport, ensure you arrive late morning to early afternoon and that will give you plenty of time to get to Friday Harbor with time to get settled in order to enjoy your first evening. Once you get to Friday Harbor , San Juan Island , there is no need for a rental car as there is plenty of cheap transportation on the Island . You can buy a day pass for a few dollars and ride unlimited all day long to popular island destinations. We booked everything online from the airfare, the kayak expedition, the hostel, the airporter and ferry transportation.Before arriving in Friday Harbor and reading up on the whales, this was one of the things we were really looking forward to the more we read about them. There are 3 Pods of about 20 killer whales each that visit this area each year from March through November. They track in a large circle for the most part this time of year every 24 hours feeding on Salmon. After our arrival and checking into the Wayfarer’s Rest, my wife and I walked back down through town to the Friday Harbor dock area to check out the sites. We noticed a sign that read, “Whale Watch/Wildlife Cruises”/ “Guaranteed to see Whales or your next trip is free”. The company is San Juan Excursions, Inc. http://ping.fm/sj9fP . Knowing that we had a few days before the kayak expedition, we inquired about this whale watching tour, and decided to book it for our second day, and we are grateful that we did. Not only did we see the whales, we saw a mother and her two new Calves surface near the boat and it was awesome. The company’s owner had told us they day before that while we did good in booking the 5 day kayak expedition, it wouldn’t be a sure thing that you could catch the whales at the right place at the right time for various reasons. We were glad we listened because with a power boat, you can get to where they are quickly and there is only a small 2-3 hour window of opportunity daily to catch them in the strait near San Juan Island as they pass by. They travel quickly and cover about 100 miles every 24-30 hours in a large circle.The third day, we went to Lime Kiln National Park http://ping.fm/Q36nl with cliffs and beaches overlooking the same strait that the whales pass though each day and saw 2 of the pods within an hour of each other from the shore. We had packed a picnic lunch and had yet another awesome day with the whales.The fourth day, we went to the Friday Harbor Whale Museum http://ping.fm/YOhpt which was an incredible experience and then we hiked about 6 miles from Friday Harbor to a local winery, San Juan Vineyards http://ping.fm/Kl9UM and enjoyed some excellent wine and purchased a couple of bottles for our kayak trip. Later that evening we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner in Friday Harbor at Downriggers http://ping.fm/dJAts and then later had a beer at a local pub across the street.The next morning we visited a local grocery store to get the required dried foods and lunch items for our kayak trip before meeting the outfitters near the Friday Harbor dock area. Our guide from Sea-Quest Expeditions met us and a few other folks in a van loaded down with our gear and kayaks to take us to our launch area on the other side of the island. There was one other couple and an older single lady who end up pairing with our guide for the trip, 6 people in all.Our kayak trip began as picturesque as it could be starting our trek just north of Lime Kiln Point in the Haro Strait on the west shoreline of San Juan Island . The weather was beautiful and we paddled a couple of hours north before taking our lunch break on a beach on the northwest shore of San Juan Island . As we approached the beach, a little raccoon was scurrying around some drift wood washed ashore looking for something to eat. After a short break we then paddled several hours in the afternoon before we reached Stewart Island where we landed and made camp for what would be two nights. Our guide informed us that we had paddled a total of approximately 7 miles. Waiting for us was at Stewart Island was a caretaker who was a nice ole gentleman and kept the area where the kayakers camp pristine and clean. He had even built two little out-houses out of wood and equipped them with pictures inside, magazines, incense burning for a fresh smelling experience, and last but not least, a plunger for a good conversation and laugh. After all, it is an out-house and plungers serve no purpose whatsoever.Everyone helped unload the gear and began setting up their tents while our guide began preparing dinner. Although during the day the temperature was in the high ‘70’s to low ‘80’s, the late afternoon and evenings yielded temperatures down in the ‘50’s and a fire was the next priority. As the sun began to hang lower toward the horizon, the sky was absolutely beautiful and brilliant with color. We noticed some harbor seals playing on a piece of land slowly being swallowed up by the tide coming in before they finally had to vacate somewhere else as their resting place finally disappeared into the water. Our guide was an excellent cook as everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Since our group was small, my wife and I thought the time was right for opening up one of our bottles of wine to share with everyone around the camp fire that first evening and sort of get to know everyone. Our guide began to tell us what to expect over the next few days and all about the wildlife we would be seeing and everyone including ourselves were excited about the next few days.I think it is worthy to note at this point that the paddling experience is quite different than river, lake, or even the open ocean. The San Juan Islands consist of over 200 small islands, most which are privately owned, and located off of the northern coast of Seattle , WA. These islands are surrounded by deep ocean channels and straits that have strong currents that continuously shift and merge into other channels, making for an interesting paddling experience, especially having to take the changing tides and other weather conditions like wind into consideration. I would classify the kayaking as moderate in difficulty. If you consider yourself to be somewhat active and in shape you shouldn’t have any problem with the trip however. The one thing I would not ever recommend here is to kayak these waters on your own without a guide who knows these waters. For one, you have to know what times of the day the tides will affect which way the currents flow, and two, once you are out in the channels, it is very easy to become turned around and/or lost as all of the islands will begin to look and feel the same from where you are at water level. It is essential to be guided by someone who is an expert in navigating these waters.The second day, we were awakened by several deer wondering through our camp and smelling the wonderful smell of our breakfast being cooked by our guide. After breakfast, we set out on a paddle on the south side of Stewart Island for a couple of hours before running stopping and taking a break on one of the small beaches and turning back towards the direction in which we came. We entered an inlet and paddled all the way in before we broke for lunch. Our guide then took us for a 5 mile hike (2.5 each way) up to a summit on a cliff and near a lighthouse that overlooked several straits merging together. In the near distance we could see Victoria , B.C. and the view was absolutely breathtaking. The hike was nice and the wildlife was beautiful. We saw a bald eagles nest and several bald eagles flying in the distance. As we were approaching the kayaks, a baby harbor seal was up on the beach looking at us and trying to make his way back into the water. We paddled back to our camp and arrived in the late afternoon and enjoyed a nice rest as our guide began to cook dinner. On this day we ended up paddling approximately 5 miles and hiked for a total of 5 miles.Day 3 was a day in which we had to break down the camp, load up the kayaks and trek onward to another adventure. This was the first day where the sun did not pop out early and a light mist was falling as we were departing Stewart Island . We crossed Haro Strait into the Spieden Channel and paddled next to the shoreline of Spieden Island . From the south east end of Speiden Island , we went through where Spieden Channel, Presidents Channel, and San Juan Channel merged together, then paddling our way into the San Juan Channel. This is where we were now battling some of the strongest currents yet and the mist had turned into a light steady rain. We continued paddling towards the south along the east shoreline of San Juan Island where we found a beach to break for lunch. Afterwards, we had to beat the changing currents across the San Juan Channel and south of Orca’s Island to a small island to the north of Shaw Island named Jones Island , a national park. This had turned out to be an 11 mile day and would end up being our hardest day thus far, but by the time we arrived, the rain had gone and the sun was out giving us spectacular views on the west side of Jones Island where we made camp. After getting everything unpacked, tents put up, and resting for a bit, our guide began to prepare dinner as we made our campfire and rested for a bit. There were beautiful walking paths, breathtaking views, and a peace and serenity that cannot be described. After dinner we took our second and last bottle of wine to share with everyone around the fire and had a great time with our guide and 3 new friends.On day 4, we all voted to not break camp and stay on Jones Island for a second night. We got into our kayaks and headed south in the San Juan Channel on the west shoreline of Jones island and into spring passage where Orca’s Island was to our north and a very small island named Reef Island was to our south. We circled all of the way around Reef Island enjoying the beautiful scenery and wildlife. It was low tide and we could see lots of colorful starfish clinging to the sides of the rock on shore. Afterwards, we paddled south back out into the San Juan Channel to a small Island called Yellow Island . We stopped here and hiked around for a little bit and had lunch. This Island is a bird sanctuary and has quite a few harbor seals resting on its shores as well. After spending some time here, we then started paddling back to Jones Island for our second night there and final night of the trip. This day we paddled approximately 5 miles. We explored Jones Island as our guide began to prepare dinner and found a small herd of dear roaming near a small clearing. I remember this last evening well as the sunset was yet one up on itself as being the most spectacular sunset yet. And since it was mid July, sunset wasn’t until around 9:00pm so there was plenty of daylight to enjoy.
Day 5 and the last day of our trip we broke camp, packed away everything and started our final day of paddling. We crossed the San Juan Channel towards the east coast of San Juan Island against the current pointing northwest. The currents were strong and trying to push us southward in the middle of the channel but as we got about 2/3’s of the way across, it became a little easier to reach the place that we were aiming for to have lunch. After a brief lunch, the guide had gotten a radio call that indicated the whales were beginning to make their way into the Haro Strait from the south. He said if we hurried to the Spieden Channel on the north end of San Juan Island , we would catch the current going with us, and might be able to make it across to the north end of Haro Strait to intercept them. Everyone was anxious to really pour on the paddle power, so we went for it. We made it to the Spieden Channel and sure enough, the currents were with us and we felt like we were flying along the north side of San Juan Island , past Roche Harbor , and into the Haro Strait , which still took 3 hours. Once there, our guide made the radio call to see where the whales were, but unfortunately they were still too far south at Lime Kiln Point. We would have had to sit in the water for a couple of more hours as for some reason they were moving at a slower speed than normal. This was sort of disappointing especially for the others in our group because they had not yet seen the whales like we had before the kayak trip. We had to turn around and paddle back to Roche Harbor about 2 miles away in order to rendezvous with the expedition pick up. This ended up being about a 9 mile day so all in all we ended up paddling approximately 38 miles on the trip.After the kayak trip was over, our guide took us from Roche Harbor back to Friday Harbor . There is a nice little dock area there with facilities so my wife and I showered and started making our connections taking the ferry back to Anacortes, and then the motor coach back to SEA-TAC airport. We had booked our last night in Seattle at the downtown Marriott for some comfortable amenities after our week of not having modern conveniences as to sort of pamper ourselves a bit. A shuttle took us into downtown to our hotel and we arrived about 9:00pm, checked in, and then took a walk in down town Seattle to find food and have a drink and relax. We ended up sleeping in the next morning and planned on enjoying the day in Seattle since our flight back to Orlando, Florida was a red-eye at 10:00pm. The weather was an extraordinarily perfect day for Seattle with plenty of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. The hotel held our bags for us after we checked out so we could go enjoy ourselves all day in the city without having to worry about them. We walked down to the pier and fish market where we spent all day just enjoying ourselves and having fun. The trip could not have ended better and later that evening we retrieved our bags and made our way back to the airport and eventually home.In summary, this trip had it all and we couldn’t have planned it better. The Wayfarer’s Rest was an excellent Hostel and we will definitely stay there again as a trip back to Friday Harbor , San Juan Island is something that we will do again. There are other islands in the area that are large in which we didn’t have a chance to visit or get to experience. The ferry stops at several of the other larger islands as well. If you are close to Seattle and/or feel like driving there yourself, the ferry does accommodate a large number of cars so that you can drive on the ferry in Anacortes, WA and drive off at Friday Harbor if you so desire. Obviously it costs more to do so than just to ride as a passenger, but it could have its advantages.The Sea-Quest Expedition was truly an awesome experience that we will never forget and one that we definitely recommend. Our guide was great, the food was great, the paddling was magnificent, the scenery was spectacular, and the wildlife was abundant. They have expeditions in other places and we will most likely plan a few other trips with them as well. The only thing that you need to be aware of is their website is somewhat misleading in that it really promotes the whales and leaves you thinking that you are going to see them while kayaking, although they never promise it, you’ll think that you will. Although the whales are somewhat unpredictable in their travel patterns, they are for the most part inconsistent as well because they are after food and chasing the salmon. Seeing them while on your kayak trip would really be just an added bonus but you just can’t count on it. The other people in our group were disappointed because seeing the whales were the main reason they came on the expedition and we didn’t actually see the whales on the expedition. They also didn’t allow themselves enough time before or after the trip to have a chance to see the whales either, so we could see where they would be somewhat disappointed if that is all they really came on the expedition for. This is why we are so glad we spent a few days before the expedition on San Juan Island and having two full days of enjoying the whales independently of the kayak expedition.
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