Pelican Beach and El Chupacabra
This is long over due. Two weeks ago I finally made it to Pelican Beach for an overnight camping trip. I have a big trip planned for August and the original plan was to use this trip to feel out how strong the currents were going to be against us in August. However work got in the way and I was at work till past midnight the night before so I was not up for the early morning departure that would have given us a trip that mimicked the currents. So instead we got a much more pleasurable paddle.
We left from Washington Park in Anacortes and crossed over to Cypress Island. The conditions weren’t rough, but were a bit confused. The waves would come at us from the left, then from the right. The water just was in a constant state of change. Just enough to keep us on our toes. I am not at all a fan of making crossings. It didn’t really bother me until last summer when I went on a trip with my dad on his power boat. We were near Anacortes when I saw several kayakers in the distance. You could barely see them and I told my dad how foolish I thought the kayakers were for wearing such dark colors when making a crossing. However when we got closer I was surprised to see that most of them were wearing bright colors. Kayakers are like speed bumps on the water where the paint as been worn off. You barely notice them until you are right on top of them with barely enough time to react. Because of this experience I have even less desire to be out in the middle of shipping traffic. The sun was out and I worked up a big sweat making this crossing. Taking a quick break on the shore I went for a swim in my dry suit to cool off. Dry suits rock! So cool to be able to swim without the cold or the salty water to deal with.
The dog that just wouldn’t get tired of fetch
Once across the Cypress the water was great. A little current in our favor to help push us along. We made camp and nearly had the place to ourselves. The only other people on shore was a really nice family with an overly friendly dog and a young couple that was just there for a hike. There is a hike to the top of Eagle Cliff here that is supposed to be great. However it is closed this time of year. Although several people were making this hike despite the closure I didn’t want to be one of them. The trail is closed to help protect nesting birds. The female half of this couple later stripped down naked to go for a swim without the slightest care that there were several people around.
Pelican Beach is beautiful with a great beach. However I would hate to be there on a busy weekend. The camps are right next to each other and I can see how it could become a bit crazy with some overcrowding.
El Chupacabra
After a nice campfire we settled down to some much needed sleep. Around midnight I was awoken by the most nerve racking sound I think I had ever heard. Kind of a cross between a growl and a scream. In my half awake state I couldn’t imagine what was making such a horrible sound. Was it a cougar? No way not on an island in the San Juans. Maybe El Chupacabra!! I had set my tent next to a boardwalk and I could hear something running past my tent as I heard the sounds. I could see shadows of something running by. As I woke up more I thought probably just racoons, but I had never heard racoons make such a racket. Needless to say it was a bit hard to go back to sleep with this sound. Some of the other campers confirmed the next morning that it was two raccoons that were fighting. They had gotten up to watch the fight that they said was right next to my tent.
The next day we continued north so that we could circle around Cypress. We had given some thought to crossing over to James Island to check it out, but decided against it with a fog bank closing in. As we got down to Reef Point the fog had thickened so much that had we crossed over to James we would have had to paddle to one of the ferry docks and taken the ferry back. I was a bit worried about making the crossing back to Washington Park. We could see the other side, but barely. We paddled hard to make it across before the fog rolled in and also to beat a ferry that was about to depart. Another great trip in the San Juans.
Beautiful conditions in Rosario Straight (notice the fog rolling in)
On another note this was my first camping trip with my new Sterling’s Kayaks Illusion. Packing it was a little bit of a challenge, but not too bad. I purposely packed way more than I needed just to see how it handled and how hard it was to pack. I didn’t have any extra space, but it was manageable. I could in a pinch pack a couple of small drybags in front of my footpegs too. A two week long trip along the east coast of Vancouver Island would be challenging to pack for, but I think it could be done. A smaller sleeping bag would help. The boat handled a little different, but not in a bad way, just different. Really not that much slower. We cruised along comfortably at 3.5 knots and could pick up the pace to 4 knots without much effort. Sprinting at over 5 knots was more work, but it was quick to get up to speed. One cool thing is that the boat doesn’t lose much speed when I stop paddling. It just coasts along real nice. This was also the first time I used my Big Agnes camp pad. WOW! This was worth every penny. 2 1/2 inches thick it is way better than the Thermarest I was using. I also used my Greenland paddle exclusively on this trip. I’m really torn on what paddle is for me. I’m trying to stay proficient with the Euro because I have another Body Boat Blade class in the fall. Although they allow any kind of paddle in their classes I want to use what they are using to get as much out of the class as I can. But I am also taking another Greenland paddling class from Kayak Academy this year with Dubside and Maligiaq Padilla so I want to be proficient with my Greenland paddle too. I felt far less tired after paddling all day with my Greenland paddle and I feel way more confident in my ability to roll with the Greenland too. I have a week long trip coming up so what will I use? Maybe both to mix things up?
Great trip. But some sad news as well. While we were enjoying ourselves on the water the Coast Guard was actively searching for two people lost when their sailboat capsized overnight near Bellingham. They were never found! Be careful and be thankful for every moment you have.
June 21, 2009 at 6:05 pm
That’s so tragic about that sailing accident. When I was taking sailing lessons I remember reading somewhere that sailing is something like the safest sport EVER. I did a little search on the accident and it turns out that Gunther Frank, one of the victims, was an artist and photographer and has a whole bunch of pictures on Flickr of what I presume is his sailboat during similar trips It’s a small centerboard sloop:
June 21, 2009 at 6:05 pm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guntherjosefrank/sets/72157594338918823/