Sounds like fun...  but isn't it a little early in the season for the SJ's?

I will wait for some sunshine before heading out there. 

Have fun... 

Yeah? You gonna do some full moon stroke'n?

Nah, Kirk: it ain't too early. Matter of fact, last april I did a little Salty over nighter in the South Puget Sound. Then in mid May paddled from Seattle up to the San Juans (solo) and met Mr. Rogers. We circumnavigated the San Juans in about 3.5 days. Whole trip took me about 8 days. Yes, this time of year there is weather. But that's cool too. Just gotta be prepared for it. Conditions were rockin a few days, and my sh*t did get all wet a few times. Yes I had some cold wet camping (three out of eight camps), but that's why I did that trip during that time: to experience those hardships and discover where the holes in my game were. Some of it was gear related, some of it procedural/poor choices, but I'm better armed w/ the knowledge for next time.

Whitewater is cool, but it gets boring after a while. Old hat. Gotta work some Salt Yakk'n into my paddlin diet once in awhile.

As it turns out, I think Ima get my Saltyak on too, this weekend.
Have fun up there, Dave! Where exactly you guys going, if you care to divulge (don't worry- I won't crash your camp, but don't think I ain't capable of it!)

I'm gonna just stick to the South Puget Sound, myself, so I don't have to burn a bunch of gas. Yeah, the San Juans are super Mac Daddy, but South Puget Sound is close. I just want quick access to the water and a solo trip where I can camp and put a suitable distance between myself and the rest of humanity. Maybe that's not what Easter is about for most folks, but its coincidental for me: I'm looking at flows and the weather.

Thank You Easter Bunny Bok Bok!

It looks like the weather might be good this weeken. 

JP..  that is a great trip.  Would love to island hop my way to the San Juans from Seattle.  That would be a satisfying trip. 3.5 days in the SJ's is a fast pace.

 

There would be something pieceful about heading up this time of year.  I remember a power boater last year that didn't see me and came really close as we crossed from Jones to San Juan Is.  But the weather was great for most of it. 

 

Jones is one of my favorites.  I also heard there is a wildflower island ot by the Wasp Islands that would be fun to stop at. 

 

Just can't make it this weekend.  I would be up for a trip soon though.  Will be finishing my Pygmy soon so I will have a 2nd boat.

Have fun...  

Nother ww boater here that enjoys occasional salt in his diet, as that wordsmith jp says. Got a 17' WS tempest that I'd love to do more San Juan trips with, Day or overnighters. Keep the thread goin. LOVE to see more of this place, being that it's minutes from me now.

We paddled 54 miles in two days! I'm a cripple now.

Right on! That's what I paddle! It is truly a sweet sea worthy design, and I guess it was designed for the Pacific Northwest Coast.

It's great to sea more Salt yakkers coming out of the closet on this here Whitewater forum.

I'll throw it out there: Mr. Rogers and I will probably be going out to Cape Flattery again next fall. Bring your whitewater game and your helmet. Its a great place to get comfy with surf, sea arches, ect. Flirt with a little danger in a controlled way at a chill time of year. Not to mention just awesome, sacred paddling territory that is largely untapped.

Had my first combat roll in a sea kayak out there (it was scary for a few minutes before and after- thought I was going to get cheese grated). Tried to go through an arch at the wrong time and got backsurfed onto some rocks (but didn't end up hitting them-barely enough depth).

On my way back out while we were surfing an awesome point break with really long, tall surfs, I got backendered in the '17 boat. Got the creme of the crop while all the surfers were on Hobuck. Our point break waves were bigger and longer rides that we had all to ourselves. Surfers can't get out there. Two different spots.

Snapped a paddle shaft while doing a routine surf landing onto the sand down by Point Of Arches. Oh well. I found it on Lake Washington and it served me for many a nautical mile.

Got chased by some Sea Lions while we were circum nav'n Tattoosh Island- tried to give them lots of space but they were'nt having it.

A great weekend of adventures. Definitely need to go back at least once a year.

Hey, this is Erik Gearhart--I've been talking about doing some salt trips with Scott and Courtney for a while!  Maybe we can pull if off this year.  I'm always psyched to meet other people with whitewater skills who like touring, too--because they don't spook as much in rock gardens, swells, and surf. :-)

Dood that boat is amazing looking ... props to your pops!

Ya, I'm not to thrilled to do 25-35 miles a day either. I just seemed to get roped into long trips these past few years. The San Juans are full of cliff paddling and rock gardens. I would love to get some trips going soon, in-Between the spring run-off of course.

BTW Brian- that wooden boat looks like a real beauty! You can totally paddle over to the San Juans from Bham. Get a submersible VHF, and then we could plan to meet up on Orcas sometime. You could paddle from Bham, and I could paddle up from Anacortes. Designate an Island or campsite to meeet at, and use the radio for backup. It works pretty sweet.

On my 8 day trip, Mr. Rogers said the Puget Sound leg was going to be too boring ( whatever- that fu*ker didn't know what he missed out on, but maybe the solo aspect was part of the appeal anyway). Anyway, he launched from Washington Park (Anacortes). Originally he wanted me to meet him there while he packed his boat. I told that salty bastard (takes one to know one) that he was joining my trip, and that I intended to be up in the islands a day early soaking in a hot tub w/ some naked ladies, bragging and boasting about my exploits (however wildly embellished). "Yeah, I just paddled up here from Seattle. Mostly I paddle whitewater", ect. You know the drill. So the next day I paddled out toward Point Lawrence to meet him as he slogged his way up the Rossario Strait (this time the current and wind were a little against him- usually we rip right up there on the max flood). So we'd agreed on a VHF frequency beforehand. I got out near N. Peapod Island and hailed him.
"Mr. Rogers Mr. Rogers- do you read me, over?"
After repeating this a few times,
"I got ya, Hairy!"

Having radios makes getting seperated kind of fun. Especially since this was how we chose to start this leg of the trip together. Not to mention its a good way to cultivate another key skill. Sure enough, using the binocculars (another key piece of gear, requiring the skill of looking through it while you are bobbing up and down), I could barely make out a yellow speck (another Tempest 170) out by Toehead I. Yup. Me and Mr. Rogers go way back. I gotta say It was good to have his brain to balance mine out and vice versa in the days that followed, once it got stormy on us. That was in mid May.

Good times. I still got plenty of San Juans trips left in me, because every one has been unique. June through Sept. Is pretty stable weather up there, generally, though sometimes you'll still get morning fog which can persist surprisingly late into the day.

Yup. Lots of room for variety.

This weekend was some of the best weather of the year so far, so a buddy and I got a little salt in our diet as well. We launched from Washington Park, did a leisurely paddle over to Strawberry Island for a lunch stop, then headed over to James Island to camp for the night. Did some light hiking around the island (that we had nearly entirely to ourselves - there was one big boat moored at the public dock, but they didnt come ashore to camp) and had a nice nap on a mossy overlook in the warm sun. The next morning, we paddled around the island a bit more and then slowly headed back across the Rosario Strait, complete with seal, whale, eagle, etc sightings. Very laid back pace on a rather short paddle, but one of the best weekends I have had in a long time.