Outer Islands 3 Day

When the rain woke me up, I was covered in sweat and shivering - great. I had felt a cold coming on the previous evening and now it was here. Luckily, I had Brooke with me, and she was able to do most of the heavy lifting that morning as we packed up wet gear into our boats and headed home.

Brooke and I were on a 3-day test run in the San Juan Islands. Testing gear, kayaks, meal plans, and what it’s like to paddle and camp in the rain. Most of our past kayaking experience has taken place during summer months, when the weather is warm and reliable. This won’t be the case for the Inside Passage, so we were hoping to get as much exposure to crappy weather as possible.

On day one of this little excursion, we left from Sandy Point, north of Bellingham, around 12pm. From there we had an immediate 6-mile crossing to Matia Island. This crossing was windy and choppy, with a crosswind turning our boats between every paddle stroke. Upon landing at Matia, we took a break to eat some snacks and drink some water. By the time we got to Sucia Island, it was already 5pm and we decided to set up camp. The evening was filled with curry, falafel, reading, a sunset, and a silly stellar sea lion.

Stellar saying hello

We watched the proceeding sunrise from the beach. By 8am we were on the water and paddling northwest to Patos Island. We contoured up the north shore of Patos and paddled around the famous lighthouse. After taking a quick break to stretch the legs, we turned around and paddled back to Sucia, then to Matia, and finally crossing all the way to Clark Island, enjoying a northern tailwind. This day totaled 18 miles. Our goal for the IP is 20 per day, so it felt good to get a long day in.

After packing up the next morning in a light drizzle, there was nothing left to do but paddle home. 

All our gear worked well, which was quite a relief.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Casey