Escape to British Columbia, barely

Looking east at the current lines and Johnstone Strait

We took our usual Labor Day trip to British Columbia to paddle around yet another amazing place on this planet. This year we decided to circumnavigate East Thurlow Island, which is part of the Discovery Island Group right in the middle of the eastern side of Vancouver Island and mainland B.C.

Peace and stars

The trip did not start out well. The WA ferry system put us in the wrong line for the ferry and we were not loaded onto the ferry. Only when we saw the boat we were supposed to be on pulling away from the dock did we realize what happened. Of course, that was the last ferry of the day to Vancouver Island from Anacortes. We managed to get a reservation on a B.C. ferry much later at night but we had to drive to Canada first to get the ferry. Once we got there they told us we were too tall (with the kayaks on our car) to meet the ferry reservation requirement. So we lost our reservation and had to go on stand-by. We made it....but not without stress. Of course, our plan to drive halfway up Vancouver Island was foiled and we had to car camp in Nanaimo. It poured. The next day we got out to where we were going to launch (north of Campbell River) in time to load the boats and catch the necessary slack tide at Johnstone Strait for a big crossing.....and then Jay discovered we had gotten a flat tire on the dirt road drive to the launch. While Jay and a campground host fixed our tire, we missed the slack and the host's kid decided to hang out with me while I watched our loaded kayaks on a rising tide. I don't like kids (that shouldn't be shocking to anyone who knows me - that is why we don't have them!). But here was this kid who was quite sweet but I was totally not in the mood to be a babysitter. By the time the tire was fixed we were forced to wait for the next slack, but I was desperate to get away from said kid, so into our boats we went in search of solitude. We paddled into Johnstone Strait, but we could literally "hear" the rapids of the full tidal exchange, so we turned around and found the nice spot in these pictures above to hang out for a few hours while we waited for slack tide. Finally, we crossed.... and made it to East Thurlow Island.

Lee Islands - Camp spot #1

Naturally, it was getting really late by the time we found a small island (the Lee Islands) to camp on and we ended up cooking in the dark and collapsing in our tent. The next morning was a delight and I finally started to recover from all our bad luck just getting started on this trip.

We paddled up to Cordero Channel where we had glass calm and clear water and amazing views up Phillips Arm. What a magical day!

We made it to the Cordero Islands for our second night of awesome rock ledge camping. Check out Jay in his awesome new boat! This was a long day and I still never got my relaxing day of getting to camp early enough to drink a beer and read my book.....but we did have time to at least eat in daylight and watch the sunset!

 Jay and our perfect island camp

 Cordero Channel

I knit this hat four times, having to tear it out over and over again because I couldn't get the size right. I finally finished it on our drive to the kayak launch north of Campbell River, but I put the rockin' pom-pom on at this campsite and I was pretty stoked, as you can tell.

 Yep. This is why I'm alive.

The next day we had some crazy currents as we paddled into Blind Channel and found this gem of a beach for our lunch spot. After lunch, we left this beach and paddled into some gnarly wind and waves, trying to get into a better position for crossing Johnstone Strait the next day. But it was getting dangerous, so we turned around and bee-lined it back to the same beach and made that our campground for the night.

Not a bad place to camp! And I finally had hours free in the afternoon to sip a glass of wine, have the strong wind whip around me, read my book, and praise the kayak goddesses for bringing me back to this beach alive!

We got up freakin' early the next morning to cross Johnstone Strait at slack and, thank goodness, we had no wind. What a crossing! And what a trip!! I cherish these long weekend paddles.

On our way back from Vancouver Island we scooped up Felix, the 2016 European Rolex Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society Scholar. He spent a week with my team helping us out with our sea cucumber surveys. Jay and I love hosting scholars and it always turns into a blast when they are here with us.

I hurt my knee pretty badly during these sea cucumber surveys and I ended up only getting one day of diving in. But I could still drive the boat! I love this shot of Felix on our wheelhouse roof with me driving the boat below him.

Jay and I had big plans to spend my birthday weekend backpacking along the Olympic Coast. Alas, that damn knee injury meant I could barely walk for a while, so backpacking was out. Sweet Jay went online and found a cute cabin to rent from Air BnB in Ocean Park, WA on the Long Beach Peninsula - an area we had never explored. We spent some time checking out Oysterville, a neat old town with a real New England vibe. And check out this pile of Pacific oyster shells! I was stoked! We use shells like this for our native oyster restoration project at Swinomish and sometimes it can be hard to get shell. Now I know where to go!

Oysterville on Willipa Bay

 Cape Disappointment

Long Beach Peninsula boardwalk

Five days of paddling bliss in Raja Ampat

Remember that Jay and I went to Indonesia in December 2015? Well, we are so busy having fun that I'm still going through photos. I'm not done yet, but here is one more installment of Indonesian fun for yah!

We found an awesome sounding organization from a web search in the USA before flying to Raja Ampat called Kayak 4 Conservation. We were able to reserve two single kayaks for five days a long time before arriving at the homestay where the organization was based in Saporkreng. We actually flew to Indonesia with some camping equipment and food and we rented the rest from the organization when we arrived. Here is Jay packing up stuff in dry bags for our trip.

Saporkreng, Raja Ampat - where we started our trip in a downpour. In Washington or B.C. this would not be too fun....and I struggled to get into the mindset that it wasn't going to be dangerous or freezing cold. Here a little wind, waves, and rain didn't mean a quick death if you flipped your boat and couldn't get back in. Still, it was an adjustment for this Pacific Northwest girl to realize that rain in the tropics was fun and paddling in it was fine even if I was soaking wet!

It was a hard start for me but I eventually got used to the fact the rain wasn't cold and the water was warm! I also might have been hungry which always makes me grumpy.

It was a free and open world here and we could basically camp almost anywhere we wanted to. So we found this lovely beach and set up our rented torture chambers, I mean hammocks, for the night.

Because most of the islands don't have great places to put tents, the kayak outfitter rented out these crazy bug-proof hammocks. I called them torture chambers because they were hot, muggy, and not great for sleeping in if you are a sensitive sleeper like me. I'm glad we gave them a go though - now I know they are not for me! Jay, of course, slept soundly. Despite the torture, there is still nothing that can replace the awesome feeling of waking up at sunrise on a beach in the tropics with no one around but your love. I would not have traded this night or others for anything else.

 Amazing paddling right over reefs

 Lunch stop

The second night we crashed at a homestay but no one - not even a caretaker- was there. Fine by us! We had food, water, and snorkeling right at our doorstep.

Our room

 Evening paddle

North Kaboei

 Yefunmadiaba Guesthouse 

 The next morning we paddled right over all of this gorgeous coral

 Stop at Yenanas Guesthouse for some water before camping in the hammocks for another night

 Paddling Raja Ampat

We camped on a lovely beach loaded with shells for our third night. Because we refuse to collect and bring shells home, we make shell photo collections like this one instead. Wonderful diversity!

 The beach we camped on for our third night

 Paddling to Yenanas Guesthouse for our fourth night

 View of the reef under our boats

 Our homestay from the water 

 The reef directly off our homestay

 Terrible sunset

 Best sign ever? 

It was time to head back on day five and we left Yenanas Guesthouse early in the morning so we had time to get back to catch the ferry to Sorong from Waisai. But we managed to get one more snorkel in on our way back to Saporkreng.

After unloading our boats, retrieving the damp and moldy bags we left behind, and taking a taxi to the ferry terminal we settled in to wait, and wait, and wait for the ferry to Sorong. And once the ferry arrived, of course, they had the most inefficient way of loading the ferry so we all packed on top of each other like sardines in the hot tropical sun. All part of the experience and quite a hoot.

We spent Christmas Eve in Sorong mostly drying out tons of very soggy and moldy clothes in an air conditioned room. We flew to Sulawesi on Christmas Day from Sorong because fly is cheap.

We arrived in downtown Makassar on Christmas Day and checked into our hotel where we were treated like rock stars.

 Jay picking out his Christmas dinner

 Bliss is Indonesian food.

Peanut sauces and sambals. Nothing is better than this food in the entire world.

August outdoor adventures

Lenticular clouds near Mount Rainier

August was jam-packed with outdoor adventures - two backpacking trips, some day paddles, day hikes, lots of fun work outside, visiting friends, and mushrooms. Life doesn't get much better than that right?

 Backpacking in North Cascades National Recreation Area along Ross Lake with Nickie and Carolé.

 Cascades from our camp on Ross Lake

 Wine, chocolate, and good friends

We were treated to a visit from our friend Gretchen in August - last sighted at our wedding in 2009! Ralph came to see Gretchen too and fun was had by all. When friends of yours, like Gretchen, live in the U.K. you have to take every second with them you can grab. We also got to meet her kiddos and we collectively discussed ways to see her husband and our friend, Matt, again. Someday I guess we will have to take a trip to the U.K. eh?

Jay's new kayak, named Iridaea after a lovely red algae, was ready for a real paddle after we bought her. We were busy the next several weekends so we decided to paddle out after work to Burrows Island and the lighthouse for dinner. The light was perfect, the company was perfect, the kayaks were perfect, and the food and wine were perfect. It was a ridiculous night.

 Alaria and Burrows Light

 Jay paddling back to Skyline Marina with Mt. Baker in alpenglow.

It took some work and some luck, but we (J&J and Nickie and Carolé) scored on an overnight backpacking permit in Mount Rainier National Park on the Spray Park Loop trail. Our drive to the park was awesome with big lenticular clouds pouring off the mountain (first photo of this blog) but by the time we climbed to the 6,300 ft. high point on the trail, Rainier was hiding. We still, as you can see, had some fun along the way even though it was freezing (glad we know how to dress appropriately!).

 At the high point on the trail, right on the flanks of Rainier, with my love looking "down" on the Cascades.

 Heading down to Seattle Park

 Nickie, Jay, and Carolé in Seattle Park watching for that mountain to appear. 

There it is! Yes!! After these clouds cleared, the views kept getting better and better. The huckleberries did too!

Descending into the huckleberries and not sure if I should eat every berry in sight or watch Rainier and the lenticular clouds pouring off that majestic mountain. 

The next morning we kept losing all the elevation we gained (and lost) yesterday. I knew we had a big elevation gain push at the end of the day when I would want a light pack, but then we found this mushroom. Into my pack it went for a 10 mile wander back to the car.

Yum.

 Crossing a bridge along the Carbon River

 The Carbon Glacier

What four people look like after 3,000 ft. in elevation gain in 1.5 miles.

This beauty was treated well back home. 

All August photos can be found here:https://goo.gl/photos/4WK3aZCiyZH3jefU7