Notes

What Happened Today

• Spd cleat issue
• Lime kiln
• Camp early
• Made friends
• Oysters
• Sunset
• Mike, Joclyn
• Orcas
• Bioluminescence
• Fire

Journal

Today was the first day of Darby and I’s adventure on the San Juan Islands – today and tomorrow we are on Jan Juan Island as well. The day started off a little chaotic – I really didn’t get all the packing in that I needed to before the trip and was racing like a mad man trying to get everything to work. I didn’t test some of my gear and had a few issues with the things I brought – like my rear rack. The morning pack was stressful and I was all over the place.

Eventually we made it to the ferry where things remained a little chaotic until we actually boarded. There were so many people waiting to get on, it was a little crazy.

Once we were on and underway, things began to calm down a bit. The ride over was beautiful and the scope of what we were about to do really started to sink in for me. We had a whole week to explore these islands and take our time doing so.

attachment:c05c1cb6-829b-477c-ae91-d0ae01dbca5c:IMG_2588.mov

When we landed, the chaos returned. There were a rush of people coming off the ferry and into the small town of Friday Harbor. Darby and I went to go get a snack at a bakery – I got a muffin and a Matcha – when we realized that Darby had lost a SPD cleat bolt (need to add one of these to my every day kit). She was able to find a good bike shop and they helped us out with the bolt in return for a good google review, which I got to write – best filtered water in town!

Then we were off!

The first bit of riding really showed how hard this would really be – we went straight into a head wind and then came the hills. Never in my life have I worked so hard all day just to maintain the exact same elevation. Over ~2k feet of vertical feet climbed and never above 300ft of elevation. It’s insane. Darby and I stoped at a small overlook, took in the sights, and then she showed me how to pick blackberries! I’d never done this before, in part because I hate the seeds, but they were incredibly tasty and I’d happily do it again.

Next up, we went to Lime Kiln State Park in hopes of seeing some orcas! This, we had been told, was the place to see them up close. There is a very steep drop off of the ocean floor and it goes down to about 900ft deep just a few hundred feet away from the coast. We chatted with a wildlife guide for a bit about the whales but didn’t get the chance to see them.